The head of innovation at Luxembourg’s financial regulator has called for a more developed and harmonised regulatory framework for the nascent crypto and digital asset market.
Karen O’Sullivan, head of innovation, payments, market infrastructures and governance at the CSSF, was speaking at a Funds Europe webinar on cryptocurrencies and tokenisation.
While calling for more harmony, O’Sullivan also referenced the need for a flexible approach that will “give certainty to the market and the players but won’t impede further innovation in the sector”.
The panellists were asked what developments they would like to see by 2022 which would encourage more institutional involvement in digital and crypto assets.
O’Sullivan’s call for more harmony was echoed by Luke Dorney, head of sales and partnerships at Zodia Custody, a digital custody offering developed by Standard Chartered and Northern Trust.
Dorney also called for the development of a post-trade infrastructure that will ensure the safety of assets and operate more like traditional capital markets. For example, crypto trading currently operates on a pre-funding basis, which is the opposite of equities trading.
Adam Belding, chief technology officer at funds transaction network Calastone, asked for a breakthrough use-case for the new operating models inspired by this technology.
“Bitcoin and other cryptos becoming more investable is progress, but something to really unlock the potential of this technology would be really exciting,” said Belding.
Paul Barker, head of professional development at training organisation CLT International, called for a “cross-industry working group to discuss the competency standards for crypto”.
A recording of the webinar can be viewed here.
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