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According to the World Economic Forum (WEF) low-maturity FinTechs need a common cybersecurity framework and assessment process, tiered according to cybersecurity maturity levels and provide guidance for companies on when they need to adopt and enhance cybersecurity controls as they grow. The solution should start with baseline requirements for controls and assessment, but also provide increasingly complex controls as organizations develop and as their cybersecurity risk management requirements mature. Controls require regular adaptation as technology, threats and business models change. They are granular, specific to the assets they are meant to protect, and may have a limited shelf life. The WEF recommends that these controls should be defined by financial services providers, where the expertise and funding can be deployed at speed, in consultation with cybersecurity experts from other sectors, governmental agencies and relevant civil-society organizations.

"Against the backdrop of the decentralized finance (DeFi) hype that took the world by storm over the past year, the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Tuesday released a toolkit for policymakers to examine the opportunities and risks the new technology could bring."

The World Economic Forum (WEF) published a paper that highlight the needs and challenges in developing a global approach to crypto-asset regulation. In doing so, it delves into the various regulatory approaches being adopted by different jurisdictions. The result of multistakeholder consultations with experts from the Digital Currency Governance Consortium, comprising experts from public authorities, regulators, policy-making bodies, industry and academia, the paper explores pathways to creating a responsible crypto-asset ecosystem globally.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) published a paper on decentralized ID, that could offer a secure way of managing personal data without depending on intermediaries. While decentralized ID presents opportunities, it also poses risks and faces challenges. Without fit-for-purpose policy, regulation and technology, the potential for these systems to have a socially beneficial impact will be limited. The report provides tools, frameworks and recommendations for government officials, regulators and executives seeking to engage with decentralized ID.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) published a paper that identifies the main regulatory frictions hindering efficient and inclusive cross-border payments, including diverging regulatory frameworks, anti-money laundering compliance complexities, restrictive data regulations and inadequate access for non-bank players. It proposes recommendations to advance regulatory interoperability through enhanced cross-border collaborations, modernized frameworks, strengthened cooperation and public-private partnerships. Achieving interoperability will require the public and private sectors to come together in shaping a transparent, efficient and inclusive cross-border payments ecosystem.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) published a report that analyses CBDCs from a regional perspective, identifying unique aspects and areas of alignment among jurisdictions. It highlights key CBDC principles that will facilitate interoperability with various types of payment systems, technical standards, regulatory standards and legacy payment architecture and infrastructure, that will allow participants in different systems to conduct, clear and settle payments or financial transactions across systems without participating in multiple systems. The report calls for public-private cooperation, regulatory consistency, innovation and participation in standards development.

In the absence of high-certainty macroeconomic models that project the macroeconomic impact of cryptocurrency and stablecoins, the World Economic Forum (WEF) has published a white paper that seeks to forecast the potential effects based on qualitative assessments from global macroeconomists and credible literature in this space. Based on projected macroeconomic outcomes, the majority of economists interviewed predict that allowing cryptocurrency to play a regulated role in the economy will bring the highest macroeconomic net benefit to society. This is contingent on the responsible design and enforcement of regulation. A separate workstream within the WEF's Digital Currency Governance Consortium (DCGC) will deliver more detail regarding regulatory best practices at a later date.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) published a report that explores the potential of wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) to unlock new economic models and integration points. Four areas of differentiated value for are highlighted. First they can realize a global settlement window by harmonizing foreign exchange (FX) and securities markets settlement times to overcome operational hour disparities among key trading corridors. Second, they can expand payment-versus-payment arrangements through cost-effective solutions that can support a diversity of currencies to enhance currency liquidity. Third, they can mutualize data across parties by securely transmitting settlement data across parties and jurisdictions to support automation, reduce settlement risk, and enhance trade and post-trade activities. Lastly, they tokenize credit risk-free settlement media for settling tokenized securities and supporting emerging tokenized payment instruments.

The World Economic Forum launched the Global Consortium for Digital Currency Governance to focus on the development of interoperable, transparent and inclusive policy approaches to regulating the digital currency space and fostering public-private collaboration in both developed and emerging economies.

