Minister for Commerce in Washington for Second Annual DC Fintech Week

Minister for Commerce, Albert Isola, is in Washington for the second annual DC Fintech Week where he has taken part in a panel discussion on regulatory competition.

Presenting to an audience of policymakers, academics, lawyers, and regulators, Mr Isola took part in a panel discussion entitled ‘Making or Taking Innovation?, Regulatory Competition and the Race for Fintech Dominance.’

Speaking ahead of DC Fintech Week, Mr Isola said: “I’m very excited to attend DC Fintech Week, and to take part in a robust panel discussion with a number of esteemed professionals to examine the current global regulatory landscape.”

“DC Fintech Week captures the spirit of collaboration and innovation that is intrinsically linked to the sustainable growth of the blockchain ecosystem, bringing together a range of thought leaders from fintech firms across the country—from PayPal to Amazon.”

Each day of Fintech Week will feature off-the-record sessions focused on crypto-assets; robots, finance and the law; as well as smart regulation.

Since its inception, Fintech Week has generated significant interest from both market participants and top regulators with this year’s event taking place across three locations: Georgetown Law, the International Monetary Fund, and on Capitol Hill.

Mr Isola’s panel discussion on regulatory competition was moderated by Gary de Waal, Special Counsel, Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP and Vice Chairman, The Institute for Financial Markets.

The panel will explore how intense competition for technological innovation is informing regulatory policy in jurisdictions seeking to raise their profiles as leading tech hubs - and the national, cross-border, and global implications.

Mr Isola was joined on the panel by a number of leading figures from the fintech, cyberse-curity, and legal sectors.

These include Douglas Arner, Kerry Holdings Professor in Law, at the University of Hong Kong; Peter Kerstens, Advisor on Financial Technology and Cybersecurity to the Director General FISMA and Co-Chair of European Commission Fintech Taskforce, at the European Commission; Sharon Yang, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Financial Markets, at the U.S. Department of the Treasury; Nydia Remolina León, Legal Advisor for Innova-tion, Digital Transformation and Policy Affairs, at Grupo Bancolombia.

“Representing Gibraltar on this global stage gives expression to our firm ambition to play a leading role in helping to shape the future of blockchain regulation,” Mr Isola said.

“As ever, Gibraltar continues to punch above its weight, and is fast becoming an assertive voice in an increasingly noisy space. I look forward to engaging with a range of visionaries over the course of DC Fintech Week, as we collectively strive towards fintech excellence,” he added.