In this episode of Regulatory Ramblings, Angela Ang, Senior Policy Advisor at TRM Labs, is a veteran blockchain regulatory and intelligence firm. She spent over a decade at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), where she was deputy director of licensing for payment and crypto service providers. Angela has been recognized as one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices for Finance in Asia for her thought leadership on the development of digital assets in the Learn more +
TRM Labs helps customers make sense of public blockchain data by overlaying information about entities and their risk levels to give customers a better picture. Angela sees parallels between her time at MAS and TRM Labs, which also have a compliance-centric, mission-driven business model.
Ang shares his views on regulation in Asia, saying the region leads the pack when it comes to regulatory clarity. Crypto regulation has seen more movement in the region, particularly in financial hubs like Singapore and Hong Kong. Angela acknowledges that each Asian regulator will have their philosophy on how to view crypto, but is overall optimistic about where things are heading.
Regulation concerns the control and requirements necessary to prevent illicit activities. Sufficient enforcement is necessary to ensure consequences, and authorities must have enough qualified people to carry out rigorous monitoring. The perceived talent shortage in the crypto compliance space is also addressed, with the old principles of compliance and risk management still applicable.
The evolving technology landscape is also giving rise to the related topics SupTech and RegTech, which are key elements of what TRM does. Crypto compliance professionals use TRM tools for ongoing due diligence and transaction monitoring, while regulators use TRM offerings for RegTech purposes.
Discussion Guide/Chapter Topics:
1:43 The life of a regulator: balancing innovation and rules in Singapore
6:26 A mission-driven approach to combating fraud and financial crime
13:19 Crypto’s journey into a traditional financial sector
18:14 How Singapore and Hong Kong are leading regulatory clarity
21:56 Addressing crypto regulatory enforcement challenges
27:00 Bridging the Crypto Compliance Talent Gap
30:04 Making SupTech accessible to non-experts
34:44 Asia’s role in global crypto crime
36:26 Evolution of VASP responses to crypto-crime
42:47 Travel compliance: high numbers, real-world challenges
47:00 Using crypto to circumvent sanctions: lessons learned from North Korean actors and others
53:08 Leveraging blockchain transparency for asset recovery
58:04 The appeal of digital currencies: liquidity, anonymity and crime
1:01:20 Building a safer crypto future: advice for budding professionals
Resources:
Connect or follow Angela Ang on LinkedIn |
TRM Laboratories: web page | See less –
