HSBC Exec Urges CFTC to Make More ‘Positive Noise’ About Blockchain

A banker from HSBC urged the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to make more "positive noise" about distributed ledger technology (DLT), in order to encourage adoption by hesitant businesses.

Among other recommendations for the agency, "it would also be beneficial if the CFTC would give some positive words around DLT and DLT adoption," HSBC senior vice president Jesse Drennan said during the regulator's Technology Advisory Committee meeting Wednesday.

Adoption of the tech is not exactly "being hindered right now," Drennan explained, but firms looking to either go live with a DLT platform or otherwise bring the tech into production typically review how regulators are looking at the technology.

Part of their concerns may stem from not being clear about how the regulator may feel about the technology – even outside strict regulatory standards.

"Certainly there is a sensitivity to how the regulator may feel about such technology and supporting the activity that the parties are rolling out," Drennan said, adding:

To be fair, CFTC's leadership has already been vocally supportive of both enterprise DLT and even cryptocurrency, to the degree that the commission's chairman, Christopher Giancarlo, earned the nickname "Crypto Dad" after a congressional appearance last year.

Drennan's comments came near the end of the day-long meeting, which saw representatives from industry lobbyist Coin Center, IBM, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) and DLT builder R3 all meet to discuss the state of the crypto and DLT space.

In his opening comments, CFTC Commissioner Brian Quintenz, who sponsors the committee, noted that the group's DLT and market infrastructure subcommittee would discuss both the current state of the technology as well as any challenges that may be standing in the way of wider adoption.

"The panel will also explore if there are specific areas where CFTC regulation may be inhibiting the adoption of DLT or additional areas where further guidance from the agency could support further development," he said.

HSBC's Jesse Drennan image via CFTC