Share this article

Global Crypto Regulatory Body Is Coming Soon, Says Top Official

A joint body to coordinate efforts at regulating crypto at the global level could become a reality in the next year, according to IOSCO chair Ashley Alder.

Updated May 11, 2023, 6:23 p.m. Published May 12, 2022, 2:08 p.m.
The chair of the IOSCO says a global regulatory body for crypto is likely to be created soon. (Getty Images)
The chair of the IOSCO says a global regulatory body for crypto is likely to be created soon. (Getty Images)

A joint body tasked with coordinating crypto regulation globally is sorelyneeded and could become a reality within the next year, according to Ashley Alder, chair of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), an association of market regulators.

Alder was speaking at an online conference organized by the think tank Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF). Alder, who is also the CEO of Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission, said the growth of digital currency markets and their increasing connection to mainstream finance has made crypto a top focus area for regulators around the world.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the State of Crypto Newsletter today. See all newsletters

"Crypto has obviously rocketed up the agenda," Alder said, adding that crypto is now one of the three 'C's' that represent the top focus area for regulators, alongside COVID and climate change.

The financial world is focused on crypto this week as markets crashed, exacerbated by the collapse of the stablecoin terraUSD (UST). Early Thursday, bitcoin (BTC) was trading at a 16-month low.

"If you look at the risks we need to address, they are multiple, and there is a wall of worry about [crypto] in the conversations at an institutional level," Alder said.

According to Alder, a global group designed to coordinate crypto rules is clearly needed. Alder said that global climate finance efforts are "far ahead" compared to crypto regulation, despite the importance of crypto in the global conversation.

"There isn't anything like that for crypto at the moment," said Alder, adding that this is likely to change by the same time next year.

Read more: Global Financial Stability Watchdog FSB Says It Could Write Crypto Rulebook

More For You

More For You

Crypto group counters Wall Street bankers with its own stablecoin principles for bill

The White House, the executive office of the U.S. President (Jesse Hamilton/CoinDesk)

After the bankers shared a document at the White House demanding a total ban on stablecoin yield, the crypto side answers that it needs some stablecoin rewards.

What to know:

  • The U.S. Senate's crypto market structure bill has been waylaid by a dispute over something that's not related to market structure: yield on stablecoins.
  • The Digital Chamber is offering a response to a position paper circulated earlier this week by bankers who oppose stablecoin yield.
  • The crypto group's own principles documents argues that certain rewards are needed on stablecoin acvitity, but that the industry doesn't need to pursue products that directly threaten bank deposits business.