Faryar Shirzad is Chief Policy Officer at Coinbase, a leading cryptocurrency exchange and digital asset management company. You may follow him on X @faryarshirzad.
 

Why does economic freedom matter? At the heart of any thriving society lies a simple but powerful idea: freedom. And within that lies the freedom to allow goods and services to change hands. This economic freedom—the ability of individuals to control their property, make voluntary exchanges, start businesses, and access transparent markets—is foundational to human progress. When people are free to create, trade, and innovate, entire civilizations benefit: opportunity expands, inequality shrinks, and resilience grows.

 

Today, economic freedom is increasingly shaped not only by policies and institutions but also by technological advances. This new digital age has unlocked exciting opportunities for economic participation and value creation. Yet these opportunities are not evenly distributed, and the latest

Index of Economic Freedom produced by the Heritage Foundation considers the world economy “mostly unfree.” Many people still face barriers to entry in the financial system, whether due to geography, government overreach, institutional inefficiencies, or lack of access to modern infrastructure.

“At its core, blockchain technology provides alternative ways for people to organize themselves…” | Source: ChatGPT

 

Imagine a world where a displaced family can receive international aid instantly, or a young entrepreneur in a rural village can access capital without a bank. These are no longer hypotheticals—they are already happening, thanks to blockchain. This technology offers a compelling solution: a way to rearchitect economic participation and institutional trust around transparency, decentralization, and individual agency.

 

Blockchain and the Architecture of Freedom

Blockchain technology isn’t just about money—it’s about reimagining institutions from the ground up, anchored in freedom-first principles. At its core, blockchain technology provides alternative ways for people to organize themselves, their information, and their decision-making. Critically, it offers a profound opportunity to expand economic freedom, rivaling the societal impact of the internet itself. By enabling decentralized ownership, open financial infrastructure, censorship-resistant communication, and permissionless innovation, blockchain technology empowers individuals to regain control over their money, data, identity, and voice. From decentralized identity systems and transparent decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) to user-owned platforms and autonomous digital communities, blockchain technology provides the foundational architecture for a new era. Within that, the steady growth of digital assets—powered by blockchain technology—represents a transformative shift with the potential to reshape global finance, governance, and societal structures.

 

Around the world, blockchain technology is already driving real-world impact. Consider for instance:

 

• Aid distribution in Ukraine, where crypto was used to move millions in donations quickly and transparently across borders.

 

• Tokenized government services in places like Buenos Aires, where blockchain technology is being used to make identity and municipal records more accessible and private.

 

• Cross-border payments that bypass expensive intermediaries, empowering migrant workers to send remittances home affordably and almost instantly.

 

• Self-sovereign identity systems, enabling people in underserved or stateless populations to access critical financial and civic services.

 

The founders, builders, and developers that make up the blockchain ecosystem have a unique role in expanding economic freedom—creating a world where individuals are no longer bound by opaque, centralized systems, but instead have access to tools that enable greater transparency, privacy, and personal agency. Blockchain technology makes this possible by empowering people to control their own assets, identity, and participation in digital economies. These innovations aren’t fringe but rather reflect how younger generations are already redefining their relationship with money, ownership, and institutional trust.

 

Blockchain technology’s capacity to extend economic participation, reduce corruption, and enhance institutional resilience is particularly potent for emerging economies, which are uniquely positioned to both shape and benefit from the global momentum toward coherent blockchain technology regulation. In many developing countries, the limitations of traditional financial infrastructure are more pronounced, making the adoption of blockchain-based solutions not only attractive but urgent. From remittances and microfinance to land titling and supply chain traceability, blockchain technology can leapfrog legacy systems and empower underserved populations.

 

Nations like Kenya and the Philippines are already leading the way in grassroots crypto adoption, often outpacing developed countries in terms of on-the-ground usage. In Kenya, blockchain technology is being used to improve land title registration and reduce fraud, as well as to help businesses move money across borders quickly and affordably, supporting trade across African markets. The Philippines has become a leader in blockchain-based remittances, allowing millions of Filipinos to receive money from abroad more efficiently. These countries have vibrant developer communities, high mobile penetration, and populations eager for more accessible financial tools. Moreover, emerging economies have the opportunity to experiment with regulatory innovation that more risk-averse developed markets may avoid. For instance, a company in Rwanda has used blockchain technology to manage the distribution of blood and other medical supplies to remote areas. And Colombia has tested decentralized voting platforms to increase transparency and trust in its electoral processes. These pilot projects can serve as global case studies for the transformative power of crypto and blockchain technology.

 

But realizing the full potential of this technology depends on getting regulation right. As industries powered by blockchain evolve, governments worldwide face the critical task of developing regulations that promote innovation while ensuring these technologies remain safe and accessible for everyone. The absence of clear and sensible regulations puts progress at risk, exposes consumers to undue harm, and drives innovation to jurisdictions with more accommodating policies. With smart legal frameworks—ones that protect without stifling, and empower rather than entrench—governments can help unlock blockchain technology’s potential to drive economic opportunity, institutional resilience, and individual sovereignty on a global scale.