Collapsed supply and demand, transport frictions, labor shortages and, in some cases, early signs of protectionism, are making it increasingly tough for suppliers to keep goods and services flowing across global value chains. This WEF article argues that blockchain technology is key to mitigating the impact of such disruptions.

A report from the World Economic Forum (WEF) and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has found that while distributed ledger technology (DLT) offers the potential for significant market-wide transformation, market participants are still far from adopting this technology at scale at a market-wide level.

According to this WEF report the pandemic has proved that digital financial inclusion is crucial - and that it cannot depend on cash-out services. Weak financial infrastructure makes digital transactions difficult - and people often mistrust digital financial services. Governments and financial institutions can earn that trust by building a resilient and inclusive financial system.

A joint report by The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, the World Bank and the World Economic Forum, has found that while 12 out of 13 fintech sectors reported year-on-year growth during the first half of 2020, significant discrepancies between sectors and regions remain. Digital banking, digital identity and regtech sectors showed a more modest growth increase of 10% compared to their counterparts in digital payments, digital savings, wealthtech and digital asset exchanges which saw transaction volumes grow in excess of 20%. Procyclical digital lending fintechs saw an average 8% decrease in transaction volumes. Fintechs based in Emerging Markets or Developing Economies saw higher average growth in transaction numbers and volumes (15% and 12% respectively) than those in Advanced Economies. https://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/faculty-research/centres/alternative-finance/publications/2020-global-covid-19-fintech-market-rapid-assessment-study/

The World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Future Council on Cryptocurrencies published its inaugural report on digital assets entitled, Crypto, What Is It Good For? An Overview of Cryptocurrency Use Cases. It highlights a non-exhaustive list of companies, protocols and projects that represent the diversity of use cases that cryptocurrencies and the networks which they power can enable. The report highlights a series of "base layer" protocols, second layers, and service providers. It touches upon both financial services applications as well as non Fintech related services.

"Collaboratively governed and code-driven, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) are engaged in nothing less than an experiment to reimagine how we connect, collaborate and create. Although DAOs today manage billions of dollars' worth of assets, engage millions of contributors and operate across industries as diverse as finance and philanthropy, basic questions regarding operations, governance, law and policy are only just beginning to be addressed by policy-makers, regulators and entrepreneurs. The result of a collaboration involving more than 100 experts spanning the public and private sectors, the DAO Toolkit provides resources for developers, policy-makers and other stakeholders seeking to engage with the DAO ecosystem."

"While offline capabilities improve resilience to power or connectivity outages, they may also increase vulnerability to fraud in transactions, as fewer security features and centralized controls can mitigate fraudulent behavior," the WEF said. It added that these "include locking stolen funds, querying suspicious transactions or freezing breached accounts," as well as "potential vulnerabilities of physical devices providing access to CBDC, such as stored-value cards."

"Given the rapid pace of technological experimentation and development, and the multitude of variables at play, it can be challenging to assess the best technology choices for a new central bank digital currency (CBDC). This WEF white paper is intended to guide central banks and other decision-makers through major technology considerations for CBDC. It is divided into three parts: 1) discussion of CBDC technical design considerations given various policy goals, 2) an evaluation of the pros and cons, or trade-offs, of the use of distributed ledger technology in CBDC infrastructure, and 3) an overview of important cybersecurity risks and considerations for any CBDC."

"Many financial institutions and tech firms have invested heavily in exploring distributed ledger technology and its capabilities, moving it from the margins to the mainstream. There are inefficiencies, challenges and potential risks to what underlies global capital markets and the key question is whether DLT is the appropriate tech to address them. Capital market leaders must take several steps, including better understanding DLT and its potential roles, while uniting behind common standards for contracts and processes."

The World Economic Forum's Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Network has built a global community of central banks, international organizations and leading blockchain experts to identify and leverage innovations in distributed ledger technologies (DLT) that could help usher in a new age for the global banking system.

The University of Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance is partnering with the World Bank Group and the World Economic Forum to launch a Global Covid-19 FinTech Market Rapid Assessment Survey. The empirical data collected will be used to understand Covid-19's impact on the FinTech markets, how the global FinTech industry has responded and some of the immediate regulatory and policy implications.