The Current Regulatory Scenario: Pressure on the Traditional and Openness to New Products
The crypto ecosystem lives a time of regulatory paradox.SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission)the introduction of new institutional products, such asETFs of cryptocurrenciesIn addition, it also increases the pressure on consolidated services.The recent regulatory threat of$1.35 billionThe recipeCoinbase’s Stablecoins RevenueThe regulatory questions whether the offering of these revenues constitutes the sale of unregistered bonds, putting a widely adopted business model in jeopardy.
In addition, giants likeGrayscale, Bitwise and 21SharesApplications for ETFs, including for assets such asand Hyperliquid (HLP)It is interesting to note that, unlike Bitwise, Grayscale does not initially plan to incorporateStakingIn this case, it is not possible to exclude the possibility in the future.This caution reflects theRegulatory UncertaintyThat still surrounds activities that generate yield, even within regulated vehicles.
Impact on the Brazilian market: Where are the investors?
For the Brazilian investor, these moves have direct implications. Many use international platforms such as Coinbase to access income in stablecoins, a dollar alternative to the low interest rates of local savings. The possible interruption of this service would force a capital migration. The options would be: 1) return to the traditional system, with lower incomes; 2) seekDecentralized Finance (DeFi)directly, taking on more technical and safety risks; or 3) waiting for local regulated products, which are still incipient.
DeFi as a Resilient Alternative: Control versus Comfort
The core ofDeFiIt is the elimination of intermediaries in protocols such asAave, Compound or MakerDAO, users borrow their stablecoins directly to others throughSmart contractsThis model is inherently more resistant to regulatory actions against a specific company, since there is no central entity to process.
However, the convenience ofThe centralized platforms (CeFi)How Coinbase is a huge attraction. They abstain from the complexity of private wallets, network fees (gas fees) and the risks of interaction with smart contracts. The regulatory threat can, ironically, be a catalyst for the adoption of pure DeFi, educating users aboutSelf-CustodyThe question that remains is: is the market willing to exchange facility for resilience and total control?
ETFs and the Institutional Path: A Bridge to the Traditional
The new onesETFs of cryptocurrenciesThey represent the opposite path: maximum intermediation and compliance. An ETF like the one proposed by Grayscale for Hyperliquid offers exposure to the asset without the investor having to deal with custody, private keys or crypto asset regulation directly.
The absence of staking on these early ETFs, however, shows a limit. It offers exposure to price valuation, butExcludes the generation of passive incomeWhile regulations for staking and lending do not clarify, these products can remain as vehicles of pure price speculation, disconnected from the yield-generating utility of the underlying networks.
The Future of Crypto Revenue: Convergence or Divergent?
The future will probably not be a total victory of one model over the other, but a coexistence and even aConvergenceWe can wait:
- Regulated hybrid products:ETFs or other vehicles that, over time, find a regulated way to incorporate staking, distributing income to quota holders.
- DeFi with Layer of Conformity (DeFi 2.0):Protocols that integrate identity verification (KYC) in specific layers to serve institutional investors or comply with local rules without compromising core decentralization.
- Increased regulatory clarity:Pressure on Coinbase may force a legal definition of what constitutes an asset in the context of crypto revenue, benefiting the entire market with clearer rules of the game.
For Brazil, the lesson is to follow these international definitions closely, as they will influence as theCVM (Securities and Exchange Commission)The search for strong currency income will continue, and the Brazilian crypto market will need to offer solutions within the legal framework that is being drawn now.