Is Crypto Really a Threat to Financial Stability?

Suggestions from senior officials that digital assets are a danger to the world economy seem premature and wide of the mark. But at least regulators are finally taking the industry seriously.

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ABOUT

It’s Policy Week here at CoinDesk!

We’re diving deep into Washington, D.C., lobbying, DeFi regulation, how non-fungible tokens (NFT) could be seen as securities, and much more through a series of feature stories, op-eds, interviews, research and video.

For the “Opinionated” podcast, co-hosts Ben Schiller, Anna Baydakova and Danny Nelson discuss some regulatory hot topics.

First up: Is crypto a threat to financial stability?A senior Bank of England official recently suggested as much, comparing crypto to the subprime mortgage securities that blew up the world economy in 2008.

Similarly, the International Monetary Fund said the other day that digital assets could cause as much disruption as COVID-19 and climate change.

If the high priests and priestesses of finance once ignored crypto, no longer! This once-insignificant industry is now firmly on the agenda.

Next: The SEC is looking at NFTs.

Non-fungible tokens have been one of the big stories of 2021. Artworks and collectibles have sold for many millions and the NFTs have served to bring many new faces into the crypto sector.

But will 2022 raise compliance issues for NFT platforms and makers as regulators step in?

That’s the belief of many lawyers and NFT execs. Fractionalization, where works are split into pieces and sold off to investors, seems particularly likely to interest our overseers.

Finally: Will Russia embrace crypto as a way around the dollar’s domination of international oil markets? Recent comments from Russian President Vladimir Putin have raised hopes on this one. But, speaking from Moscow, Anna says it’s not likely, at least in the short term.

Listen to the episode for more on the big policy questions of the moment. And subscribe to the podcast via your favorite podcast service.

This episode was produced, announced and edited by Michele Musso. Our theme song is by Elision.

Also part of Policy Week

Nik De: What I Learned About Crypto Regulation From a Week in DC

David Z Morris: Lassoing the Stallion: How Gensler Could Approach DeFi Enforcement

Some NFTs Are Probably Illegal. Does the SEC Care?

Stablecoins Not CBDCs: An interview with Rep. Tom Emmer

Crypto Learns to Play DC’s Influence Game

Kristin Smith: Crypto Is Too Big for Partisan Politics

Lyn Ulbricht: Put America’s Geeks to Work, Don’t Cage Them

Preston J. Byrne: Decentralization’s Challenge to Policymakers Is Coming

Bitcoin ETFs Aren’t New. Here’s How They’ve Fared Outside the US

The View From Brussels: How the EU Plans to Regulate Crypto

Raul Carrillo: In Defense of OCC Nominee Saule Omarova

HOSTS

Dan Ilett

Dan Ilett writes on tech, money and energy. He advises business on digital strategy and technology messaging for large deals. He is founder of Erbut - an advisory company - and Greenbang - a smart technology research company.

Anna Baydakova

Anna writes about blockchain projects and regulation with a special focus on Eastern Europe and Russia. She is especially excited about stories on privacy, cybercrime, sanctions policies and censorship resistance of decentralized technologies.
She graduated from the Saint Petersburg State University and the Higher School of Economics in Russia and got her Master's degree at Columbia Journalism School in New York City.
She joined CoinDesk after years of writing for various Russian media, including the leading political outlet Novaya Gazeta.
Anna owns BTC and an NFT of sentimental value.

Danny Nelson

Danny is CoinDesk's managing editor for Data & Tokens. He formerly ran investigations for the Tufts Daily. At CoinDesk, his beats include (but are not limited to): federal policy, regulation, securities law, exchanges, the Solana ecosystem, smart money doing dumb things, dumb money doing smart things and tungsten cubes. He owns BTC, ETH and SOL tokens, as well as the LinksDAO NFT.

Benjamin Schiller

Benjamin Schiller is CoinDesk's managing editor for features and opinion. Previously, he was editor-in-chief at BREAKER Magazine and a staff writer at Fast Company. He holds some ETH, BTC and LINK.

Danny Bradbury

Danny Bradbury has been a professional writer since 1989, and has worked freelance since 1994. He covers technology for publications such as the Guardian.

EPISODES