The Wall Street Blockchain Alliance (WSBA), a non-profit trade association created for financial market professionals, by financial market professionals, has announced the launch of two new Working Committees – Regulatory & Compliance, and Economic Inclusion – each chaired by prominent industry experts.

Ron Quaranta, Chairman of the WSBA, said that these working committees are being set up owing to the growing member involvement in the many important aspects of blockchain technology across financial markets and beyond.

The WSBA aims to guide and promote comprehensive adoption of digital currency technology across financial markets. It engages with regulators, policymakers and technology innovators through direct communication, comment letters, studies and more to guide the public dialogue about Digital Currencies and blockchain technology, so that the financial markets can realize the full potential of these capabilities.

The Regulatory & Compliance Working Committee will be chaired by Ms. Amal Aly. She has deep experience in finance markets regulation space including as former Associate General Counsel for Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA). Aly currently holds the role of Director of Financial Services Regulatory Risk Advisory at PwC.

“It’s my great pleasure to participate on the WSBA Regulatory and Compliance Committee. Just as distributed ledger technology continues to evolve, so will the compliance and regulatory landscape in which it will operate. I look to participating in that very important dialogue”, said Aly in a statement.

The Economic Inclusion Working Committee will be chaired by Mr. Ashish Gadnis. He has extensive knowledge about the challenges of global economic inclusion, as well as expertise in the challenging area of fintech startups. Gadnis is currently serving as the CEO of BanQu, a social impact fintech company, with a focus on economic identity as a means of aiding the unbanked and underbanked around the world.

“I'm thrilled and humbled to be on this very important committee. As blockchain technology continues to evolve, it is absolutely critical that its applications enable economic empowerment and access to a better life for refugees, people living in extreme poverty and overall gender equality globally. I hope to bring these voices to WSBA”, Gadnis said.