On Tuesday, the European Union approved the world's first set of comprehensive regulations for crypto assets, putting pressure on countries like the United Kingdom and the United States to regulate crypto.

The rules were agreed at a meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels. The rules were previously agreed upon by the European Parliament, which approved them in April.

The rules are expected to come into force in 2024.

Following the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, regulating the cryptocurrency industry has become more urgent for regulators. Sweden's Finance Minister, Elisabeth Svantesson, said: "Recent events have confirmed the urgency of developing rules to regulate the sector. These rules will better protect European investors in these assets and help prevent cryptocurrencies from being used for illicit activities such as money laundering and terrorist financing."

The rule states that companies that want to issue, trade and protect crypto assets, tokenized assets and stablecoins in the 27 member states of the EU must obtain the appropriate licenses and authorizations.

Eu ministers have taken steps to crack down on illegal activities such as tax evasion and money laundering by making it easier to track transactions. They agreed that from January 2026, regardless of the size of the transfer, crypto service providers must obtain the name information of the transceiver of crypto assets.

The meeting also agreed on how to amend the rules on tax cooperation between member states to cover the area of crypto asset trading and how to exchange information on tax rulings of the wealthiest individuals.

Crypto companies, for their part, say they want regulatory certainty and are pressuring countries to follow the EU's rules and set global norms for cross-border activity.

The UK outlined that the country would adopt a phased regulation, starting with stablecoins and then gradually expanding coverage to niche crypto assets, but its proposal did not set a clear timeline.

The United States has focused on using existing securities rules to take enforcement action against the industry, while deciding whether to introduce new rules and who would enforce them.

Hester Peirce, a commissioner at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the U.S. derivatives regulator, said last week that some federal and state agencies are trying to figure out what regulatory roles they can play in the cryptocurrency space.

"We don't have a clue where to start," Peirce told a conference.