16 November 2022
Hello again to everyone here, and hello to those watching us online.
The last 2 days have been very, very intense. Much like the week, and year that was for the whole industry, leading up to our arrival in Bali.
Truth be told, last week’s events, along with the dominos that are continuing to fall, are setting us all up for arguably the most challenging storm that we’ve ever had to navigate through. A key foundational piece of our industry is TRUST. And the reality is that if we, as an industry, do not address the very obvious problems in front of us, there may not be much of an industry for IDAXA to represent once the dust settles. A few bad actors continue to erode the public’s trust in us.
The point here is not to fearmonger, but to shed light on the reality that the enormous challenge we are facing, requires the appropriate amount of pause. What the V20 Summit has shown time and again, is that the efforts of a small number of people can translate into meaningful change. But that is no longer enough. If Industry is to navigate these troubled waters and come out of it intact, the time for coordinated and purposeful action is now.
You just heard the reported outcomes of this year’s V20 Summit, which is a product of the hard work and commitment of 16 Virtual Asset Service Providers and key advisors, whose experience we leaned on to reach these significant positions. Positions that have been received by the regulators.
Let us not lose sight of what we just accomplished here today. We came together, came to a consensus, and successfully communicated our position on key issues to regulators. Regulators who are KEEN and RECEPTIVE to hear what the V20 has to say.
Close to 60 individual regulators, representing 27 regulatory bodies across 18 countries. Let’s put that into perspective. The regulators in these countries are absorbing the input of the 16 VASPs who joined this Summit. The implications on the Regulators’ perception and understanding of our Industry may have very well been shaped by these 16 VASPs.
As our Summit Chair, Mark Pesce, so eloquently said earlier today in the closed session, “In order to win, you have to be present”.
Let today serve as the beginning of our Industry fully embracing the need to unite and come together to make meaningful change that will ultimately impact the lives of all those users who place their trust in our institutions. We should not wait until that trust is fully lost, before reacting.
As some of you may know, the International Digital Asset Exchange Association, or IDAXA, was born out of the first V20 Summit in 2019, when the VASPs and Regulators present acknowledged the need for an Industry body to serve, not only as a bridge between VASPs and Regulators, but as a vehicle for effecting meaningful change.
The V20 Summit is just the first step. IDAXA is fully committed to seeing all of the announced outcomes through to completion.
We thank the 16 VASPs who joined us. In the same breath, we are looking forward to your continued commitment to these outcomes that YOU have set into motion.
We need the Industry to get behind IDAXA and serve as the tailwind that will get us to where we need to go.
For its part, IDAXA pledges to build the necessary mechanisms and infrastructure for your ideas and your voice to be heard at the highest levels, at G20, the G7, the regulators and the public.
In turn, we need our industry colleagues to pledge their support to IDAXA’s cause. Let us combine our efforts and equip ourselves with the resources to actually get this done.
We have all allocated resources for activities of far less importance than this. The time for us to recognize the value of regulatory engagement is now.
For those who are in the room, please find IDAXA’s Director for Partnership Development, Philippe Le Saux, after today’s event to cement our partnership beyond this Summit and to secure your slot to the next V20 Summit as early as now.
To those who were unable to make the trip, your voice and your ideas were unfortunately not heard today, but it’s not too late. IDAXA is open for all VASPs to join this effort. We encourage you all to reach out to us and get involved.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank each and every person that contributed to the success of this year’s V20 Summit. It was an intense process, but we made it happen. I will refrain from mentioning specific names so as not to forget anyone. You know who you are. None of what we accomplished this week would have been possible without you.
I will, however, l thank by name, the country of Indonesia and its people for the warm welcome we all experienced during its exceptional job hosting the G20 Summit and all its supporting events. Let’s give them a round of applause.
Finally, as Indonesia passes the G20 Presidency baton of India, we look forward to collaborating with our Indian counterparts in further elevating the V20 Summit to greater heights.
Thank you again and we look forward to working more closely with all of you moving forward.