2018 Financial Law and Its Impact on Crypto Regulations Today

When the 2018 Financial Law, a sweeping set of financial regulations introduced in multiple countries to combat money laundering and increase transparency in digital transactions. Also known as financial compliance reforms, it laid the groundwork for how governments now treat cryptocurrency as a financial asset rather than just a tech experiment. This law didn’t mention Bitcoin or Ethereum directly—but it forced exchanges, banks, and wallet providers to start collecting user identities, reporting large transactions, and verifying where funds came from. Suddenly, anonymous trading became harder, and platforms that ignored these rules faced shutdowns or fines.

The ripple effects are still visible today. If you’ve seen a crypto exchange ask for your ID or block users from certain countries, that’s a direct result of the 2018 Financial Law. Countries like Germany and Taiwan now require licensing and tax reporting because of it. Even stablecoins like XUSD and USDC had to prove their reserves and audit trails to stay compliant. And when you hear about airdrop scams or fake exchanges like CashTelex, those thrive in the gray zones the law tried to close. The law didn’t stop crypto—but it forced the industry to grow up.

It also changed how regulators think. Before 2018, many treated crypto as a novelty. Afterward, they started treating it like stocks, forex, or commodities. That’s why you now see crypto seizures, asset forfeitures, and strict rules for Russian or Iranian users. The law didn’t just target banks—it targeted anyone moving value without oversight. Today, if you’re trading on MEXC, using wrapped tokens, or earning rewards on DeFi platforms, you’re operating under rules shaped by that 2018 framework. What you’re reading now isn’t history—it’s the foundation of every crypto rule you encounter today.

Below, you’ll find real-world examples of how this law plays out: from banned exchanges in Russia to tax rules in Taiwan, from stablecoin compliance to how governments seize crypto. These aren’t random posts—they’re the direct consequences of a law that changed everything.