Hello everybody, and welcome to the latest edition of C&F Talks. It's great to have with me today, Emma Joyce who's the Senior Managing Director and Head of EMEA at the Global Blockchain Business Council. Emma's going to be speaking at our Tokenisation Summit, which is coming up very soon, on the 21st of November in London. Emma, welcome.

Thank you so much for having me today, Maurice, I'm really looking forward to the event next week.

Great. Great to have you with us.

Let's first start by talking about recent events. I mean, obviously the results of the US election are positive for all things crypto and digital assets and blockchain related. Do you think this really marks a fundamental changing point or turning point, a watershed moment perhaps for the industry?

Well, possibly. I mean, I think the recent US election could indeed mark a significant shift for the digital asset market, but you know, it's probably, you know, I think we're basically in a waiting game at the moment. I think the new political leadership, the stance on digital assets might either become more supportive of innovation or impose additional regulatory controls. It's a little bit early to know I think but it is very important.

The incoming administration's outlook on digital assets will be very important and it will influence a lot of things, from investment sentiment to the development of, you know, the right infrastructure. But, you know, I think we're in a waiting game at the moment and really waiting to see how everything pans out. Obviously, the new administration doesn't formally take charge until January and so, it'll be very interesting to see how the US aligns or distance itself from global standards.

Yeah, yes, I suppose that's true. I mean the US and, obviously President Trump with a very strong mandate will chart his own course, won't he?

But do you think that around the world regulators and politicians will take note? They'll see that the US is likely to plow ahead at full speed, and that it might in a sense catalyse their own developments of a framework and a regulatory approach that encourages digital assets and crypto?

Quite possibly and honestly, I think we've been having that conversation around the world though for a few years. I think whatever the, you know, US election outcome had been, we were expecting more sort of clarity I think coming from the US over the next couple of years.

I think with a country known for its innovation we were always expecting the US to, you know, to want to take the lead and at some point. So, I think we've been expecting that and it's whether, you know, countries around the world think that they've, you know, sort of taken advantage of the US missing from that leadership space or not. That would be interesting.

Yeah, and in Europe in particular, in Europe there's a fairly settled regulatory approach now, isn't there?

Do you think that's going to give the Europeans pause for thought? Do you think that their regulatory approach is sufficiently flexible to deal with changes in the US and perhaps elsewhere? I.e. they might lose some ground in this area.

I mean I think all around the world, you know, the regulatory frameworks are still being developed. So, you know, great strides have certainly been made over the past few years, you know, in Europe certainly taking the lead in that with MiCa.

You know, MiCa's not done. You know, there will continue to be changes and additions to it and new things included.

I mean, here in the UK obviously the government's going for growth. The previous administration had singled out this area as an area it wanted to push and for the City of London to be a leader in it.

Do you think that, irrespective of what's happening in the US, do you think that the UK is going to push very hard now to develop its own digital assets and crypto strategy and move at pace because of these developments around the world?

Well, I very much hope so. I think what we've seen over this year is that the FCA and the Bank of England, you know, the doors are open, which is, you know, very welcome.

We have, you know, we speak a lot to both the regulator and the bank and so do our members and I think that's improved over the past few years. I'm not sure that was always the case a few years ago, but certainly with digital security sandbox, I think that's been very welcome. Both the FCA and the Bank of England, I think as well, are really making an effort to speak to not just big companies and those you would expect them to be talking to, but also startups, which is very important.

And obviously we know that London, you know, with its very famous financial services centre, is incredibly well designed and prepared, you know, to be a leader in this area and it's a very important market. So I hope so.

Yeah, do you think, I'm glad that the FCA has a secondary objective of promoting competitiveness and the competitiveness of London and the UK's general financial offering.

Do you think that accounts for some of that change and increased willingness to have a dialogue with you about developments and what they do?

Yes, absolutely. I think that's really important. I mean, they are certainly willing to talk to, you know, associations like us and our members and the larger community, which is really what they need to do.

And I think, you know, it's very, it can be very difficult to regulate such a fast-moving industry and technology. So, collaboration is absolutely key. And I think what we've seen change a lot over the past few years is that collaboration between, you know, the industry players and the regulators willing to talk.

The level of knowledge within the regulators now I think is very good and in a very, you know, completely different place to what it was five years ago.

Yeah, and I guess education and increasing the level of understanding has been the challenge thus far.

But, if you look through in your crystal ball, Emma and consider where we might be in five years’ time or so, where do you think that might be? Do you think that everything would be much more, you know, established? Do you think that people will no longer regard TradFi and digital assets or crypto as two different things? Will they just become finance?

It's a very difficult question. Honestly, I do wish I had a crystal ball. Look, I think things are moving slower than, you know, many people, particularly in the digital assets industry thought they would. But that is because, you know, so much needs to be done.

We see around the world various different projects with different central banks taking place. And, you know, projects like this, they're very important. So, there's a lot of work and a lot of thought going into everything that is happening and the regulatory frameworks that are being, you know, developed.

But it does take time. And, you know, one of the things that isn't necessarily there yet is the interoperability, I think, and the readiness of financial institutions infrastructure and, you know, the compatibility yet, you know. So, I'm not entirely sure.

I do think in the not-too-distant future, you know, people will be using technology or, you know, digital assets in a way that they don't necessarily know they're doing it. And, you know, but it's very difficult really to put a timeline on that.

Yeah, well, fingers crossed, certainly that things are looking much more positive now.

Now, I think we've probably run out of time. So, I’ll just say to our viewers that if you'd like to hear more from Emma, and the other speakers at the Tokenisation Summit in London on the 21st of November, please do book your place now. Further information available at our website, www.cityandfinancial.com.

And Emma, always a pleasure to speak to you. Looking forward to seeing you on the 21st.

Thank you so much, Maurice. See you then.