{"id":17925,"date":"2025-05-21T17:54:35","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T17:54:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/21\/web3s-next-move-global-rules-canadian-friction-and-the-tech-driving-the-future-of-finance\/"},"modified":"2025-05-21T17:54:35","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T17:54:35","slug":"web3s-next-move-global-rules-canadian-friction-and-the-tech-driving-the-future-of-finance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/21\/web3s-next-move-global-rules-canadian-friction-and-the-tech-driving-the-future-of-finance\/","title":{"rendered":"Web3\u2019s Next Move: Global Rules, Canadian Friction and the Tech Driving the Future of Finance"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

The Blockchain Futurist Conference, one of several Web3 events held in Toronto during Canada\u2019s fifth annual Crypto Week, dove into the industry\u2019s potential and the regulatory gaps that might stall progress. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Across a slew of keynote panels and conversations, industry insiders kept coming back to a similar conclusion: Web3 is global by design, but regulation remains fragmented. <\/p>\n

As global jurisdictions advance frameworks for stablecoins, decentralized finance (DeFi) and tokenized assets, Canada must choose whether to create new regulations, or adapt old policies that don\u2019t fit an evolving financial landscape.<\/p>\n

A deeper exploration of four key themes that emerged from the event reveals the nuanced perspectives and emerging trends shaping the next phase of Web3 innovation and adoption.<\/p>\n

\n

1. Digital assets need global regulation <\/h3>\n

Speakers on the \u201cFuture of Global Regulation\u201d panel discussed the need for a collaborative global approach on regulation, stressing that a balance between innovation and consumer protection is key. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s going to have to be collaboration,\u201d Cody Carbone, CEO at the Digital Chamber, pointed out. \u201cI mean, it\u2019s technology that\u2019s borderless, and you\u2019re dealing with so many cross-border agencies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anson Law, chief representative of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, described Hong Kong\u2019s principles-based approach to digital asset regulation, where the focus is on creating regulatory principles rather than strict controls. <\/p>\n

Law said he expects to see international regulatory standards develop after increased discussions with organizations like the Financial Stability Board and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. <\/p>\n

El Salvador was held up as a cautionary tale that pro-crypto policy is not enough for widespread usage \u2014 adoption depends not only on legal clarity, but also on user confidence and adequate infrastructure. Public engagement is essential to raising awareness about how blockchain technology can be applied, which will encourage wider use. <\/p>\n

Ultimately, global leaders are beginning to understand the importance of staying up to date with blockchain innovation. International collaboration will be critical to avoiding a fractured ecosystem.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

2. Canada at a regulatory crossroads <\/h3>\n

Stablecoins already represent 70 percent of global crypto trading volume \u2014 yet Canada lacks a widely used, domestic digital currency. That was the message from Coinbase Global\u2019s (NASDAQ:COIN) Lucas Matheson at a fireside chat with Alex McDougall, president of Stablecorp, the company behind QCAD, a Canadian-dollar backed stablecoin. <\/p>\n

The urgency of regulatory modernization underscored their conversation, and that sentiment was also present when Coinbase Ventures and other investors announced a US$1.8 million investment in Stablecorp to enhance QCAD\u2019s features and digital infrastructure in order to expand its role in payments, FX and digital asset transactions.<\/p>\n

McDougall noted that Canada processes over US$400 billion in daily FX trades, making stablecoins a logical evolution; however, without modern, federal regulation, QCAD\u2019s growth could be stifled before it begins. <\/p>\n

Once hailed as an early mover in crypto regulation, Canada is now facing increasing criticism for falling behind. <\/p>\n

At the \u201cCanadian Web3 Regulation\u201d panel, Suzanne Lasrado of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) acknowledged that the rules in place don\u2019t fully accommodate crypto\u2019s needs. Unlike most other jurisdictions, which classify stablecoins as payment instruments, CIRO currently oversees stablecoins as securities. <\/p>\n

<\/span>Lasrado said the organization is working to evolve the current system, which relies on a patchwork of legacy approaches. Her fellow speakers on the panel echoed Matheson and McDougall\u2019s warning that this regulatory disconnect risks marginalizing Canada\u2019s place in the fast-moving global stablecoin race.<\/p>\n

Industry leaders were more direct. Mark Greenberg of crypto trading platform Kraken Digital Asset Exchange said his company\u2019s substantial investment in regulatory compliance in Canada has ultimately paid off, but expressed concern that the country\u2019s risk-averse stance could stifle innovation and growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of the pieces that we pioneered here in Canada are now used in many markets in the world. They\u2019ve been transported to Europe and the UK, and so that was a good investment for us,\u201d he explained. <\/p>\n

\u201cAt the same time, we\u2019re not going to be launching any of the new, interesting things we\u2019re working on in Canada, and the reason behind that is I do not know how to bring them into this market. I don\u2019t have the same kind of flexibility that I do with the regulators in the US, or in Europe, or in Bermuda, or the British Virgin Islands or other markets where we operate, and that\u2019s something that has to change,\u2019 Greenberg told conference attendees. <\/p>\n

