A couple of things we want to talk to you about.
Why do we why do we start off with just your initial reaction to banking
regulators essentially telling lenders to be a bit more careful?
How do you think that changes just a funding appetite for funding in the
industry? Yes.
First of all, thanks so much for having me.
And also happy New Year to you, too. I think you're reading more into the
statement that was issued. They didn't make a point about the NSA
directing banks in the US or, you know, by proxy elsewhere in the world to to
walk away from the crypto industry or to walk away from banking encrypted
industry per say. They did make a specific call out in
that statement around risk management and perception of lax risk management.
And certainly we look at the previous story when SPF, their questions around
the risk management at FTSE and other large scale crypto exchanges.
But likewise, I think that there is a gap that has been identified by some of
the players in the industry, certainly here in Australia when we've been making
calls for increased regulation of digital currency exchanges such as
ourselves. So there is an understanding within the
industry of the importance and the need for this risk management piece.
It certainly would have provided greater oversight or potentially comfort to
investors use the RTX platform, but also for the wider banking industry so that
they're not enforcing that contagion, if you like.
And certainly that was what was described in that statement.
Important contagion into the mainstream banking system.
And I just want I just given the latest when it comes to RTX.
He has pleaded not guilty. He could he is kind of side line himself
from what really was happening. Yes.
He defends his position on Twitter is that look, I didn't know this was all
going on. How are you viewing this whole sort of
saga, which looks like it could be quite a courtroom showdown?
And what do you think should happen to the same payment, Fred?
So I think that the overall the industry, you know, we're seeing it
played out on the Twitter megaphone is particularly disappointing.
I don't think that investors are going to get any kind of starvation from from
what sound bite when free to saying and others are saying about it.
I think, if anything, it's continuing to muddy the waters and serve as a
distraction away from the real problem that the investors at SBA RTX were
facing. So, you know, I really don't like the
fact that this has been a decision made by a public jury rather than an actual
court of law around what's happened. I think in some regards, in some
respects, it certainly accelerated the regulatory conversation.
And that's something that the USSR has been calling out for, but also that
investors need to think perhaps in years to come will it back.
You know, as a cruise industry, as a more mature digital asset industry, at
some point this out as being a pivotal piece, a pivotal turning point, if you
like, for us as we move the industry forward.
The industry itself is not predicated and built solely around the actions of
RTX and others within the industry. It's a much broader and far larger scale
enterprise and just one in particular. And I think that, you know, we're
certainly going to move forward and push forward with it as an industry as a
whole and learn the lessons that we need to from what's happened to.
Yeah, I mean, the to your point, the first the first reaction from regulators
will almost likely always be more regulation and the industry obviously
will say we welcome more regulation and somewhere in between.
What do you use? What would you welcome?
As far as regulation that you think is is appropriate, but doesn't also hamper
innovation and development? Yeah, I think I mean, that that's really
in a nutshell. It's about being pragmatic and
recognizing the risks as they exist. What happened with RTX wasn't anything
to do with cryptocurrency say. Instead, it was a very human flaw.
That kind of rush into that organization from the inside out.
If I can make such kind of statements so those human flaws that we can focus on
when we're talking about regulation and I think that that's something that we
can see in models of that already exists.
Lessons that we learned from traditional finance can certainly be applied in that
sense to digital currency exchanges and other kind of crypto institutions.
So that piece shouldn't be too complex or too complicated to work through.
It's when you start moving into trying to regulate the crypto itself that
things can come unstuck due to the nature of the very nature of crypto
currency and certainly the pace of innovation as it's progressing through.
And certainly I think that's a story that's going to absolutely continue into
23 and beyond looking at things like soap and tokens and real world assets
being Tom Keene, ISE and so on. Those are going to be far bigger issues.
Getting the bedrock down right now, you know, in terms of regulating the these
human flaws and behaviors. That's the fundamental piece.
I look at what Europe has done. The European Union over the last couple
of years has been working together to put together its markets and crypto
assets. That's coming into effect.
That regulation comes into effect in 24. They've been very pragmatic.
They've said we know we're not going to regulate innovation out.
We're going to regulate innovation in. I think that in that spirit, that that
other regulatory bodies around the world can look to move forward.
Do you think crypto can can make a comeback of this here?
Caroline Hyde. Well, what would it be contingent on is
that institutional money has to come back.
More regulation. You know, what's really needed still, I
think in some sense is the fact that the heat has gone out of this crypto trading
cycle is probably a good thing. I think it gives for founders and
there's you're innovating within this space.
You know, enough time and head space, if you like, in a rather than than chasing
the market waves. Instead, they're getting a chance to
really focus on the projects that they're working on.
And certainly, you know, you made reference to institution movements at
the likes of J.P. Morgan, who's in a CEO, is notoriously
critical about crypto currency and critics have their place.
But JP Morgan themselves for aid into decentralized finance with a feisty five
trade from Sweden for dollar and Japanese yen with SBI holdings.
I think it was in November this year. They're also launching the JP Morgan
Digital Wallet, which seems fidelity do something similar.
So institutional interest is growing in this space.
But I think without the roller coaster ride of a bull run, you know, we're
going to see a lot more maturity come in in its absence.