During a recent interview with UK-based news outlet Financial News,\u00a0Sendi Young, Managing Director for UK and Europe at FinTech firm\u00a0Ripple, shared her thoughts on the regulation of the crypto space.<\/p>\n
On 30 June 2021, Ripple announced Young\u2019s appointment. Ripple\u2019s\u00a0press release\u00a0stated that Sendi will \u201coversee strategy and champion the expansion of Ripple\u2019s global financial network technology,\u00a0RippleNet, which delivers financial solutions that enable customers to easily run and scale their business.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is what it said about Young\u2019s background:<\/p>\n
\u201cWith over fifteen years of experience in fintech, payments and consulting, Sendi joins Ripple following a five-year tenure at Mastercard, where she held leadership roles driving strategy, commercialisation, bank-fintech partnerships, and business development.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cMost recently, Sendi led the Fintech & Digital Segment globally for Mastercard\u2019s Data & Services business and grew services that helped banks adopt real-time payments, Open Banking and Artificial Intelligence. Sendi brings with her deep industry and regional expertise which will be used to develop and further drive customer success across Europe.<\/em>\u201c<\/p>\n She had this to say back then:<\/p>\n \u201cOver the last decade, I\u2019ve been at the forefront of innovation in financial services and witnessed how technology has dramatically changed how we bank and pay. However, the underlying payments and banking infrastructure remain an obstacle to frictionless value exchange across borders and inclusion. I firmly believe that blockchain and crypto will be a game-changer to enhance today\u2019s finance, by addressing its core inefficiencies.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThese technologies can make the global financial system fairer, more inclusive and more transparent \u2013 this is just the beginning of what\u2019s possible and I\u2019m excited to be joining such a talented and passionate team and a company that is at the forefront of this step-change.<\/em>\u201c<\/p>\n During her recent interview with Financial News, Young said:<\/p>\n \u201cWhat really matters is having a clear regulatory framework on this so that all the players know the rules of the road and can innovate accordingly. Uncertainty is the biggest threat to innovation. We are not against regulation. Regulation will help crypto unlock utility.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI have the opportunity to see what\u2019s happening in the UK and Europe compared to the US and Asia. I can kind of see the differences. We have outright bans like in China, we have regulation by enforcement in the US, and we have something in between in places like the UK, Europe, Japan, Singapore, UAE, where it is more about creating that framework so that the players can innovate. That third one is certainly the approach that we favour.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThe Markets in Crypto Assets bill, which is the new legislation that the European Union just passed and is looking to take effect in the next few years, is very important. It is a pivotal moment and it is the first harmonised regulatory framework for such a big region that we have seen. We applaud that effort. That will really help innovation and help Europe take a step forward to being a crypto hub globally.<\/em>\u201c<\/p>\n Young was interviewed by CNBC Europe anchor Karen Tso at this year\u2019s\u00a0Money20\/20 Europe conference\u00a0(held 7-9 June 2022 in Amsterdam).<\/p>\n Here is what she said about the state of the crypto market and how Ripple is doing:<\/p>\n