headline NEW YORK (Reuters) - Online brokerage startup Robinhood plans to launch commission-free crypocurrency trading, the company said on Thursday, riding a wave of interest from retail investors for the new asset class. Starting in February, Robinhood customers will be able to buy bitcoin and ether, the two most popular virtual 73 coins . In December, FinCEN (U.S. Treasury) proposed rules for crypto transactions that quickly 74. The goal stated in these rules was to “protect received backlash from market participants national security, assist law enforcement and increase transparency while minimizing the impact on responsible innovation.” The reality of this proposal was that it would cause cryptocurrency service providers to report on transactions with far more detail than is required by cash transactions today. May 2021 brought with it a fresh set of crypto regula- tion—and accompanying price volatility—as the United States mandated that any transfer of cryptocurrency assets worth $10,000 or more to be reported to the IRS while China banned payment companies and 昀椀nancial institutions from providing services related to cryptocurrency transactions. We have a long and winding road ahead as regulation in this space matures with the industry and while there are many unknowns, we do expect to see increasing regulatory clarity and parity between the digital assets ecosystem and traditional 昀椀nancial system. With increased regulation often comes volatility in the near term and stability in the longer term as many questions regarding reporting, compliance, and tax implications are 昀椀nally answered. CRYPTOCURRENCY ADVANCES TO THE MAINSTREAM SHARE VISIT PG 44