Bitcoin And Cryptocurrencies Will Get Tougher Rules. What To Know : NPR

This illustration photograph taken on July 19 in Istanbul shows a physical banknote and coin imitations of the Bitcoin cryptocurrency. Regulators such as Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler are promising tougher action for cryptocurrencies.

Ozan Kose/AFP via Getty Images


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Ozan Kose/AFP via Getty Images


This illustration photograph taken on July 19 in Istanbul shows a physical banknote and coin imitations of the Bitcoin cryptocurrency. Regulators such as Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler are promising tougher action for cryptocurrencies.

Ozan Kose/AFP via Getty Images

For many people, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are part of an exciting and lucrative new financial frontier. But for the country’s top market watchdog, Gary Gensler, they seem “like the Wild West” – and he’s promising a crackdown.

The market for cryptocurrencies has ballooned. It is currently estimated to be worth about $2 trillion, thanks to the exploding popularity of

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