The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has announced that it will launch a consultation for its regulatory report on crypto assets in the second quarter of 2023. The organization plans to publish the final recommendations by the end of the same year. This is part of IOSCO’s work program for 2023–24, which includes two major workflows dedicated to decentralized assets. The first one covers crypto and digital assets, while the second focuses on decentralized finance (DeFi).
IOSCO aims to enhance investor protection, maintain market integrity, and reduce systemic risk while supporting the development of sustainable and innovative capital markets.
The IOSCO had previously published reports on DeFi, stablecoins, and influencers in 2022. It recommended that national regulators acquire supervisory capacities, such as regulatory channels to report consumer complaints for misleading and illegal promotions and evidence-tracking processes to cope with the fast pace and changing nature of online information.
With regards to DeFi, the IOSCO urged national regulators to gain a “granular and holistic understanding of the DeFi market,” which could enhance their ability to create relevant legislation.
In a joint report with the Bank for International Settlements, IOSCO defined the stablecoin arrangement as “combining a range of functions to provide an instrument that purports to be used as a means of payment and/or store of value.” IOSCO is an association of securities and futures regulators, with a board comprising 35 regulators and top executives, including heads of the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority, among others.
