ATLANTIC COUNCIL-UC SAN DIEGO CONFERENCE ON DIGITAL CURRENCY IN CHINA AND THE ASIA PACIFIC - This conference brought together leading policymakers and private sector representatives to discuss the rapidly evolving digital currency landscape across the Asia Pacific region and its implications for the rest of the global financial system.

Caroline Freund, Dean of the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy, welcomed the guests, followed by remarks from Josh Lipsky, Director, Atlantic Council GeoEconomics Center. This was followed by a keynote discussion with Mu Changchun, Director-General, Digital Currency Institute, People’s Bank of China, moderated by Victor Shih, Ho Miu Lam Chair in China and Pacific Relations at the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy. Afterwards, a panel on Markets, Entrepreneurship and Digital Currencies in Asia, featured Jeremy Allaire, Chairman and CEO at Circle, He Yifan, CEO at Red Date Technology and Siddharth Tiwari, Chief Representative of the BIS Office for Asia and the Pacific. The panel was moderated by Olga Kharif, Technology Reporter, Bloomberg News.

2022 was a critical year for the development of digital currencies and the regulatory landscape surrounding them. 91 countries, representing 90% of the world’s GDP, are currently exploring their own digital currencies. Policymakers are interested in the new developments that affect their monetary policies and regulatory environments, especially the impact of these currencies on their own monetary sovereignty.

ORIGINAL AIRDATE: 2/14/2022