Tusk Ventures CEO and founder Bradley Tusk says that the failure to regulate cryptocurrency and social media effectively in the United States is a “really good lesson for how we should handle the Metaverse.”

In a Feb. 1 interview on CNBC’s “Closing Bell,” Tusk urged U.S. policymakers to “get ahead” of the Metaverse and implement regulations sooner rather than later.

“Typically speaking, our policy has been that we wait for technology to be introduced to gain market fit and traction [before introducing regulation].” However, “It’s very hard to do that retrospectively,” he said.

He echoed this sentiment in a Mirror blog post uploaded the same day, writing: “The problems we have regulating technology companies now will be reproduced and amplified in the Metaverse. You think policing state-sponsored disinformation is hard on Facebook and Twitter? Wait until you try it in 3-D.”

He also stated that while policymakers are unable to develop specific regulations for the Metaverse until they have a better sense of what’s coming, they should start by looking at cryptocurrency and social media.

How do you think appropriate regulation can be put in place for something that is not yet defined or well understood? I understand the desire to get it “right” but I don’t think regulation is beneficial, especially at this stage. A plan to educate policymakers though, sure.

Crypto regulation is becoming an increasingly hot topic in the hallways of the U.S. Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC). According to a Jan. 19 report by Cornerstone Research, the SEC has launched a total of 97 actions against crypto organizations since 2013, 20 of which happened in 2021 alone.

Despite the continued calls from some congresspeople and industry players for