 

This article explores how blockchain technology can serve as a powerful lever for expanding economic freedom, and why it is imperative that governments and regulators protect individuals, foster innovation, and preserve the open, permissionless nature of these systems. Drawing on insights from both traditional finance and the crypto industry, it outlines key principles for building regulatory regimes that enable freedom to flourish in the digital age.

 

The Dawn of a New Digital Era and the Regulatory Imperative

Whether one believes in the transformative potential of blockchain technology or not, the technology (and the digital assets that emerge from it) is not a passing trend; it represents a foundational advancement with far-reaching implications that is here to stay. These innovations offer a vision of increased economic freedom through permissionless access and the creation of new, more efficient financial systems. They align with how younger generations think about money, transfer value, own their data, engage with communities, communicate, and reach consensus. Crypto assets have evolved far beyond speculative investments to include payment systems, decentralized lending and borrowing, and the infrastructure for novel applications where users actively participate in monetizing their own identity, data, and activity. This shift arrives at a time of waning trust in traditional institutions and growing demand for alternative systems, making thoughtful, globally consistent regulation not just important, but urgent. Countries that ignore blockchain technology do so at the risk of being left behind. Skepticism of the long-term impact of this technology is reminiscent of the United States’ dismissiveness toward computers and associated semiconductor fabrication in the 1960s and 1970s—which led to an offshoring and concentration of that activity that now threatens both semiconductor supply chains and global peace.

 

Yet, the core challenge lies in striking the right balance—one that nurtures innovation while ensuring consumer protection and market integrity. Overly aggressive regulation risks suffocating technologies that hold immense promise for inclusion, transparency, and open participation in a dynamic and still-developing sector. Between 2015 and 2024, the U.S. went from hosting 38 percent of crypto developers to only 19 percent—a nearly 20-point fall—because of a regulation-by-enforcement campaign. Without clear and adaptive frameworks, builders will continue to leave for more hospitable jurisdictions, and consumers will remain exposed. Regulatory neglect can be just as damaging. It invites fraud, instability, and public distrust. Some of the most infamous cases of misconduct in the digital asset space were exacerbated by the lack of coherent oversight, while entities in jurisdictions with clearer rules fared significantly better. The lesson is clear: freedom suffers when regulation lags behind innovation. The history of the semiconductor industry serves as a global reminder of the cost of short-sightedness. If today’s policymakers around the world fail to act with foresight, we risk once again ceding leadership in a critical technological frontier. The stakes are simply too high to get it wrong.

 

Getting Regulation Right: Principles for Economic Freedom

To preserve and grow economic freedom in the digital age, regulators and lawmakers must build frameworks that reflect the nature of this technology and its openness, composability, and global scope. Here’s what that means in practice:

 

Clarity and Simplicity: Regulatory frameworks must be clear, accessible, and straightforward, avoiding unnecessary complexity that can hinder understanding and compliance. Policymakers, developers, and the public should be able to understand the rules without requiring specialized expertise. Correspondingly, the digital assets industry needs to make its case clearly to governments and regulatory agencies, with an understanding that the financial and information systems the technology seeks to impact are critically important. As such, sufficient testing should be done to ensure blockchain technology can meet those requirements. Clearly defining digital assets and the different types of tokens (securities, commodities, etc.) is paramount to providing the necessary regulatory certainty to foster innovation, testing, and improvement of next-generation systems.

 

Innovation-Friendly Approach: Legislation should provide clear and actionable pathways for innovators to build and deploy blockchain-based solutions within a regulated environment, to prevent promising projects from being driven offshore due to unfavorable policies. Affirming the right of developers to write code, publish software, and operate decentralized networks without undue restrictions—or, in some cases, even the threat of criminal prosecution—is crucial for fostering technological advancement. Harmonization of rules will help prevent regulatory arbitrage and risk pooling by jurisdiction.

 

Consumer Protection Through Choice and Transparency: Consumers should have the right to manage their digital assets through self-custody tools, empowering them with greater control and reducing the risks associated with centralized failures. The decentralized nature of blockchain technology—both in its open access and the optionality for asset self-sovereignty—is not only essential to the technological architecture, it is core to the philosophical underpinnings that drive its attractiveness to consumers. Simultaneously, centralized entities that custody customer funds, such as exchanges, should be encouraged to grow with the highest standards of transparency, security, and accountability to ensure consumer confidence.

 

Integration with Existing Frameworks: Governments should not discard historical precedent, but should acknowledge that 100-year-old law is ill-equipped, in its original form, to properly govern technology that was unthinkable at the time of its creation. Digital asset legislation should aim to integrate seamlessly with existing financial regulatory frameworks where appropriate, while carving out necessary space for the unique nature of these technologies. While certain legal frameworks may remain durable, countries that use innovations like blockchain technology and artificial intelligence to expand and modernize their regulatory rules—especially in response to technologies that clearly call for it—will be the most attractive to innovators. This approach minimizes disruption and leverages the decades of experience embedded within established regulatory bodies.

