Developing Crypto’s Regulatory Landscape: A Survey of Recent Actions by Federal Regulators to Fence Off Jurisdiction Over Virtual Currencies

In the decades that followed the enactment of the Homestead Act of 1862, more than 1.6 million U.S. citizens and intended citizens filed applications with the U.S. government to lay claim to 160 acres of land guaranteed to each applicant willing to settle, farm and improve the lands. Settlers quickly encountered a major problem. The land was fertile, but virtually tree-less, and farmers needed fences to contain the boundless plains over which cowboys shepherded their…