Crypto Market Regulatory Initiatives to Accelerate After FTX’s Collapse

Crypto market regulatory initiatives that are already underway are likely to be accelerated in the wake of the collapse of FTX and sister company Alameda Research, JPMorgan (JPM) said in a research report Thursday.

Once the European Parliament gives final approval to the European Union’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) bill, there is a transitional period of up to 18 months before the regulation takes effect. Recent events could lead to pressure to shorten the timeline, the report said.

The bank notes that U.S. regulatory initiatives garnered more interest following the Terra collapse in May as there was a “perceived need for increased oversight and consumer protections.” There is likely to be more urgency following FTX’s November collapse.

Regulatory initiatives are likely to emerge focusing on custody and protection of customers’ digital assets, the unbundling of broker/trading/lending/clearing/custody activities, and transparency and the reporting of reserves, assets and liabilities, the note said.

JPMorgan says crypto derivatives trading will probably shift to regulated venues, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) is likely to benefit from this transition.

The bank says it is “skeptical of a structural shift” away from centralized exchanges (CEX) into decentralized exchanges (DEX). DEXs would not work for the size of orders coming from larger institutions due to slower transaction speeds or because the institutions’ trading strategies and order size would be traceable on the blockchain.