Rules and Regulations: Regulators, Agencies, and Blockchain Innovation

Rules and Regulations: Regulators, Agencies, and Blockchain Innovation

This IDC Perspective discusses some of the regulators, agencies, and governments that are watching the blockchain, distributed ledger technology (DLT), and smart contracts technology segments. In this document, we focus on the market force of regulators, agencies, and governments. For technology, we focus on blockchain and distributed ledger technologies, not cryptocurrencies (e.g., bitcoin). Because blockchain and smart contracts are in the early stages, many enterprises may not have run into conflicts with regulations. However, as firms get more involved in DLT, they are increasingly likely to drive innovations that conflict with existing laws or expose gaps in existing regulations. In this document, we discus some of the regulators and central banks influencing rules and regulations for blockchain.The regulatory environment is constantly changing. Therefore, IDC recommends that enterprises and technology providers keep a close watch on the regulators that have the potential to affect their companies, industries, and customers."IDC recommends that industry participants be actively involved in discussions with courts and legislative bodies to help influence decisions about changes to existing laws and regulations and development of new laws and regulations. While we see positive sentiments from multiple regulators, enterprises should actively work to influence new rules and regulations." — Bill Fearnley, research director, IDC Blockchain Strategies