Cryptoassets have emerged from relative obscurity to become an increasingly significant and mainstream presence: in just five years the global market cap for cryptocurrencies rose from around $15 billion to over $3 trillion at its peak in November of last year. This has fueled a prolific expansion of crypto-focused businesses (e.g., cryptocurrency exchanges, crypto payment gateways, custodian wallet providers) and has led to increasing numbers of businesses accepting crypto as a form of payment and/or holding it on their balance sheets.

In this context, it is clear that “cryptoasset insolvencies” will be an increasingly regular occurrence. However, the rapid growth of the asset class has left governments, lawmakers and regulators struggling to determine if and how existing legal and regulatory frameworks apply, or to the extent they do not, what additional laws and regulations may be needed.