Regulating crypto used to mean policing a speculative corner of the internet. A new report from the World Economic Forum and Boston Consulting Group argues that framing is now badly out of date.
The study’s core claim is that digital assets are starting to reshape how money moves, how markets function and how countries keep control over their own currencies. That raises the stakes for regulators well past the question of whether a token is a security.
What the report actually says
The report is titled “Regulation of Digital Assets in a Shifting Global Landscape.” According to the research findings, it was published on October 28, 2026, and draws on insights from 35 jurisdictions.
Its central tension is simple to state and hard to solve. Governments want to let the useful parts of digital assets into mainstream finance without putting financial stability at risk.
The authors acknowledge that cryptoassets like Bitcoin, ether and sol still dominate the landscape, with a combined market cap of roughly $3 trillion. That is a big number, but the report suggests it may not be the most important one.
Instead, the WEF and BCG argue that advances in digital money and tokenization could prove more consequential over time. Tokenization means representing real-world assets, like bonds or funds, as digital tokens on a ledger. Digital money covers things like stablecoins and programmable payments.
Nine dimensions and a playbook
The report identifies nine key policy dimensions that jurisdictions need to weigh as digital assets work their way into their economies. These stretch well beyond the usual market integrity concerns that dominated early crypto rulemaking.
According to the research summary, the analysis emphasizes legal certainty, protection of assets held in custody and measures against financial crime. It also connects regulation to bigger questions: monetary sovereignty, capital flows, sanctions compliance and the long-term competitiveness of a country’s financial system.
The report is pitched as a practical playbook rather than a theory paper. It is meant to help jurisdictions at different stages assess risks, decide which regulatory tasks come first and review whether existing laws need updating.
Notably, the emphasis is on adaptation rather than writing rules from scratch. Many governments already have some framework in place. The harder job is keeping it current as the technology moves.
How we got here
This is not the WEF’s first pass at the topic. The new report builds on earlier work published on October 3, 2024, which examined how different jurisdictions were approaching digital assets, including anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) frameworks.
The timing reflects a shift in the market itself. The research points to rising institutional interest in stablecoins and programmable money, along with progress in custody technology and policy.
Two examples stand out in the research. The European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework has given the bloc a comprehensive rulebook, while US lawmakers have been working through stablecoin legislation.
What this means for markets and policymakers
For investors, the most useful signal here is the change in framing. When a body like the WEF describes digital assets as part of financial infrastructure rather than a niche market, it reflects how mainstream institutions increasingly see the sector.
The report’s emphasis on tokenization and digital money also hints at where policy energy may concentrate. Rules written for payment rails and tokenized securities could affect banks, asset managers and fintech firms as much as crypto-native companies.
The inclusion of sanctions compliance and capital movements among the policy dimensions suggests governments are thinking about digital assets as tools of geopolitics, not just finance.
Fragmentation is another concern. A study covering 35 jurisdictions is a reminder of just how many separate rulebooks exist.
