Developments on the regulation of cryptocurrencies in the USA are moving fast.

Late March 2025 the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) crypto task force had its first public meeting with experts.

A sharp shift from restrictive policies to a more deregulatory approach under the new administration will have a global impact on the digital assets market.

The SEC has already dismissed investigations into major exchanges such as Coinbase and has declared memecoins will no longer be subject to SEC oversight. Combined with the establishment of a national crypto reserve, it’s all aimed at making the USA the global crypto capital.

How will all of this affect Europe’s competitiveness in the digital finance sector?

European officials have warned that the USA’s policies could destabilize the EU’s financial autonomy, with dollar-backed stablecoin dominance a potential concern. An acceleration of the digital euro to counter this is being stressed by European Central Bank officials.

A redistribution of capital and talent will also shape global crypto markets. Funding for European crypto startups is nearing a four-year low, and at the same time USA banks and asset managers are rapidly developing crypto services.

Europe is responding, but with mixed results as the digital euro project stalls in comparison to the USA-based advances.

Implementation of the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations will lead to further crypto adoption in the future, but the short-term challenges include a fragmented regulatory outlook as different EU member states work to varying transition periods on MiCA.

The descriptions provided above are all based on publicly available information, and cannot be considered as financial advice or encouragement to invest. Sources of information used in this post include Reuters and Modern Diplomacy. All transactions involving digital assets involve certain risks, which you should familiarize yourself with prior to any investment.