Q&A with Dr Kyle Scerri, Regulated Industries and Compliance Advisor at CSB Group, a member of FinanceMalta, and Dr Ian Gauci, Managing Partner at GTG Advocates, a member of FinanceMalta…

Simon Gray, Head of Business Development and Marketing at BVI Finance, discusses regtech and fintech and the importance of vision, foresight and energy coupled with pragmatism in any regulatory response… The future is now Traditional financial service providers have had to grapple with a host of new challengers, from digital entrepreneurs to blockchain and cryptocurrency pioneers. In addition, the pandemic has also positively accelerated digital innovation in all major economies. Reliance on digital platforms has now become an essential part of securing and completing financial deals and transactions in this new norm of remote working. International Financial Centres (IFCs) like the British

Security is one of the major obstacles to operational and capital efficiency in the digital asset market. But developing infrastructure and regulatory support is rousing greater interest among investors, which should further drive progress and evolution. Michael Shaulov CEO and co-founder of Fireblocks comments: “While blockchain-based assets by themselves are cryptographically secure, safely moving digital assets between counterparties, exchanges, and liquidity providers for trading and settlement becomes an operational nightmare.  “More than USD3.8 billion in digital assets were stolen by hackers in 2020 due to private key theft, spoofing, and compromised credentials.” Shaulov, together with co-founders Pavel Berengoltz and Idan

Asia has the world’s largest pools of liquidity and is the epicentre of demand for digital assets, with Hong Kong at its heart. With its robust regulatory regime for digital assets, Hong Kong is also a key player in meeting investor appetite for this new asset class. The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission’s (SFC) digital asset regulatory regime specifically focuses on investor protections and allows the institutional segment to safely and securely enter the space and trade innovative products like Bitcoin, Ethereum and Security Tokens (STOs). OSL Digital Securities Limited is the first and only firm to receive a

The world of cryptocurrencies has experienced a sea change in the past year. Although the nature of bitcoin itself is immutable, which is actually part of its attraction as an investment, the sentiment towards these assets has been shifting quite dramatically. “The change in tone we observed over the course of 2020 as well as the difference in reception is unlike anything I’ve seen before. Many investors who were previously either dismissive or negative, have either completely changed their tune or at the very least, they want to hear more about how it works,” outlines Christopher Bendiksen (pictured), head of

Adoption and usage of digital assets is growing, however the market is still not fully saturated. This means some managers may look to trade on multiple exchanges to seize on opportunities resulting from slight price discrepancies between exchanges. Accessing all exchanges through a single platform can make these managers more operationally efficient while also safeguarding the assets to ensure high levels of security. Alex Maslin (pictured), Business Development Director, Custody and Prime Brokerage for Digital Assets at Copper outlines: “Managers have long complained about the difficulty of having to manage a variety of exchanges at the same time. Operating multiple exchange accounts