Frustration over fragmented stablecoin regulatory approaches united banks and fintechs at this year’s Money 20/20 Asia.
Observations of disjointed policy approaches has grown noticeably since last year’s Bangkok event with an increase in the number of senior leaders taking to the stage, calling for a coordinated approach.
In a panel exploring “the next financial infrastructure”, Myles Harrison, chief product officer at Amina Bank, said that policymakers need to do more to create global regulatory approaches to stablecoins that foster adoption.
“Some of our clients can have access to certain stablecoins while others can’t,” he said. “We live in a world where there is a huge discrepancy between regulation across the world.
“As an industry we need to find a way to create standards, similar to how traditional finance has been operating for decades.”
In a separate session, Liam Bath, head of APAC for cross border payments specialist, dLocal (pictured), acknowledged the different regulatory approaches in each global region.
“There is no one size fits all when it comes to regulation,” he said. “Certain regulators and certain territories are more welcoming than others.”
Tim Renew, deputy chief executive officer of BCB Group, spoke more broadly about the differing rulesets affecting digital assets regulations, explaining that the work required to be compliant in Europe is substantially different to that required for compliance in Singapore or the Middle East.
He explained: “There is still a lack of standardisation from a regulatory perspective, globally. In banking, you have a more joined up approach to policymaking, with regulations such as the Basel Agreement, for example. We need more of that with crypto.
