This study investigates how the literature of the regulatory landscape for cryptocurrencies is changing with time. Prior studies have mostly looked at cryptocurrencies from a technological, economic, and social standpoint; however, there is still a lot of room for exploration when it comes to regulation. The widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies remains hindered by the lack of a unified regulatory framework, governance challenges, and legal uncertainties. This study identifies key academic contributions and thematic areas in cryptocurrency regulation through a comprehensive bibliometric analysis, supplemented by machine learning techniques. The study uses unsupervised machine learning algorithms and bibliometric analysis on a corpus of 196 research papers in the SCOPUS database from 2012–2024. Cryptocurrencies have become a popular alternative investment choice because they use blockchain technology to facilitate safe, decentralized, peer-to-peer transactions. The results indicate that even while cryptocurrencies have a lot of promise as a novel financial instrument, there are still many issues with risk management, governance, and legal standing. Furthermore, the findings suggest the Journal of Money Laundering and Control is the most influential journal, whereas Joshua Ellul is the highly cited author in this domain. This paper offers new insights into these regulatory challenges and outlines key research questions that will shape the future development of cryptocurrency markets. We contribute to the existing body of literature by synthesizing the studies on cryptocurrency legislation and identifying areas that need more investigation.