Advancement in Digital Asset Markets

Global Policy and Regulation: Contrasting the UK, Europe, and Hong Kong

Moving beyond financial institutions to national policy and regulation, Matt Gravelle provided a perspective from the UK and Europe. He noted that there may be a contrast between “policy” and “regulation”. For example, the UK might seek to make itself a crypto hub, seeing benefits in new technology, innovation, jobs, and growth. However, regulators such as the FCA and PRA may still apply significant scrutiny to crypto businesses and products. While these measures are reasonable, they may sometimes result in divergent outcomes.

Webber shared experiences from Standard Chartered, which operates in more than 60 markets and therefore must manage many varied regulatory regimes within its digital assets products and services. She indicated that an effective approach can be to use the primary regulator to set an organization’s global standard baseline, then adjust for different countries.

Highlighting how regulators can influence whether the financial system is favorable to crypto businesses, she outlined recent action by the financial services regulatory in Hong Kong, the HKMA. While there has often been reluctance by traditional financial institutions to onboard crypto businesses due to the perceived risks they present, the HKMA set out that bank should onboard crypto businesses unless they had sufficient grounds otherwise. This clear regulatory stance encourages support for crypto businesses, enabling them to grow. Woods noticed that in addition to the practical benefits of easing access to financial services, these measures set out a clear regulatory intent which could influence a more positive view of crypto within banks.

United States: Executive Orders, Regulatory measures, and USD Influence

The panelists then shared perspectives on the United States and the administration’s stance towards crypto. Summers outlined that regulators including the Securities and Exchange Commission and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) had issued recent guidance, clarifying the SEC’s position on memecoins, removing restrictions on custody of crypto, and using stablecoins for payment. Panelists agreed that having coherent messages from regulatory bodies would accelerate the crypto market in the United States.

Gravelle outlined that these discussions intersect with broader considerations around USD global influence and how the USD is a tool of economic statecraft. He explained that Governments in various countries are considering their position on stablecoins issued in currencies other than their own. Noting that there are already non-USD stablecoins available, Gravelle explained that we may see further evolution of stablecoins into other currencies. The driver would be the ability for users of other currencies to be able to settle in a tokenized (digital) world just as they do in real life. This would be most relevant to wholesale settlements, rather than using tokenized currencies in retail settings such as buying a coffee.

Discussion of United States initiatives relating to crypto necessitates consideration of the strategic bitcoin reserve. Summers described how this would consist of forfeited crypto, meaning the proceeds from criminal and civil forfeiture cases where the assets are not subject to restitution to victims of those crimes.

International Cooperation and Public-Private Partnership

Describing some of the key features of crypto investigations, Summers explained that 60% of illicit finance cases involving crypto do not start with an obvious crypto component. She described how international cooperation and public-private partnership are both critical to countering crypto crime. An example of a successful initiative is Interpol “Silver Notices”, first issued in January 2025, which facilitate cross-border identification and recovery of assets.

The implications of not adequately assessing and managing crypto risks are significant at the national level. The Financial Action Task Force sets out AML/CFT standards, including for digital assets. Countries that do not made adequate progress in implementing these measures may be placed on a “Grey List”. Summers explained that the being placed on the Grey List resulted in an estimated 10% hit to a country’s economy due to impact on funding and investment.

Echoing Webber’s earlier observations, Summers also set out the importance of training and capacity building for both the public and private sectors: