EU Markets in Crypto-assets (MiCA) Webinar

Siân is Chair at XReg Consulting, a group of former regulators with practical experience in formulating public policy and developing regulation for blockchain, Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and cryptoassets.

As XReg’s strategy and public policy lead, Siân’s background in regulation and extensive experience in policy formulation, regulatory framework development and implementation is leveraged by governments and public authorities to guide the development of policies within their jurisdictions, as they come to terms with the new frontier of cryptoassets and with the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) standards and guidelines as they apply to virtual assets and virtual asset service providers (VASPs).  

Siân led a global initiative to develop a new standard for interVASP messaging to assist the virtual asset industry to more rapidly respond to the FATF Recommendations. She is also a member of the International Standards Organisation (ISO) technical committee on DLT and has sat as an expert on several of its working groups. She also sits on the BSI National Mirror Committee on DLT, the Financial Markets Law Committee DLT working group and, until July 2019, was a delegate and technical expert on virtual assets on the FATF’s Policy Development Group. Siân also leads the Brussels-based European Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology Forum, a public policy platform helping EU policymakers and legislators shape sound policy and regulation.

Before XReg Consulting, Siân was seconded to the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission as Senior Adviser on DLT, having previously architected Gibraltar’s DLT regulatory framework. Her 48-year career in information technology, security, data protection and compliance has included working in Europe, the Middle East and Asia in industries as diverse as banking, transport, healthcare, pharmaceuticals and security.

Ernest is one of the founding Partners at XReg Consulting and a qualified lawyer with over 17 years of experience working in financial services regulation. As XReg’s legal and regulatory policy lead, he is highly experienced in the design, development and implementation of crypto legislative frameworks that meet both global and local policy objectives.

At XReg, Ernest leverages in-house expertise on Europe’s Markets in Crypto-assets (MiCA) Regulation to advise clients in Europe or those looking to enter the European market. He also leads engagement with European public sector officials and National Competent Authorities in their transition to MiCA compliance.

Ernest has also spoken at industry conferences and trained international regulatory authorities on Europe’s MiCA regulation and how it will shape the future of crypto’s international regulatory landscape. He also sits on the Financial Markets Law Committee to address issues arising from the use of cryptoassets and DLT.

Prior to XReg, he was the Head of Policy at the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission, where was instrumental in the design and implementation of the Distributed Ledger Technology regime. He also led and managed the Legislative Reform Program, the single largest financial services legislation reform in the jurisdiction, and worked to transpose several EU Directives into Gibraltar law.

As a Senior Consultant at XReg Consulting, Ana leads on a wide range of services for both public and private sector clients. She conducts analyses to determine the most suitable jurisdiction(s) to become authorised, provides regulatory remediation support, assists in the development of regulatory regimes, conducts risk assessments, administers training and works to implement systems and controls that help clients mitigate risk and comply with regulatory obligations.

Since joining XReg as one of the company’s first hires in 2019, she has worked closely with national governments on risk assessments, regulatory authorities on the drafting of virtual asset rules and regulatory guidance, and global members associations on responses to crypto-asset legislation in the European Union. She has also taken a lead role in XReg’s content marketing efforts, producing and editing reports, articles and hosting webinars on the latest policies and developments in the cryptoasset sector.

Ana started her career at the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC) where she was part of the Authorisations team and then the International and Government Affairs team. As International Policy Advisor Ana liaised with regulators and public sector bodies and supported the GFSC’s membership and participation in international organisations. Whilst at the GFSC, Ana completed the Chartered Insurance Institute’s core qualification (CII) and IOSCO/PIFS-Harvard Law School’s Global Certificate Program for Regulators of Securities Markets.