Wash trading is a form of illicit market manipulation where an entity buys and sells the same financial asset to create a false impression of market activity. This practice gained traction with the rise of electronic trading in the early 2010s, as algorithmic trading programs began churning trades at unprecedented speeds. This old illegal financial market trick has unfortunately found its way into the crypto industry.

The relationship between cryptocurrency and the law becomes even more pronounced because no intermediary or authority has exclusive jurisdiction to settle cryptocurrency-related disputes. For instance, in a conventional financial transaction, if a party claims theft of their account credentials and fraudulent transfer of money from their account, their financial institution (such as a bank) can intervene and help resolve the matter. However, suppose a parallel situation occurs on a blockchain platform. In that case, no mechanism is in place for settling such a dispute because cryptocurrency is decentralized and has no financial institutions that act as intermediaries. Accordingly, victims of cryptocurrency theft will likely have no legal avenue to compensate for their losses.

Of course, one of the exciting (if not frustrating) things about crypto remains its unpredictable nature. The foregoing provides a general overview of the crypto industry in 2023 (based on current trends). Nevertheless, it is almost certain that 2023 will also throw up more than a few surprises.

Decentralized Finance is the core concept behind cryptocurrency—the ability to remove a centrally located authority when dealing with finances Crypto traders used...