I get it. Headlines scream at us about billions in losses to crypto scams. Celsius ripped off thousands, including New Yorkers. But I can't shake this feeling: are we about to throw the baby out with the bathwater? And even more importantly, aren’t we ignoring whose baby it is in the first place? Because I'm looking at Southeast Asia, and I see a lot of babies – artist-babies – struggling to be born, and crypto is the only midwife they've got.

Financial Inclusion Or Crushing Innovation?

Let's be real. And the current financial system is a pretty miserable one for the vast majority of people around the world. Banks are often unapproachable, ATM fees exorbitant, and cross-border transfers a kafkaesque horror show. For millions in Southeast Asia, crypto isn’t just a speculative investment, it’s a lifeline. It's how they receive remittances, start small businesses, and access global markets they'd otherwise be locked out of.

Additionally, I’ve experienced firsthand the positive impact that this technology and financial innovation has had on artists’ lives across my region. They’re producing astonishingly important art, selling it directly to collectors all over the globe, and completely going around the gatekeepers who have forever limited access to the art market. They're building communities, experimenting with new forms of creative expression, and finally getting paid what they're worth.

Imagine you're a painter in rural Cambodia. You’re really good, though, but not zero access to exhibits and no network and no resources. Then you discover NFTs. All of a sudden you can mint your work, list it on a marketplace, and have collectors from New York to Tokyo be able to find it. Crypto gives us new infrastructure to build this new economy on.

AG James' call for stricter federal regulation, while aimed at protecting American investors, could have devastating consequences for these artists. When the U.S.—a global leader—enacts these rules too stringently, it creates a bad precedent. Other nations will be sure to do the same, thwarting crypto progress and snuffing out the same opportunities that have made many of us prosperous. It’s as though the US detonated a tsunami bomb in the Pacific that destroyed one of their villages in Southeast Asia.

Forgotten Voices In Regulatory Debates

We need to ask ourselves: who are we protecting, and at what cost? Have we become too preoccupied with preventing fraud in the U.S.? Are we willing to trade off the economic empowerment of artists in these new, fast-growing markets along the way?

Having spent considerable time talking to artists and thinkers in the Philippines and Indonesia, I can tell you their fear and anxiety is profound. "I don't understand all the complicated regulations," said one digital artist from Jakarta who goes by the alias "PixelDreamer." All I care about is that crypto has empowered me to take care of my family. But if the U.S. is going to try to make it more difficult to use, what will that leave us? A local weaver from a remote village in Myanmar speaking out against forced labor. She worries that increased regulations will make it impossible for her to sell her traditional textiles through e-commerce platforms like Etsy. "This is my only way to reach customers outside my village," she told me. "If that goes away, I don't know what I'll do."

These aren't faceless corporations. These are real people with real lives, trying to make a living in a world that often seems stacked against them. We shouldn’t allow goodhearted regulations to stomp out their aspirations.

  • PixelDreamer (Jakarta, Digital Artist): "Crypto saved my family."
  • Weaver (Myanmar, Traditional Textiles): "This is my only way to reach customers."
  • [Artist 3] (Location, Medium): "[Quote regarding impact of potential regulations]"

Smart Regulation, Not A Blanket Ban

Look, I'm not saying crypto is perfect. There are scams, there’s volatility, and there’s no question that we need regulation. We should pursue intelligent regulation, rejecting a blanket prohibition that would dispose of the baby with the bathwater. We need regulations that are targeted, that address specific risks like fraud and money laundering, while allowing legitimate projects to flourish.

For starters, international cooperation is crucial. We have to create global standards that recognize and are relevant to regional differences. We should be creating an environment that encourages innovation, not discouraging it. It’s important to teach people about the dangers of crypto without painting everyone in the industry with a negative brush.

Instead of simply dismantling crypto fraud enforcement efforts like the DOJ initially did, perhaps the focus should be on refining and re-strategizing them. Executive Order 14178, while advocating for clarity, shouldn't be an excuse to abandon consumer protection, especially when AG James' office estimates Americans lost $12 billion to crypto fraud in 2024 alone. That's insane.

Let's learn from the Celsius debacle. Alex Mashinsky’s recent guilty plea to fraud and market manipulation is a rude awakening. That’s not an excuse to throw up our hands and abandon the whole system.

As someone who works in the crypto industry, I have strong faith in the ability of crypto technology to drive a more inclusive, equitable financial system. Yet that potential will be lost without a nuanced, empathic, and global approach to regulation. We can’t allow fear and knee-jerk reactions to animal activists stymie the dreams of world-class artists from Southeast Asia. Let’s not just protect investors, but instead create a system that truly empowers creators.