The issue of developing the crypto asset market remains very important, according to a panel discussion at the Sibos Conference in Sydney, Australia.
The panel, which included Artem Duvanov, head of innovation, National Settlement Depository; Walter Verbeke, global head of the business model and innovation, Euroclear; Joseph Lubin, co-founder of Etherium and CEO of ConsenSys, and Igor Khmel, founder and CEO of BANKEX, focused on the infrastructure of the crypto assets market.
The panel explained that an imperfect legislative framework and the absence of reliable infrastructure prevent the inflow of funds into cryptocurrencies and ICO.
It suggested that against the background of the first regulatory steps for qualifying and structuring this sphere, the issue of investor rights protection remains crucial.
However, panellist noted that infrastructure for crypto assets is necessary, and its transformation is inevitable.
Verbeke said: “In capital markets, we see risks which are inseparable: counterparty risks, liquidity, credit, and settlement risks, etc. These risks are not associated with securities or with some elements of infrastructure, such as central securities depositories. They are related to any capital market.”
“These markets created CSDs to manage their risks. We shall create our own roles, controls, and management procedures in the DLT world. This will let us operate in the same safe and effective environment.”
Khmel commented: “Today, the crypto market and crypto exchanges lack funds from major institutional investors. These investors fear risks associated with crypto assets transactions. The parties lack the capacity and expertise of depositories which do not yet work with crypto exchanges.”
Duvanov added: “Our goal is to contribute to the emergence of a new class of assets for investors, as well as the ecosystems for ICOs and for the circulation of digital assets on the secondary market. We head up the initiative for developing D3ledger, a distributed digital depository, which will perform CSD functions—record-keeping, safekeeping, servicing assets, and conducting settlements, in a decentralised environment.”
