The crypto industry needs trust

The crypto market needs a fair and balanced regulatory regime. This was discussed at Astana Finance Days 2023 by the participants of the session “The Future of Crypto Regulation: A Discussion with Experts from Academia and Industry”, which was held by the AIFC Financial Services Authority (AFSA).

The session was attended by Professor of Banking and Finance Law at Queen Mary University of London Rosa Maria Lastra, Head of Digital Asset Regulation at the Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance Zain Umer, Chief Operating Officer of Bitfinex Securities Jesse Knutson, Chief Financial Officer of the Singapore Financial Regulator Sopnendu Mohanty, Global Director of Binance Anti-Money Laundering and Reporting Amjad Kadish, Bybit Co-Founder and CEO Ben Zhou, BigONE Exchange Vice President of Business Development Athena Miao and Managing Director of the Global Alliance of International Financial Centers Jochen Biedermann.

The participants of the session reported that the capitalization of the crypto market is now about $1 trillion. And while some countries recognize cryptocurrencies as a means of payment, others are developing laws to regulate the rapidly growing crypto business. After the collapse of several cryptocurrency exchanges, demands for better regulation of digital assets have increased. While the European Union and other countries have already created regional rules, global politicians have been criticized for creating a regulatory vacuum in this area. The participants of the session discussed trends and challenges, shared views that reflect the overall picture of the industry, and tried to look into the future.

“We are seeing the adoption, the real adoption of a universal regulatory framework for crypto assets, and it is happening right here in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, away from investors and Wall Street. We have two fantastic new crypto regimes in Dubai and Hong Kong, which are now two of the world’s leading cryptocurrency asset centers. We see developing countries leading the way and we hope they develop a regulatory regime that is fair and proportionate and allows innovation to flourish and risk to be mitigated,” said Zain Umer, head of digital asset regulation at the Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance.

Rose Maria Lastra, Professor of Banking and Finance Law at Queen Mary University of London, believes that the regulation of the Markets for Crypto Assets (MiCA), adopted by the EU, increases the credibility of this industry.

“I think the crypto industry is in dire need of credibility after the scandals of 2022 and some recent market moves. This is a very large framework program, a platform for operators in the 27 member states of the European Union. So, yes, this regulation can become a global standard,” Maria Rosa Maria Lastra said.

Sopnendu Mohanty, CFO at the Singapore Financial Regulatory Authority, emphasized that every cryptocurrency company must comply with regulatory standards.

“The customer comes first. I think that every crypto firm needs to carefully consider this. Who is their client? What skills does he have? The people involved in crypto companies, their founders and owners must demonstrate good market behavior. Every cryptocurrency company needs to understand if they are meeting this high-tech regulatory standard. And if they do not comply, I think they do not need to act in this space, because this is a very responsible matter. It’s about consumer money. You cannot take this lightly,” Sopnendu Mohanty said.