The emerging crypto industry is still unchartered waters in many regards. But the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission is working towards eliminating the regulatory gaps and ensure the highest level of investor protection. The Successful Business Magazine asks the Commission head, Dr George Theocharides, about the current crypto landscape in the EU and in Cyprus and the recent and forthcoming regulatory developments.
In your opinion, what are the greatest regulatory risks that Cyprus faces today?
The trends that we have seen in the last decade or so in financial services are more digitalisation, more online, and mobile trading platforms. We have also seen more sophisticated technologies, such as artificial intelligence, algorithmic trading, blockchain technologies, machine learning, Big Data Analytics, Robo-Advisors, and social trading.
Obviously, these global trends bring many opportunities, but at the same time, they come with risks relating to the protection of the investors, to cases of money laundering and terrorist financing, and risks around cybersecurity.
As regulators, we need to be proactive in understanding these new technologies and how they impact…
