MAS partners regulators in Japan, Switzerland and UK to understand future risk of digital assets

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today (30 October) said it is partnering the Financial Services Agency of Japan (FSA), the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) and the United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) "to advance digital asset pilots in fixed income, foreign exchange and asset management products". 

Under MAS' Project Guardian, MAS said it had collaborated with 15 financial institutions to carry out industry pilots on asset tokenisation in fixed income, foreign exchange, and asset management products.

"These pilots have demonstrated the potential to reap significant market and transaction efficiencies from the use of tokenisation. As the pilots grow in scale and sophistication, there is a need for closer cross-border collaboration among policymakers and regulators. MAS has therefore established a Project Guardian policymaker group comprising FSA, FCA and FINMA", the statement said. 

Leong Sing Chiong, deputy managing director (markets and development), MAS, said: "MAS' partnership with FSA, FCA and FINMA shows a strong desire among policymakers to deepen our understanding of the opportunities and risks arising from digital asset innovation. Through this partnership, we hope to promote the development of common standards and regulatory frameworks that can better support cross border interoperability, as well as sustainable growth of the digital asset ecosystem." 

Specifically, the policymaker group aims to:

a) Advance discussions on legal, policy and accounting treatment of digital assets;

b) Identify potential risks and possible gaps in existing policies and legislation relevant to tokenised solutions;

c) Explore the development of common standards for the design of digital asset networks and market best practices across various jurisdictions;

d) Promote high standards of interoperability to support cross-border digital assets development;

e) Facilitate industry pilots for digital assets through regulatory sandboxes, where applicable; and

f) Promote knowledge sharing among regulators and industry.