NDAX COO Tanim Rasul highlighted that Canada\u2019s reactive regulatory culture, shaped by scandals like Quadriga, tends to prioritize restriction over innovation. Meanwhile, Mo Yang of Convoy Finance called for a more nuanced approach to DeFi, one that differentiates between retail and institutional players.<\/p>\n

For Matheson and McDougall, QCAD serves as a hopeful case study. With coordinated policy and private sector innovation, stablecoins could become a central pillar of Canadian fintech.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

3. Tokenization as an investment paradigm <\/h3>\n

Beyond regulation, another major theme of the Blockchain Futurist Conference was tokenization. <\/p>\n

The \u201cWhy Tokenize?\u201d panel featured industry practitioners and innovators who made the case that tokenization could democratize access to everything from real estate and mining to private credit and collectibles. <\/p>\n

\u201cAsset ownership, for the longest time, has been limited to a select group of investors and institutions. With tokenization, it enables fractional ownership and efficiency, which allows us to expand liquidity beyond certain geographies,\u201d explained Bilal Hammoud, CEO of Canadian cryptocurrency exchange NDAX.<\/p>\n

Hunter Milborne, CEO of Milborne Group, a Canadian real estate development company, drew comparisons to the rise of condominiums, which opened up ownership in ways traditional real estate hadn\u2019t. <\/p>\n

\u201cI can see a big parallel today. Now you have accredited investors, you\u2019ve got all these regulations, you need $100,000 or $250,000 to invest in something \u2026 this is something that can be available at a much lower number to people who can share in the asset base,\u201d he explained to moderator Natalie Hirsch, CFO at Polymath Network. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a saying in our business that you can\u2019t out-save real estate. You buy the right piece of real estate, and it goes up in value a little bit each year,\u201d he continued. \u201cBut for somebody who has $1,000 or $5,000 or $500 or $10,000, it\u2019s just not available. So I think that it\u2019s going to broaden that market base. And there (are) statistics that estimate that between now and 2035, you\u2019re going to have a $4 trillion industry growing at almost 30 percent a year.\u201d <\/p>\n

Kirill Soloviev, CEO of KS Group, emphasized that tokenization could broaden access to mining, another traditionally capital-intensive sector. Through fractionalized digital ownership, people could participate in projects at various stages without needing to provide millions in capital upfront. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt gives us a full cycle, not only to raise the money that initially we need, but also sell it to the end user,\u201d he said, before Hirsch teased a potential future deal announcement between KS Group and Polymath.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

4. Finance has a decentralized future <\/h3>\n

Finally, finance reporter Claire Brown moderated a panel discussing the potential for DeFi to replace traditional finance (TradFi). Wesley Crook, CEO of FP Block, highlighted 24\/7 settlement and transparency as distinct advantages that DeFi has over traditional finance, while BitGo\u2019s Chen Fang noted DeFi\u2019s lower barriers to entry.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnybody on Earth with an internet connection can download any number of these wallets and, with a couple of clicks, get into any number of markets that exist within various blockchains. It\u2019s that simple,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

However, EY\u2019s global blockchain leader, Paul Brody, noted the advantages traditional financial institutions still have over DeFi, specifically their ability to analyze extensive personal data for nuanced risk assessment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey can make bets on participants that DeFi ecosystems cannot do, so they have that advantage. For how long, I\u2019m not sure, but at the moment, it\u2019s very clearly their play,\u201d he clarified. <\/p>\n

On the other hand, Mike Silagadze, founder and CEO of ether.fi, argued that TradFi\u2019s perceived advantage isn\u2019t due to superior innovation or efficiency, but is instead a result of its highly concentrated and anti-competitive nature, something DeFi aims to dismantle by offering more transparent, accessible and potentially lower-cost alternatives. <\/p>\n

Fang believes the core technology behind DeFi has matured significantly, from speculation to \u201cvery real\u201d use cases like remittances. \u201cIt\u2019s time to replace those systems, in my opinion, with some of the technologies that we\u2019ve built within this industry,\u201d he said. He expects the underlying technology to be applied to multiple new use cases in the next 10 years.<\/p>\n

As a caveat, Crook emphasized that trust must be established, and user design needs to be simplified for mainstream adoption to truly take hold. \u201cWe have to build systems that will allow trust to be put into the space. We\u2019ve got to simplify. We have way too much of a complicated environment to play in. If we can\u2019t get grandma and grandpa onto these systems with a push of a button on their phone, we\u2019re going nowhere,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

The panel concluded with optimism about DeFi\u2019s potential to transform financial services, including the potential emergence of \u2018DeFi banks\u2019 that could expand the DeFi market significantly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Investor takeaway <\/h3>\n

The speakers at this year\u2019s Blockchain Futurist Conference made one point clear: Web3 innovation is accelerating, but without aligned regulation, its full potential can\u2019t be realized.<\/p>\n

Countries like the US and Hong Kong are writing rules that welcome digital assets into the mainstream. Canada, once a frontrunner, must now decide how to adapt. While the tools and technologies for a decentralized future of finance are maturing and hold promise for a more accessible and efficient financial landscape, these advancements require clear rules and user-friendly interfaces to achieve widespread adoption.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

This post appeared first on investingnews.com<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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