Founded in Paris in 1920, Gide is a leading international law firm with 12 offices spread throughout the world.
Gide is physically present in six regions of the world, with 11 offices, enabling it to act on cases globally.
5 November 2019
On 18 October 2019, the G7 and the Financial Stability Board (FSB) respectively published their first analyses of projects aiming to launch digital tokens with a relatively stable value, also called "stablecoins". The interest in these new instruments demonstrates that international authorities are recognising their existence and hope to anticipate their development outside of any adapted regulatory framework.
The first conclusions of the G7 and FSB reports are clear: considering the potential risks that innovative projects enabling simplified international payments are placing on the monetary policy, the financial stability and integrity of the markets, these initiatives will only be able to develop if they strictly comply with all the applicable international rules and standards.
The standards in question are not restricted to anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML-CFT). On the one hand, the G7 insisted on respecting (i) standards in terms of operational resilience and cybersecurity; (ii) rules ensuring the protection of data; and (iii) those pertaining to the protection of consumers and investors. On the other, the FSB report announced future works to facilitate the emergence of regulatory and supervisory approaches suited to these global projects.
We agree that no global stablecoin project should begin operation until the legal, regulatory and oversight challenges and risks are adequately addressed, through appropriate designs and by adhering to regulation that is clear and proportionate to the risks. Beyond regulation, the preservation of public prerogatives or core elements of monetary sovereignty will have to be taken into account.
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