Gibraltar’s Minister for Commerce, Albert Isola, has participated in the second annual DC Fintech Week where he took part in a panel discussion entitled ‘Making or Taking Innovation? Regulatory Competition and the Race for Fintech Dominance.” The event was attended by policymakers, academics, lawyers, and regulators from across the globe.
Commenting ahead of DC Fintech Week, Mr Isola said: “I’m very excited to attend DC Fintech Week, and to take part in a robust panel discussion with a number of esteemed professionals to examine the current global regulatory landscape. DC Fintech Week captures the spirit of collaboration and innovation that is intrinsically linked to the sustainable growth of the blockchain ecosystem, bringing together a range of thought leaders from fintech firms across the country—from PayPal to Amazon.”
Each day of Fintech Week featured off-the-record sessions focused on crypto-assets; robots, finance and the law, and smart regulation. Since its inception, Fintech Week has generated significant interest from both market participants and top regulators with this year’s event taking place across three locations: Georgetown Law, the International Monetary Fund, and on Capitol Hill.
Minister Isola’s panel discussion on regulatory competition was moderated by Gary de Waal, Special Counsel, Katten Muchin Rosenman, LLP and Vice Chairman at The Institute for Financial Markets. The panel explored how intense competition for technological innovation is informing both business strategies for participants in financial markets and regulatory policy in jurisdictions seeking to raise their profiles as leading tech hubs. Discussion also examined the national, cross-border, and global implications of this phenomenon.
Joining Minister Isola on the panel were a number of leading figures from the fintech, cybersecurity, and legal sectors. These included Douglas Arner, Kerry Holdings Professor in Law, at the University of Hong Kong; Peter Kerstens, Advisor on Financial Technology and Cybersecurity to the Director General FISMA and Co-Chair of European Commission Fintech Taskforce; Sharon Yang, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Financial Markets at the U.S. Department of the Treasury; and Nydia Remolina León, Legal Advisor for Innovation, Digital Transformation and Policy Affairs, at Grupo Bancolombia.
“Representing Gibraltar on this global stage gives expression to our firm ambition to play a leading role in helping to shape the future of blockchain regulation. As ever, Gibraltar continues to punch above its weight, and is fast becoming an assertive voice in an increasingly noisy space. I look forward to engaging with a range of visionaries over the course of DC Fintech Week, as we collectively strive towards fintech excellence,” concluded Minister Isola.
