The challenges induced by COVID-19 highlight the need for a multilateral approach towards recovery. These challenges have combined with anti-establishment sentiment towards systems of governance. Concurrently, cryptocurrencies have provided an attractive location of activity for actors who feel disenfranchised by state-led systems of governance. This paper examines the impact of this, by comparing two reactions to cryptocurrencies: the USA and how it regulates cryptocurrencies through FinCEN, and China’s central bank plan to integrate cryptocurrency functions through DCEP. In a departure from other G20 PBs, this study focuses on the broader mechanisms of state governance, and its proposals focus on providing a solution to the trifecta of the pandemic, political sentiment and cryptocurrency-related challenges.