When it comes to cryptocurrency, the hot topic of the day is regulation, and for good reason. Governments around the world have been holding meetings and making announcements left and right surrounding the regulation of crypto-assets. A few examples include:

Recently, news broke that China, a country that has long been against cryptocurrency, gave a knockout punch to the industry. Ultimately, China has decided to eradicate the crypto-craze by blocking access to any website associated with cryptocurrencies or ICOs. So, in Mainland China, cryptocurrencies, news surrounding the crypto space, and anything else crypto is now inaccessible.

Another big story that hit the cryptocurrency space recently surrounds India. In recent comments, India’s Minister of Finance, Arun Jaitley, used some pretty harsh words to describe his views toward crypto assets and how they were being used to fund fraud. Here’s what Minister of Finance Jaitley had to offer:

These statements led to a flood of news reports stating that India was likely to ban the use of cryptocurrencies and crypto-assets all together in the region.

In the United States, J. Christopher Giancarlo, Chairman of the CFTC, and Jay Clayton, Chairman of the SEC, appeared at a congressional hearing. During the hearing, the market cops testified to the Senate Banking committee with regard to cryptocurrency. Specifically pointing to the need for regulation in the ICO space. Shortly after, Clayton was quoted as saying:

Due to the concerns surrounding regulation, January proved to be an overwhelmingly bad month for cryptocurrencies. Here’s what we saw from BTC, XRP, and LTC in the month:

Unfortunately, the digital coins listed above weren’t the only cryptos that felt the pain in January. With regulation at the top of traders’ minds, declines hit across the board.

While the idea of regulation in the cryptocurrency space proved to be a cause for concern in the beginning of the year, as more and more news breaks, regulation is being viewed as a positive thing.

It all started with the congressional hearing I pointed to above. During this hearing, CFTC Chairman Giancarlo seemed to welcome the idea of cryptocurrency with open arms. While he did make it clear that the CFTC does not currently regulate the space, and that regulation was likely coming, he also validated cryptocurrency as a valuable asset. On top of that, Giancarlo pointed to the idea that the blockchain would make his job easier, offering the following:

Since the congressional hearing, cryptocurrency enthusiasts have started to point to the idea that regulation is actually a positive thing. While it will create hurdles for some, it will also snuff out fraud and scams. At the same time, the fact that governments are even considering regulating the industry validates cryptocurrency as a valuable asset.

While the fear in the beginning of the year was that cryptocurrency would be banned in many regions around the world and that regulation would be a bad thing for the industry, these fears are proving to be unfounded.

At the end of the day, while governments around the world are pushing to regulate the crypto-industry, few will likely chose to ban these assets. Moreover, the idea that governments are interested suggests that we’re only seeing the beginning of the industry.

Although cryptocurrencies and altcoins had a horrible January month across the board, as these monetary tools continue to gain validation around the world, their values are likely to continue upward in what we believe will be one of the strongest years for the crypto-space yet.

Disclosure: I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.

I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.