Blockchain Legal Resource

In connection with its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on January 24, 2020, the World Economic Forum announced the creation of a Global Consortium for Digital Currency Governance. The initiative is touted as the first of its kind “to bring together leading companies, financial institutions, government representatives, technical experts, academics, international organizations, NGOs and members of the Forum’s communities on a global level.” The consortium will focus its efforts on developing solutions for what it describes as a fragmented regulatory system. According to its organizers, “Efficiency, speed, inter-operability, inclusivity and transparency will be at the heart of this initiative.” It will call for innovative regulatory approaches to achieve these goals and build trust. The announcement follows a press release issued on January 21, 2020, indicating that the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank, the Swedish Riksbank and the Swiss National Bank, along with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), have created a working group to assess the potential cases for central bank digital currency (CBDC) in their home jurisdictions.