25 April 2017

11.45am-14.30pm

Send your registration application here by 14 April 2017

We used to hear “our future is digital”. But digital is already there, in nearly all spheres of our lives. . . and the financial industry is no exception. Everyone has already come across the concepts of  “Fintech” and “virtual currencies”, such as bitcoin, one of the most popular application of the blockchain and distributed ledger technology (BDLT). In its purest form, it promotes a redistribution of power from central actors across wide communities of peers. However, who can pretend that he or she can really and clearly  understand what it underpins?

Many think that blockchain is a great technology. Some even say that BDLT could change our lives. Others are calling for prudence, as it is not a neutral technology, with implications for  the private but also for the public sector, impacted in three dimensions: as a service provider, as a supervisor and as a legislator. A recent in-depth analysis from the European Parliament, also  says that the blockchain protocol provides platforms for both “good actions and bad actions”.  

BDLTs present several potential benefits for citizens, such as a more accessible and innovative financial system,  reduced costs, as well as improved security. But they also entail many legal and regulatory challenges, ranging from  consumer protection mechanisms, to enforcement methods and possibilities for engaging in illegal activities such as tax evasion and the sale of unlawful goods. Two recent European Parliament reports, on virtual currencies and on Fintech,  highlighted that these increased risks will  require adequate technical expertise , and possibly enhanced regulatory capacity , while calling for a proportionate EU regulatory approach in order not to hamper innovation at such an early stage.

ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and EY are therefore delighted to invite you for a panel discussion to shed some useful light on the risks and opportunities of BDL, and  to stimulate reflection and discussion on these complicated, controversial and fast-moving technologies, seeking  to try and understand their potential and limitations. 

Draft agenda

11.45am               Registration and sandwich lunch

12.30pm               Welcome Speech, Andrew Hobbs, EMEA leader for Regulatory Policy, EY

12.40pm               Key note speech MEP van Nieuwenhuizen, EP rapporteur on FinTech  

12.50pm               Panel discussion moderated by Narayanan Vaidyanathan, ACCA

·         Tobias Mackie, Policy coordination financial services, DG FISMA, European Commission

·         Elizabeth Krahulecz, Director - Head of EMEIA Regulatory & Public Policy Brussels Office, presentation of  Blockchain, DLT and the Capital Markets Journey: Navigating the Legal and Regulatory Landscape

·         Mathias Bucher, Founder and CEO of Blockchain –Innovation and a teacher at Zurich University

·         Siân Jones, Founder of  EDCAB- European Digital Currency & Blockchain Technology Forum

13.55pm               Q&As

14.15pm               Keynote speech Adam Farkas, Executive Director of the European Banking Authority

14.25pm               Concluding remarks, Narayanan Vaidyanathan, ACCA

14.30pm               End