Capital markets are evolving right now and at the forefront of revolutionary changes in fintech and regtech is blockchain technology.
Worldwide spending on blockchain solutions alone is expected to grow from $1.5 billion in 2018 to an estimated $11.7 billion by 2022, with the financial sector accounting for over 60 percent of the market value of blockchain worldwide (Statista).
As overall fintech solutions evolve, the regulatory landscape will face enormous challenges in keeping up with technology disruption. We saw this in action during the Initial Coin Offering (ICO) craze of 2016/2017. $20 billion in capital was raised, yet the majority of these ICOs are now below their listing price or have lost all their value. The lack of clear rules and regulations ultimately hurt investors and the industry as a whole.
It seems the industry is still licking its wounds from the ICO-era and regulators are being careful to prevent this from happening again which is slowing down approvals for blockchain-related projects. Yesterday, the Horizon team attended a great conference hosted by Solidus Labs called The Digital Asset Compliance and Market Integrity Summit. On one panel, former U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Chief Innovation Officer Daniel Gorfin suggested that the ICO-era is why there is so much focus on securities law framework today.
But while there are big questions on how blockchain securities markets should be regulated, the same goes for crypto commodity markets and the other sectors of the multifaceted ecosystem. What’s frustrating for everyone is that the complexity and lack of regulatory clarity is stifling development for those who want to do right by the law, simply because the laws may not exist yet or because regulators may not understand the new tech.
Let’s face it, compliance isn’t necessarily a sexy topic, but the harmony between technology and compliance is critical in building the foundation that will shape the future of fintech and blockchain’s role in it.
So how do we get there as an industry — we create open dialogues to better understand both sides’ concerns and ideas in order to move forward together on actionable solutions.
This is why we are excited to announce an exclusive forum we’re hosting with RSM US LLP called ‘Dialogue with the Regulators: Navigating Blockchain & Fintech’ taking place November 5, 2019 at RSM’s headquarters in Times Square, New York.
We’re bringing together senior regulators from the SEC, FINRA, and CFPB, along with key industry thought leaders for an intimate and productive dialogue surrounding blockchain, fintech, and the evolution of capital markets.
Panel topics include the fintech impact on the U.S. and global payments systems, blockchain and digital assets, and dialogue with the regulators: innovation & regulation.
Speakers include SEC’s John O. Enright and Daphna A. Waxman, FINRA’s Alex Khachaturian, CFPB’s William Wade-Gery, Coinbase’s Jeff Horowitz, Paxful’s Andrew Young, ETC’s Jodi Jamison and Sheppard Mullin’s Richard Friedman. Additional speakers join from TriPoint Global Equities/BANQ®, BlackRock, UBS, K&L Gates, Wilmington Trust, MSBA and more.
The event is designed for C-Level Executives, compliance officers, financial service companies and blockchain/fintech industry leaders. Dialogue with the Regulators is an invitation-only event with a limited number of tickets. At the regulators’ request, no press will be allowed to attend. For more information and to request an invite, please visit https://www.horizon-globex.com/LearnMore.
Quotes on Dialogue with the Regulators:
“There’s still a high level of regulatory uncertainty circling the blockchain and greater fintech industry,” says Horizon CEO Brian Collins. “Dialogue with the Regulators is designed to cut through the noise and provide attendees with exclusive insights directly from the source as regulators and industry trailblazers share their vision for the future of fintech and compliance.”
“As overall fintech solutions evolve, the regulatory landscape will face enormous challenges in keeping up with technology disruption,” says RSM’s Jay Schulman, National Leader — Blockchain Services. “The forum brings together the fintech ecosystem for a dialogue on collaboration and innovation to drive forward a robust financial and regulatory compliant environment.”
To learn more about our one-stop-shop for digital securities, please visit https://www.horizon-globex.com/.