Regulatory Series on Cryptocurrencies: US-CFTC to Discuss Impact of Derivatives on Crypto-Asset in FinTech Conference

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has made an announcement on the agenda for its second annual Fintech Forward conference. Wherein the announcement states that this year’s event, “Fintech Forward 2019’ Exploring the Unwritten Future”, likely to bring together innovators, regulators, market participants, and the general public to discuss the latest in fintech trends and the impact of these emerging technologies on the markets and customers. The conference will be held at the CFTC’s headquarters in Washington, DC on October 24, 2019.

At this event, the LabCFTC is scheduled to discuss the impact of derivatives on Crypto-Asset, Stable-Coin Oversight and Custody Models in FinTech. 

In Panel 2: Re-Imagining Markets: What Digitization Means ... for Transactions, Custody, and Markets 

Moderator: Jorge Herrada, Tech Lead, LabCFTC 

Core agenda of the discussion: As the digital money happens to be the new reality, the value can now be transferred virtually, pragmatically real-time, payments mechanism worldwide are being overturned by models such as PayTM in India, M-Pesa in Kenya, and Venmo in the US. Efforts to digitize assets are also underway. Where are we headed? 

This panel will consider the future of money and alternative means of exchange. What are the impacts that the rise of digital assets may have on current market structure? What should we make of new proposals for “social coins” and sovereign-linked tokens? What are the impacts of stable-coins on fiat currency? Does digitization blur the line between “money” and “commodity”? Will advances in digital assets and custody blur the line between cash and futures market transaction (think digital assets for assets sitting in a mine)? What is the impact of derivatives on crypto assets? As digitization progresses, new models are being explored. What are these? What about custody? What impact will new entrants into the custody insurance have on the maturing of custody models? Are trusted custody solutions the final stumbling block for mass adoption of digital assets in the institutional markets? What role does a regulator such as CFTC play in assuring custody? 

All these matters are to be precisely discussed at this event and the key speakers in the panel are: Alex Levine, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, Pangea Money Transfer. 

Joshua Ashley Klayman, U.S. Head of FinTech and Head of Blockchain and Digital Assets, Linklaters. 

Kelly Loeffler, Chief Executive Officer, Bakkt. 

Tommaso Mancini-Griffoli, Deputy Division Chief in the Monetary and Capital Markets Department, International Monetary Fund.