 

Technology Neutrality: Regulations should focus on the underlying activities and risks associated with the use of digital assets, rather than the specific technologies employed. This ensures that the framework remains adaptable to future technological advancements and avoids prematurely favoring or disfavoring particular protocols or platforms. A recent example of this in the United States is the dropping of lawsuits against privacy technologies like Tornado Cash. Targeting certain technologies writ large does not necessarily impede their growth, but it guarantees that this growth takes place under a different jurisdiction. Given the fungible, immutable, and cross-border capabilities of digital assets, this means a country’s citizens’ activity on “banned” blockchain technologies will still occur—just outside the reach of its regulatory apparatus.

 

Proportionality and Risk-Based Approach: Regulatory requirements should be proportionate to the risks posed by different types of digital assets and activities. A risk-based approach allows regulators to focus their attention and resources on areas with the greatest potential for harm, while avoiding the imposition of overly burdensome requirements on low-risk activities. This has the added benefit of ensuring that a government’s valuable regulatory enforcement and monitoring resources are not misdirected toward low-risk activity. Until recently, in the United States, enforcement actions against the crypto industry were disproportionately high relative to its share of economic activity—far exceeding that of other sectors—potentially diverting regulatory attention and resources from more widespread risks. Essential to this common-sense approach is depoliticizing these technologies so that actual risks and opportunities can be evaluated, and government and regulatory resources allocated intelligently.

 

The Need for Global Coordination

Blockchain technology is borderless. Fragmented national policies create confusion, regulatory arbitrage, and barriers to innovation. As a global technology, it requires globally coordinated principles on which major economies should prioritize alignment. Global forums like the G7, G20, and BIS can play a central role in shaping these conversations. Standards such as financial inclusion, consumer protection, technological neutrality, and support for open-source development can help countries work from a common foundation while tailoring their approaches to national contexts.

 

This doesn’t mean uniform rules, nor does it mean control. It means convergence on principles and consistent foundations that foster trust, reduce friction, and allow innovation to flourish while minimizing harm. Shared taxonomies, disclosure standards, and risk management approaches can go a long way in creating a stable, inclusive global ecosystem. Countries that take the lead in shaping these global frameworks will influence the next generation of financial infrastructure and cement their role in the digital economy.

 

For instance, the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation provides a comprehensive framework that is already influencing policy discussions in other regions. By introducing passportable licenses across the EU, MiCA creates predictability for companies and consumers. Meanwhile, Singapore has emerged as a hub for responsible innovation, thanks to its proactive regulatory engagement and early adoption of licensing for exchanges.

 

Other countries are exploring global collaboration mechanisms. The Financial Stability Board (FSB), the IMF, and the OECD have initiated cross-border dialogues to promote coordinated policy frameworks. These initiatives are vital for addressing systemic risks and fostering interoperability between national systems. As blockchain technology matures, international regulatory convergence becomes more than a benefit—it becomes a necessity. Financial markets are deeply interconnected, and as crypto-based financial products and stablecoins become more widely adopted, systemic risk can easily spill across borders. Regulatory bodies should establish real-time communication channels and shared surveillance mechanisms for identifying emerging threats and responding collaboratively to cross-border incidents. Without aligned rules, jurisdictions run the risk of enabling bad actors, fragmenting innovation, and isolating their populations from global economic opportunities.

 

Further, global coordination efforts cannot remain exclusive to a handful of major powers—or else new digital systems may simply replicate old hierarchies. Ensuring that emerging economies have a seat at the table means ensuring the next generation of global financial infrastructure is inclusive by design. Shared principles like financial inclusion, privacy, and innovation access should reflect the needs of the Global South just as much as those of the Global North.

 

In turn, emerging markets that lead on thoughtful, pro-innovation regulation will not only attract talent and investment but also position themselves as global innovation hubs. By fostering environments where blockchain technology can flourish responsibly, these nations can accelerate their economic development and influence the future of digital finance.

 

The Future Hinges on Freedom

At its core, permissionless blockchain technology represents a profound opportunity to expand economic freedom. Economic freedom is not an abstract ideal; it’s the engine of opportunity, inclusion, and dignity. But the opportunity is not guaranteed. Governments must act with foresight, humility, and commitment to principle. This isn’t about protecting crypto; rather, it’s about protecting the future: a future where individuals have more control over their economic lives, institutions are rebuilt for transparency and resilience, and participation in the global economy is open to all.

 

To achieve this, governments must recognize that blockchain technology is not a passing phase or speculative bubble. The choices made today will shape whether this fundamental architecture is open, secure, and equitable—or fragmented and exclusionary. Forward-thinking regulation is not a constraint on innovation, but an enabler. When crafted thoughtfully, legal frameworks can provide clarity for innovators, protection for consumers, and stability for markets. In this way, smart regulation becomes the scaffolding upon which a freer, more inclusive digital economy can be built.

 

The question is not whether blockchain technology will shape the future—it already is. The question is whether governments will embrace the responsibility to guide that future wisely, in ways that protect freedom and foster prosperity. Let’s build a world where economic freedom is not a privilege, but a default—and where the tools of the digital age help us unlock the full promise of human potential.

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