European union regulation of crypto-assets and its implications on international trade

This article examines the European Union’s regulatory framework governing crypto-assets and its implications for international trade. Against the backdrop of increasing digitalisation of financial systems and the expansion of cross-border trade, the study analyses how EU legal measures shape the deployment of blockchain technologies in international trade. The study assesses the extent to which EU crypto-asset regulation facilitates legal certainty and market integrity while identifying structural tensions between financial risk regulation and trade facilitation objectives. Key EU legislative instruments, including Directive (EU) 2018/843 (AMLD5) and the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), are examined alongside relevant policy documents and scholarly literature. The analysis further explores how the harmonisation of the EU crypto-asset framework may affect the development of interoperable and scalable digital trade infrastructures. The findings indicate that the European Union has established a harmonised regulatory architecture that enhances transparency, legal certainty, and consumer protection within the crypto-asset sector. At the same time, cumulative compliance obligations may constrain the scalability of blockchain-enabled trade solutions, highlighting the challenges of balancing regulatory oversight with technological innovation. The study demonstrates that EU crypto-asset regulation increasingly influences the governance of digital trade by shaping the legal conditions for the deployment of blockchain technologies in cross-border transactions. It concludes that effective coordination between financial regulation and international trade policy is essential to support innovation while safeguarding market integrity, enhancing legal certainty, and promoting the sustainable development of digital trade.