Irina Heaver, a crypto lawyer at NeosLegal, said that laws and compliance standards are significantly "behind the technology" by 15 to 20 years. She emphasized the need for more regulatory "flexibility" for emerging technologies during her talk at Binance Blockchain Week.

"I've been a lawyer for many, many, many years, the laws and regulations are at least 15 to 20 years behind the technology," said Heaver. "And the compliance standards to which the compliance people operate, probably might be just a question just for you to think about. Maybe we need to be a little bit, give a little bit more flexibility to the emerging technology space."

According to a report by Social Capital Markets, fines imposed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the cryptocurrency industry surged by 3018% in 2024, increasing from $150.26 million in 2023 to $4.68 billion.

Social Capital Markets further reports that since 2013, the SEC has levied over $7.42 billion in fines against crypto firms and individuals, with 63% of this total occurring in 2024.

While enforcement actions by the SEC have intensified, confusion about compliance requirements remains prevalent across the industry.

Heaver is a lawyer and partner at NeosLegal, a law firm advising Bitcoin, Crypto, and Web3 projects. With over two decades of experience, she has advised more than 250 projects since 2016, focusing on token launches, fundraising, and market expansion in Dubai/UAE. Her work involves collaboration with venture capitalists (VCs), investors, governments, and regulators. She has also contributed to drafting cryptocurrency laws for multiple governments.

Binance Blockchain Week is described as a conference that gathers innovators, founders, investors, regulators, and officials to discuss blockchain and Web3's future. The theme of this year's conference is "Momentum." According to the event's website: "Momentum propels our industry, not only taking us through challenges but also leading us to our biggest achievements."