On 24 June, Parkside’s Head of Chambers, Wayne Walsh SC  joined a thought leadership panel on “Crypto-Disputes and Regulatory Regimes in Hong Kong, Singapore, and UAE.”

The webinar was hosted by Charles Russell Speechlys and ThoughtLeaders4 FIRE, and moderated by Stephen Chan of Charles Russell Speechlys. Other panel members included:

  • Chengyi Ong, Chainanalysis, Singapore
  • Max Davis, Charles Russell Speechlys, Dubai

Key Discussion Points:

  • Stablecoins: The panel discussed stablecoins, highlighting their value pegged to other currencies or financial instruments and they formed a key topic of the conversation.
  • Hong Kong:
    • Wayne Walsh SC provided an overview of HK’s landscape and its early adoption of crypto
    • He noted the introduction of licensing for virtual asset trading platforms (VATPs) by the SFC
    • Consultations were also underway for regulation of stablecoins by the HKMA and over the counter (OTC) crypto trading to be regulated by the Commissioner of Customs and Excise
    • Exchange trading funds (ETFs)  based on virtual assets had also recently been launched on the Hong Kong Stock Exhchange
    • Legal tools that were being deployed in HK were comparable to those in other common law jurisdictions but with unique adaptations
    • Tracing fiat currencies was traditionally easier, however it became more challenging in the context of crypto because of variously, chain hopping and mixing and tumbling, and other attempts made to break the tracing chain.
  • Singapore:
    • Chengyi Ong highlighted Singapore’s regulatory moves noting that the city state was an early mover in terms of regulation
    • There had been notable momentum and innovative policy levers in relation to Stablecoin
    • Specialist firms such as hers traced the movement of crypto on the blockchain and she explained this from a technical perspective.
  • UAE:
    • Max Davis discussed recent cases in the DIFC Court of Appeal.
    • Judges were not bound by English precedent and were able to look at a compendium of judgments from other common law jurisdictions including England, Canada, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand etc to get a ‘state of the union’ overview of the jurisprudence.

It was an engaging, insightful and eloquent dialogue which outlined seminal developments in the evolving landscape of cryptocurrency.