The cryptocurrency market is now worth more than $2.23 trillion.

Yet, Bitcoin has lost more than half its value since prices hit their peak in October 2025.

Despite repeated boom and bust cycles, institutional investors are pouring billions into the digital assets. Traditional banks are embracing them. Politicians are becoming some of their biggest champions and beneficiaries, and governments are racing to write the rules.

But cryptocurrency is also becoming a tool for political interference and for sanctioned states seeking to move money beyond the traditional financial system.

As the tokens move further into the mainstream, is regulation keeping pace?