Each year that we get a little further away from Satoshi Nakomoto’s whitepaper, crypto becomes more popular than ever, breaking more barriers — not just in sheer enthusiasm, but in mainstream acceptance. The year 2021 saw the introduction of nonfungible tokens, NFTs, and the Metaverse. This was even after a decade that could have made this claim every other year.

Despite that peak enthusiasm and excitement though, we shouldn’t be blind to the fact that there are still fundamental issues that must be solved before crypto truly becomes the dominant “coin of the realm” across the globe, along with the backbone of the next industrial revolution. Anti-Money Laundering, Know Your Customer and Combating the Financing of Terrorism are the most important issues. These protections ensure that crypto is a stable and responsible payment option and not overregulated.