On February 19th 2018 the US CFTC (US Commodity Futures Trading Commission) and the UK FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) signed a cooperation agreement in the field of financial technologies (FinTech) through their FinTech initiatives – LabCFTC and FCA Innovate. The FinTech Agreement or Cooperation Arrangement on Financial Technology Innovation defines methods of information sharing in regards to FinTech trends and developments, and focuses on referring companies who want to join the other party's economy.
This arrangement is the first of its type regarding CFTC and a non-US counterpart, says J. Christopher Giancarlo, CFTC Chairman. He believes that the FCA team, whom he considers best in class, can greatly contribute to defining and developing new and exciting financial technologies, as well as improve the critical role of regulators in the 21st century digital markets.
The FCA's Chief Executive, Andrew Bailey, agreed, remarking that geographic borders shouldn't be innovation borders as well.
First on the agenda is a joint event in London showing interested companies how to effectively cooperate with both regulatory bodies.
Dramatic jumps in innovation are to be expected, though implementation of innovation will likely remain slow in the banking sector, as it usually has been. It's more realistic to expect sudden changes in cryptocurrency regulation and perhaps some blockchain implementations in FinTech. Traditional financial institutions have, by now, recognized the many advantages blockchain technology can offer, and where stopping the enemy by force has failed, maybe patents can do the trick.
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