Exchanges federation touts crypto trading regulation, integration with TradFi
The World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) sees the potential for crypto-asset trading platforms (CTPs) to play a larger role in the “real” economy and society at large. It had some blunt observations about CTPs and suggestions for regulators in a paper released Sept. 28.
“CTPs should welcome a degree of regulation as a mean[s] to bolster the appeal of their markets,” the WFE wrote. It suggested six principles for regulating CTPs. The first of those was to segregate functions to avoid trading against their customers, a complaint that United States Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Gary Gensler often voices. Until they meet those standards, CTPs should not call themselves exchanges, the trade association said.
The WFE was concerned about the integration of distributed ledger technology (DLT) into the TradFi exchanges it represents. Regulators should consider the mutual advantages of that integration, it said:
“If you make it impossible for regulated institutions to run services in crypto-assets, you effectively chase this business out of the institutions who know how to run it properly, and into the shadows, where it may be run by new entrants with limited experience.”
FTX experienced a “classic financial services collapse” that was not related to the crypto industry itself, the WFE said.
Related: 40% of crypto trading platforms are decentralized: World Federation of Exchanges
It had much to say about decentralized finance (DeFi):
“DeFi appears to operate differently [from TradFi and CeFi] but the differences are not quite as stark as they seem. […] A platform where buyers and sellers meet is, by its very nature, a central entity.”
For example, the Ethereum Merge – its transition from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake consensus – “was largely driven by the centralised team at the Ethereum foundation.” Regulation could be applied on the level of DApps, not the protocol, the WFE suggested.
World Federation of Exchanges proposes 6 key principles for crypto trading infrastructure –
“These six key principles should be a checklist for any CTPs that are serious about meeting the standards expected of a credible operator of markets. Observing the standards will not … pic.twitter.com/drYRne2bZL— The Industry Spread (@industryspread) September 28, 2023
The WFE applauded Financial Action Task Force efforts to apply Know Your Customer regulations, the so-called travel rule, to crypto and endorsed the IOSCO Principles for Secondary and Other Markets to raise standards on crypto markets.
Magazine: Deposit risk: What do crypto exchanges really do with your money?
US House lawmakers have been urged by 65 crypto organizations to pass the CLARITY Act, which would hand most policing of crypto to the CFTC.
The threat from Reform in Wales is “very serious”, the country’s Labour leader said as exclusive polling revealed Nigel Farage’s party is the first choice for Welsh voters.
Speaking to Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Welsh First Minister Eluned Morgan said: “We think the threat from Reform is a very serious threat.
“I think it is important people recognise that things that we see every day in our lives in Wales may be snatched away from us, and the kind of stability that we’ve had for a long time.”
Eluned Morgan spoke to Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast
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Ms Morgan admitted “we’ve got a lot of work to do to get voters back” ahead of the May 2026 Senedd (Welsh parliament) elections – something backed up by exclusive polling that reveals Reform is beating Welsh Labour, who have been in power in the Senedd since 1999.
A More in Common poll for Sky News found 28% of people in Wales would vote for Reform if an election for the Senedd was called tomorrow.
That was followed closely by nationalist party Plaid Cymru on 26%, Labour with 23%, the Conservatives on 10%, Lib Dems with 7%, the Green Party with 4% and 2% for other parties or independent candidates.
Eluned Morgan said she would never go into a coalition with Reform
Of those who voted for Labour at last year’s general election, less than half (48%) would vote for them again, while 15% would go to Plaid Cymru and 11% to Reform – although 13% were undecided.
A total of 883 people representative of the Welsh population were asked from 18 June to 3 July.
Last month, Mr Farage told an event in the steel town of Port Talbot, he would reopen Welsh coal mines to provide fuel for blast furnaces.
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Beth Rigby spoke to Welsh First Minister and Welsh Labour leader Eluned Morgan
Ms Morgan said she will not be “chasing Reform down a path… because those aren’t my values”.
“What we’ll be doing is offering a very clear alternative, which is about bringing communities together,” she said.
“I think it’s really important that we’re authentic and we’re clear with people about what we stand for.
“I think we’ve got to lead with our values so we’re about bringing communities together not dividing them and I do think that’s what reform is interested in is dividing people and people do need to make choices on things like that.”
She admitted “there is a possibility” Reform could be the largest party in the Senedd “and that is really concerning”.
Nigel Farage in Wales
However, she said the way voting in Wales works means it would be “difficult for them to rule by themselves”.
Would she go into coalition with Reform?
“I wouldn’t touch Reform with a barge pole,” she said.
Sophisticated drones sending “overwhelming amounts” of drugs and weapons into prisons represent a threat to national security, according to an annual inspection report by the prisons watchdog.
HMP chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor has warned criminal gangs are targeting jails and making huge profits selling contraband to a “vulnerable and bored” prison population.
The watchdog boss reiterated his concerns about drones making regular deliveries to two Category A jails, HMP Long Lartin and HMP Manchester, which hold “the most dangerous men in the country”, including terrorists.
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Ex-convict: Prison is ‘birthing bigger criminals’
Mr Taylor said “the police and prison service have in effect ceded the airspace” above these two high-security prisons, which he said was compromising the “safety of staff, prisoners, and ultimately that of the public”.
“The possibility now whereby we’re seeing packages of up to 10kg brought in by serious organised crime means that in some prisons there is now a menu of drugs available,” he said. “Anything from steroids to cannabis, to things like spice and cocaine.”
“Drone technology is moving fast… there is a level of risk that’s posed by drones that I think is different from what we’ve seen in the past,” warned the chief inspector – who also said there’s a “theoretical risk” that a prisoner could escape by being carried out of a jail by a drone.
He urged the prison service to “get a grip” of the issue, stating: “We’d like to see the government, security services, coming together, using technology, using intelligence, so that this risk doesn’t materialise.”
The report highlights disrepair at prisons around the country
The report makes clear that physical security – such as netting, windows and CCTV – is “inadequate” in some jails, including Manchester, with “inexperienced staff” being “manipulated”.
Mr Taylor said there are “basic” measures which could help prevent the use of drones, such as mowing the lawn, “so we don’t get packages disguised as things like astro turf”.
Responding to the report, the Prison Advice and Care Trust (PACT) said: “The ready access to drugs is deeply worrying and is undermining efforts to create places of rehabilitation.”
Mr Taylor’s report found that overcrowding continues to be what he described as a “major issue”, with increasing levels of violence against staff and between prisoners, combined with a lack of purposeful activity.
Some 20% of adult men responding to prisoner surveys said they felt unsafe at the time of the inspection, increasing to 30% in the high security estate.
Andrea Coomber, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “This report is a checklist for all the reasons the government must prioritise reducing prison numbers, urgently.
“Sentencing reform is essential, and sensible steps to reduce the prison population would save lives.”
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May: Male prison capacity running at 99%
The report comes after the government pledged to accept most of the recommendations proposed in the independent review of sentencing policy, with the aim of freeing up around 9,500 spaces.
Those measures won’t come into effect until spring 2026.
Prisons Minister Lord Timpson said Mr Taylor’s findings show “the scale of the crisis” the government “inherited”, with “prisons dangerously full, rife with drugs and violence”.
He said: “After just 500 prison places added in 14 years, we’re building 14,000 extra – with 2,400 already delivered – and reforming sentencing to ensure we never run out of space again.
“We’re also investing £40m to bolster security, alongside stepping up cooperation with police to combat drones and stop the contraband which fuels violence behind bars.”
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