The Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA) has hosted a session “Future of Crypto Regulation: Discussion with Experts Representing Academia and Industry.” The panel session  included Professor in Banking and Finance Law of Queen Mary University of London Rosa Maria Lastra, Lead of Digital Asset Regulation at Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance Zain Umer, Head of Operations at Bitfinex Jesse Knutson, Chief FinTech Officer of Monetary Authority of Singapore Sopnendu Mohanty, Global Money-Laundering Reporting Officer at Binance Amjad Qadish, Co-founder and CEO of Bybit Ben Zhou, Vice President of Business Development at BigONE Exchange Athena Miao and Managing Director of World Alliance of International Financial Centres Dr. Jochen Biedermann.

Cryptomarket capitalisation is currently worth 1.17 trillion USD. While some countries recognise cryptocurrencies as a means of payment, others are developing laws to regulate the rapidly growing crypto business.

Following the collapse of 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 criticised 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 adoption, a real adoption of universal regulatory framework for crypto assets and it’s happening right here in Asia, in Africa and the Middle East, away from the investors and away from the Wall Street. We have two fantastic new crypto regimes in Dubai and Hong Kong, which are now two of the leading crypto asset hubs in the world. We see emerging countries to lead the way and hopefully develop a regulatory regime which are fair and proportionate and allow for innovation to thrive while risk is mitigated,” said Lead of Digital Asset Regulation at Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance Zain Umer.

“Markets in Crypto-assets (MiCA), adopted by EU, adds credibility to the crypto industry, and I think the crypto industry is very much in need of a credibility that regulation can provide following the scandals of 2022 and some of the market movements in the last few months. It’s a very large aim, a platform for operators, the 27 member states of the European Union. So, yes, it can become a global standard,” said Professor in Banking and Finance Law of Queen Mary University of London Rosa Maria Lastra.

“Customer is in the first place. I think that’s something every crypto firm must think very carefully. What kind of customer? How they. What skills are they having? You know, the whole. People who participate, the founders, the owners of the company, must demonstrate good market conduct. Every any crypto company must think whether they’re complying with this high tech regulatory standard. And if they don’t comply, I think they don’t need to operate in this space because this is a very responsible space. It involves consumers money. You can’t take that for granted,” said Chief FinTech Officer of Monetary Authority of Singapore Sopnendu Mohanty.

Reference: 

The Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA) is the independent regulator of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), which is established in accordance with the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On the Astana International Financial Centre” for the purposes of regulating financial services and related activities in the AIFC. AFSA administers the AIFC Regulations and Rules and is responsible for the authorisation, registration, recognition and supervision of financial firms and market institutions in the AIFC.

Around 2,000 firms from 75 countries are registered in the AIFC. These firms provide banking, insurance, investment, professional and other services. The range of financial services offered at the AIFC is comparable to the list of services available in long-established financial centers of the world, such as London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai and others. www.afsa.kz

The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) is an independent jurisdiction with a favourable legal and regulatory environment and a developed infrastructure for starting and doing business, attracting investment, creating jobs and developing Kazakhstan’s economy. https://aifc.kz/ 

Contact information:

Public Relations and Communications Division of AFSA:

+7 (717) 264 73 43; +7 7172 61-37-45 email: [email protected]