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.

October 21, 2021

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Host

Ben Schiller

Anna Baydakova

Co-Host

Danny Nelson

Co-Host

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.