Investors and cryptocurrency developers have long called for clarification, and 2024 may prove to be a turning point in US policy.

Cryptocurrency is reportedly nearing a turning point. Markets, the legal and regulatory environment, and the Web3 startup ecosystem all believe that 2024 may prove to be one of the most significant years for cryptocurrency to date. This is agreed upon by leaders in the sector. It remains to be seen if those developments would ultimately propel the sector out of winter and towards new heights or jeopardize it.

But, my dear reader, do not panic. Even though it's impossible to predict the future, especially when it comes to cryptocurrency, Crypto enthusiasts have talked to analysts in the NFT, finance, and policy domains to provide an inside look.

Here's a viewpoint on when regulatory clarity will eventually arrive for cryptocurrency in the US, having already examined the short-term effects of a spot Bitcoin ETF and the potential major merger of crypto and traditional finance.

At the end of 2023, the cryptocurrency world was focused on a few key innovations that have the potential to significantly increase the stability and scope of the sector.

But the significance of all that impending development depends on the legality of operations for cryptocurrency companies and entrepreneurs.

The American government's relationship with the cryptocurrency sector has been characterized for years by intermittent enforcement actions and protracted lawsuits. For better or ill, Miller Whitehouse-Levine, CEO of the crypto lobbying firm DeFi Education Fund, believes that 2024 will finally provide much-needed consistency to U.S. crypto law.

Whitehouse-Levine told Crypto enthusiasts, "There's been a lot of action, but not a lot of decisions." However, a lot is about to peak. In the year 2024, changes in the executive and judicial branches will have a significant influence.

Among the significant cases that are scheduled for trial in 2024 are Coinbase's legal challenge against the SEC's reluctance to provide clarification on its regulations pertaining to cryptocurrencies; an impending case before the Supreme Court that may deprive federal agencies like the SEC of their authority to define their own policies; and the resolution of Ripple's legal dispute with the SEC regarding the classification of various cryptocurrencies as securities.

Not to mention a number of executive agency rules that are being floated that, if approved in 2024, could have even more far-reaching effects: a SEC rule that would include cryptocurrency in its definition of "exchange," an IRS rule that would define "broker" broadly enough to make DeFi illegal, and a Treasury Department rule that would designate any cryptocurrency mixer as a national security risk.

Whitehouse-Levine stated, "Those [decisions] will have major effects on how regulation will proceed in the U.S. in the future, across the entire industry."

The range of conceivable outcomes from those decisions that are still pending is enormous. According to Whitehouse-Levine, a large portion of the US cryptocurrency economy will fail if the IRS proceeds with its "broker" regulations, for instance, and the regulation passes judicial review.

That would essentially put an end to the United States' development of decentralized systems, he said.

However, he notes that should Coinbase prevail in its legal battle with the SEC, Congress would probably be compelled to finally see the need for action and create a regulatory framework for the sector.

But how beneficial would that legislation be? Would its outspoken supporters or equally prominent opponents lead and define it? Furthermore, in the context of unprecedented congressional dysfunction, when would it actually be passed.

Whitehouse-Levine has come to terms with the reality that making predictions about Congress is essentially pointless.

"I'm not sure," he uttered.

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