The first transaction on the Bitcoin network occurred on the 3rd of January, 2009 at 18:15 GMT. 50 BTC was sent with a value of $0.00 and contained the following message ‘The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks’. SC: Bitcoin.org

With the cryptocurrency market now valued at over US$2 trillion it has proven to be lucrative, innovative, and disruptive and until now outside of regulatory control. Policymakers see two options: Regulate or compete.

‘US regulators have become increasingly concerned about cryptocurrencies after wild swings in some of the world’s most commonly traded digital assets. This year bitcoin has soared from just under $30,000 to over $60,000, before crashing back to about $33,000, prompting senior government officials to call for greater investor protections.’ Kiran Stacey, Washington Correspondent, Financial Times

As regulators look to beef up investor protections and act against criminal use, it remains unclear how they will be able to affect a system designed to be beyond government interference. Read more here

Hester M. Pierce Commissioner, US Securities and Exchange Commission and Anthony Scaramucci, Founder and Managing Partner, SkyBridge Capital will be discussing the future of cryptocurrency in the wake of environmental concerns and the potential threat of central bank backed digital currencies at the award-winning digital event The Global Boardroom on 7-9 December 2021. Register your free pass here: https://on.ft.com/3lr0sZm