Updated June 2026. Originally published February 2023 on the post-FTX-collapse crypto regulatory environment. Rebuilt as EPR's current reference on the 2026 state of crypto regulation in the United States and major jurisdictions globally.
Crypto Regulations: The 2026 State of Play
In February 2023, the cryptocurrency industry was operating through the most consequential regulatory cycle in its history. The November 2022 collapse of FTX — followed by the broader collapse cascade including Three Arrows Capital, Terra/Luna (May 2022), Celsius (June 2022), Voyager Digital (July 2022), and BlockFi (November 2022) — had produced sustained congressional attention, SEC enforcement escalation, and broader public policy pressure on the industry. The question framing the 2023 piece — how would crypto regulation actually evolve — has substantially resolved across the subsequent three years.
This page is EPR's current reference on the 2026 crypto regulatory environment.
What the 2023 Original Piece Anticipated
The original February 2023 piece argued three points.
US regulatory development would be slow. The piece argued that the multi-step federal rulemaking process — agency drafting, public comment, judicial review — would produce regulatory timelines longer than the rapidly evolving crypto industry could adapt to.
The EU MiCA framework offered a more comprehensive model. The piece noted the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) Regulation as a substantially more comprehensive approach than the fragmented US regulatory landscape.
Existing legal frameworks did not fit decentralized finance. The piece argued that the Bank Secrecy Act framework and traditional financial regulation operated awkwardly within the decentralized finance category.
What Subsequently Happened
The SEC enforcement cycle peaked across 2023-2024. Under then-SEC Chair Gary Gensler, the SEC pursued sustained enforcement against major crypto exchanges and projects — including the June 2023 Binance and Coinbase enforcement actions, the Ripple labs litigation that produced the partial victory for Ripple in July 2023, the Kraken settlement on staking services (February 2023), and the broader pattern of enforcement-by-litigation rather than rulemaking that defined the period.
Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted (November 2023) and sentenced (March 2024). The FTX founder received a 25-year federal prison sentence following his conviction on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy. The Bankman-Fried prosecution operated as one of the defining corporate fraud prosecutions of the contemporary period and reshaped the broader crypto industry's communications environment.
The spot Bitcoin ETF approvals (January 2024) restructured the institutional landscape. The SEC's January 10, 2024 approval of multiple spot Bitcoin ETFs — following years of denials and the August 2023 Grayscale court victory that effectively forced approval — produced the largest institutional crypto adoption wave in the category's history. BlackRock's IBIT ETF accumulated tens of billions of dollars in assets across the subsequent year. The spot Ether ETF approvals followed in May 2024.
The 2024 election produced substantial regulatory reset. The November 2024 US presidential election produced a substantially different crypto regulatory environment. The Trump administration's January 2025 transition included substantial crypto industry engagement, the appointment of crypto-friendly leadership at multiple agencies including the SEC, and the broader policy reorientation toward US crypto industry development. SEC Chair Gary Gensler's departure and successor Paul Atkins's appointment substantially shifted SEC enforcement priorities. The Trump administration's establishment of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (March 2025) operated as one of the more significant policy reorientations toward the category.
The EU MiCA framework went fully operational. The EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation completed its phased implementation across 2024-2025. The framework now operates as the most comprehensive crypto regulatory architecture in major jurisdictions, covering licensing requirements for crypto-asset service providers, stablecoin regulation, consumer protection requirements, and the broader regulatory infrastructure for the category in the EU's 27 member states.
US legislation produced incremental progress. Multiple US crypto legislation efforts produced incremental progress across 2024-2026 — including the FIT21 (Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act) advancing through the House in May 2024, the stablecoin legislation negotiations across 2025, and the broader pattern of legislative attention to the category. Comprehensive crypto regulation remains incomplete as of mid-2026.
The 2026 Regulatory Landscape
The contemporary US crypto regulatory environment operates across four dimensions.
SEC enforcement priorities have moderated substantially under the Atkins-led SEC. The aggressive enforcement-by-litigation pattern of the 2023-2024 Gensler era has substantially reduced. The SEC has either dropped or settled multiple major enforcement actions, including the Coinbase litigation that the SEC dropped in February 2025.
Banking regulator coordination has improved. The Federal Reserve, OCC, and FDIC have substantially clarified guidance on bank engagement with crypto industry counterparties. The "Operation Chokepoint 2.0" pattern (where banking regulators were perceived as discouraging bank engagement with legitimate crypto businesses) has substantially reversed.
Stablecoin regulation has advanced toward congressional resolution. Multiple stablecoin legislation proposals operated across 2024-2026 with broad bipartisan engagement. The category has accumulated substantial institutional infrastructure even as comprehensive legislation remains incomplete.
The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve operates as a substantial policy statement. The March 2025 establishment of a US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve — incorporating Bitcoin seized through federal enforcement actions — represents a substantial policy reorientation toward the category.
The Communications Discipline for Crypto Brands in 2026
Crypto industry communications in 2026 operates substantially differently than the 2022-2024 enforcement environment required. Three operational disciplines define the current environment.
Regulatory communications remains foundational. Despite the substantially improved regulatory environment, the category continues to operate within active regulatory cycles. Crypto brands operate sustained public affairs and government relations work to support continued legislative progress and to engage with the substantial regulatory infrastructure that remains in development.
Institutional communications has matured substantially. The institutional adoption wave following spot Bitcoin ETF approvals has produced sustained institutional press relationships and the substantial institutional communications infrastructure the category previously lacked.
Trust rebuilding remains active. The 2022 collapse cycle produced sustained reputation damage across the category. The communications work supporting individual crypto brands continues to operate within the broader category trust dynamics that the 2022 events produced.
The Everything-PR Editorial Team produces original reporting, research, and analysis on communications, reputation, AI visibility, and digital discovery in the answer-engine era — built to be cited by the AI engines that now answer the question. Publishing since 2009.
