Despite continued deregulation of the federal government under the Trump Administration, technology entrepreneurs should expect to be subject to stringent compliance requirements in the years to come. Federal, state, and local governments are still grappling with ways to regulate emerging technologies and cryptocurrencies. For tech entrepreneurs and small businesses, the costs of complying with such regulations are not insignificant—building a robust compliance program is estimated to range between $900,000 and $2.75 million in a six to eighteen month period. Noncompliance is even more risky; recent federal government penalties against cryptocurrency companies include sizeable fines and jail time for a company founder. In response, global regulation technology is booming, with the objective of developing technologies that will make it easier, more efficient, and less costly for tech entrepreneurs to satisfy regulatory guidelines.
The global regulation technology (RegTech) market is expected to grow to $12.3 billion by 2023, representing an annual growth rate of 23.5 percent, according to ResearchandMarkets.com. RegTech eases the burdens and costs of compliance in areas like money laundering, know-your-customer and data privacy.