I digital asset they are no longer a financial niche reserved for cryptocurrency enthusiasts, but a technological frontier capable of disruptively changing the world of asset management and wealth management. On the second day of the Savings Fair 2022, the conference "Digital assets: between experimentation and regulation", where the Consob Commissioner spoke, Paul Ciocca on the potential of Fintech Made in Italy.
This is also an enormous opportunity for Italy which, in this context, must not waste time and must intervene quickly to equip itself with an adequate regulatory framework. This is the main message launched by the Consob Commissioner. At the same time, according to Ciocca, it is also necessary to press the accelerator on the experimentation of Fintech Made in Italy, given that our country has resources of excellence in this field.
Fintech Made in Italy: an accelerating regulatory context
“The European design is right, but implementation times are too long,” said Ciocca. “So far, there has been talk of a bridging standard at the national level that adapts our civil code to the specificities of digital finance. But today – she warned – this is no longer enough. A broader regulatory intervention is needed, which in the shortest possible time anticipates in Italy the rules of the European regulatory framework on the finishing stretch on Fintech ”, added the Commissioner, exposing his“ dream ”to the audience.
The reference is to the three regulations: EU Micar (the basic regulatory framework for digital finance), Pilot (on the experimentation of market infrastructures with Fintech) e Dora (cybersecurity). "Hopefully, the entry into force will be in two years." A time too long for a world, like that of Fintech, which moves very quickly. Other countries, such as France and Germany, are far ahead of us and have already adapted their regulations to the new needs of Fintech. If Italy does not want to fall behind in the competition within the EU itself, it must act quickly”. This is the warning of Ciocca, who does not hesitate to define himself as a "crypto-dad", taking a cue from the "crypto-mom", SEC Commissioner Esther Peirce.
But that's not enough. “It is also necessary to broaden the experimentation started in Italy thanks to the so-called 'sandbox'”, the spaces of light legislation designed to allow the market to test its attempts at innovation. In their current version, the sandboxes leave out relevant sectors of Fintech, such as NFTs (Not Fungible Token), the Decentralized App and more with the risk that the Micar regulation itself may become obsolete.
“I have a dream”, continues Ciocca, quoting Martin Luther King. “The dream is for Milan and Italy to be able, thanks to the excellence present on the market and in the academy, to create an ecosystem capable of developing the potential of Made in Italy Fintech in our country too, offering 'all-in-one' solutions ' covering everything from investor protection and market abuse regulation to tax, anti-money laundering and cybersecurity aspects".
