Gibraltar has formed a working group as part of plans to extend its regulatory guidelines on digital ledger technology (DLT) framework with the development of a 10th core principle for digital asset exchanges.
Joey Garcia, a partner at the international law firm ISOLAS, has brought together members of the Global Blockchain Convergence to form the working group for the development of the new framework.
The working group will ensure that the added regulation meets the global market standards for exchanges and other marketplace platforms, as well as considering recently defined standards set by the EU and other international bodies.
Members of the working group include four Global Blockchain Convergence Steering committee members, Lee Schneider, general counsel at Block one; Joey Garcia, Emma Channing, general counsel at the Satis Group; and Sunavna Tuteja, head of digital assets, TD Ameritrade.
The Global Blockchain Convergence members include Joshua Klayman, global tech sector co-leader, US head of fintech and head of blockchain and digital assets, senior counsel, Linklaters; Roman Beck, head of European Blockchain Center (University of Copenhagen); Jannah Patchay, regulatory and market structure advisor, markets evolution and director of London Blockchain Foundation, Tongtong Gong, co-founder of Amberdata; Pawel Kuskowski, Coinfirm founder, and Nicholas Philpott, banking market structure expert.
The framework aims to guide those who have the potential to form important foundational concepts for the work of other international organisations, such as the Financial Action Task Force, the European Commission and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).
Last year, the IOSCO published its standards for trading platforms, and the EU has also published draft regulations for the digital asset space, Markets in Crypto Asset Regulations (MiCAR) which has included draft proposed requirements for the prevention of market abuse in the space.
According to ISOLAS, Gibraltar’s amended legislation is set to be the first legislated principles to ensure digital exchanges and operators protect users and market integrity by aiming to ensure standards of design, efficiency, transparency and an orderly market.
Garcia says the creation of the market integrity working group is “an important step” for the jurisdiction as it continues to develop its DLT framework in line with an ever-evolving regulatory landscape, and also for the Global Blockchain Convergence.
