Regulatory Uncertainty Hinders Definite Growth in North America: A Chain Analysis

Boasting an estimated $1.2 trillion in chain value between July 2022 and June 2023, North America became the leading cryptocurrency market.

According to a recent report by Chinalysis, the figure accounted for 24.4 percent of global trading activity during this period.

Crypto, DeFi Dips in North America

Data shows that while North America has historically been the strongest provider of DeFi and the region leads the world in DeFi usage in terms of raw transaction volume, its share of activity has declined significantly over the past year.

In a report shared with CryptoPotato, Chinalysis noted that many DeFi protocols are trading in highly speculative transactions. These platforms have recently created assets not available from their centralized counterparts. Therefore, the properties become the first choice for investors who want to invest when the market conditions are not favorable.

Another significant factor contributing to the slowdown in DeFi in North America is the ongoing regulatory uncertainty in the US market.

As challenging as it may be, developing such a regulation is imperative as DeFi has many important real-world applications such as commerce, asset management, lending and payments to name a few.

Chainalysis suggests that the decline of crypto activity in North America in the past year may not come as a surprise, due to the global decrease in both transaction volume and grassroots adoption.

Despite this decline in transaction volume, North America managed to secure fourth place in the 2023 Global Crypto Adoption Index by Blockchain Analytics. As the region bounces back from the crypto winter, the regulatory role in the recovery will be crucial.

The North American Crypto Landscape

North America has gone from high-profile crypto Super Bowl announcements and celebrity endorsements to a 2023 characterized by uncertain regulatory delays and scrutiny of well-established industry giants. The US is the biggest loser of all.

The collapse of Luna in May 2022 resulted in the loss of nearly $60 billion of the crypto market. During Luna's rapid ascent last year, their fortunes fell completely.

Then, in November 2022, surprising statements triggered the collapse of the crypto exchange FTX, which had already lost its famous founder Sam Bankman and is currently on trial in the US.