The primary benefit of a crypto credit card is the ability to convert your hard-earned gains from cryptocurrency investments into real-world spending power, with the added advantage that this can be used in multiple countries and instantly converted into the local fiat currency.
Needless to say, the more value you can accumulate from your cryptocurrency investments, the more spending power your card gives you, which is why associated features like the Volta Wallet and its capacity for up to 90,000 trading pairs provide lots of opportunity for smart investors to thrive.
However, as every investor knows, there will be naysayers out there who argue that crypto won’t last, that the whole system will come crashing down and leave many people suffering heavy losses. However, these doubters may have reckoned without the fact that decision-makers in governments across the world have been taking cryptocurrency increasingly seriously.
America Takes A Lead In Regulation
The United States has been at the forefront of this, with President Trump shifting from being a crypto sceptic during his first term to an enthusiast in his second, with early steps such as the appointment of pro-crypto personnel to important financial regulatory positions and the establishment of a national Bitcoin reserve.
Furthermore, lest anyone fear that all this would create a Wild West environment for crypto, the administration has set out to place crypto on a clearer regulatory footing, as shown by the GENIUS Act, which regulates stablecoins and provides extra consumer protection.
The usual question with any form of regulation is whether there needs to be more of it to protect traders and consumers and clamp down on unethical behaviour and scams, or less, to avoid stifling innovation and putting too much bureaucracy in people’s way.
Crypto investors will certainly hope it is not the latter case, as more regulation could then lower the value of their investments.
However, there are good reasons for thinking the former proposition is true, not least because crypto is such a new thing that any new regulations tend to be introduced to cover areas that were previously outside any legal constraints, rather than piling up more layers of red tape on top of existing rules and requirements.
Tailoring Regulations For Digital Assets
This is certainly the view of spread betting firm IG, which has argued that regulatory changes in the US and UK have helped bolster cryptocurrency and are helping drive the value of leading assets such as Bitcoin.
Its position is that regulators are taking a balanced view, increasing some regulations where they feel necessary, while compensating for this by reducing others.
The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), it notes, has taken this approach by exempting crypto firms from what it describes as “traditional requirements around integrity, care, and prioritising customer interests.” The quid pro quo is that operational risk management rules are tougher for crypto than for other traded assets.
While observing that some have their doubts about this approach, the article also highlighted the recognition of regulators like the FCA that, because crypto markets are different, the kind of banking regulations used for other assets may not be the best fit for digital assets, meaning a different approach is required.
Regulatory Alignment Between The US And UK?
Mention of the US and UK as countries at the forefront of tackling the task of providing the right kind of regulation for crypto, bringing rules to an arena that needs them, but being willing to vary them from those used for other assets to make the system work, might suggest that there could be some convergent thinking going on between the two countries.
According to Blocknomi, this is exactly what is going on – and not by coincidence. It reports that officials from the respective governments have been meeting to discuss regulatory alignment in the crypto sector. This included direct talks between the chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves and US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent.
The report stated that pro-crypto lobbyists in the UK had persuaded the British government to hold the meeting, arguing for a pro-crypto regulatory regime in the UK to match that of the United States under the Trump administration.
Managing director for the UK and Europe at Ripple, Cassie Craddock, said: “This has the potential to set a template for international cooperation in our industry.” If that proves true, regulatory alignment may become an increasingly global thing.
All of that may be music to the ears of those who invest in crypto and spend a lot of time in different countries. It is for such people that a crypto card can be so effective and useful, but that will be even truer if international agreements put digital assets on a clearer global footing.
If this is the direction that crypto regulation is going, there will be little to fear and much to be optimistic about.