Top legal experts gather at Polkadot Meetup Ljubljana to talk the future of crypto

The fourth edition hosted a roundtable with prominent Slovenian lawyers to explore different legal angles and the future of cryptocurrency regulations.

Since the crypto world has seen increasingly insecure times with the trust in the institutions vigorously shaken, Apillon brought together some of the brightest Slovenian legal minds to discuss the recent events in the world of blockchain and what the future holds for this fast-changing space.

On April 12, Apillon CMO and co-founder Domen Uršič sat down with Veronika Knavs of Jadek & Pensa Law Office, Nejc Novak of Nlaw, Anja Blaj of European Crypto Initiative, and Peter Zorin of Zorin Law Office for a roundtable discussion with a focus on the different ways to regulation.

Kicking it off with exciting developments in the Polkadot ecosystem

Before the audience was completely submerged into the sea of legal topics, Chief Growth Manager at Apillon Patrik Kogoj offered a comprehensive overview of the most recent innovations and partnerships in the Polkadot ecosystem.

As Apillon attended the most important conferences of the ecosystem in the past months, Patrik shared the main takeaways from ETHDenver and Paris Blockchain Week, which can indicate future trends in the blockchain universe.

The aftermath of major crashes: Clearer regulations in the future?

After witnessing the collapses of FTX, Alameda Research, and the 3 Arrows Capital fund, among other major players in the United States, trust in the crypto world has crumbled. Across the pond, the way toward regulation seem to be lawsuits, says Peter Zorin, who has years of experience in consulting for many international companies and startups. But what about the EU’s approach to crypto regulation?

The main problem with new tax legislation for crypto is that the laws should encompass extremely fast progress and emerging new technologies. Unfortunately, a lot of the time, lawmakers don’t have enough real contact with the crypto and blockchain industry and, in turn, don’t possess an in-depth understanding of the challenges at hand.

That said, it would be impossible to create one single law that would cover everything, which is why it’s necessary for the lawmakers to approach the matter systematically, explains Veronika Knavs, who’s an expert on taxation regulations for crypto assets.

What will make the future of crypto?

After comparing the different ways of crypto regulation in the United States and the European Union, where the MiCA Regulation aims to enforce uniform rules for crypto assets, the discussion moved to assessing the current state of affairs. Will the crypto space maintain its attractiveness for innovators, investors, and startups despite the increasing insecurity?

Nejc Novak, the founder of Nlaw, seems to think so. We might have been stuck in a crypto fall and winter, but the number of transactions is rising, and every six months, we have a major new development testifying to the progress taking place, says Nejc. There are definitely still incredibly smart people developing incredibly cool solutions. Besides, overcoming the difficult recent events testifies to a certain resilience in the crypto space.

All four experts collectively agreed on the million-dollar question that would need to be answered in the future: What will bring the biggest value to the crypto space? In short, the answer to this question is two-fold: substance will rule over form in terms of new token launches, and governance will be one of the most important aspects of making or breaking a project.

Anja Blaj of European Crypto Initiative explained that governance is a prevailing problem everywhere in the blockchain space. The future will prove it greatly matters who can decide on the rules of the decision-making processes in crypto projects.

The jury reaches (some) verdicts

So, what have we learned from this unforgettable and insightful evening?

Fewer token launches aren’t necessarily a bad thing if more companies are thinking about the functionality behind the token, the Euro token might be here sooner than we think, taxation on NFTs and other crypto assets is complex and perhaps even more so in Slovenia compared to other European countries where it’s clearer which body is responsible for regulation, and most importantly: a new space is definitely coming together, which means the regulators must decide on a systematic approach to deal with it.

The Q&A session after the roundtable was rather relaxed but no less fruitful as it took place in the adjacent room over pizza and beer.

If you missed us at this edition of Polkadot Meetup Ljubljana, follow our social media channels below and stay tuned for updates on our upcoming events! See you again soon!

⧓ About Apillon

The Apillon platform serves as a unified gateway to the Web3 services provided by linked Polkadot parachains. Following the multi-chain vision, Apillon powers the transition of developers to Web3, simplifying its adoption in the real economy, and expanding its versatility as the ecosystem grows. With Apillon, Web3 services are within reach for every developer, regardless of their background and experience with blockchain technology.

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