Reg/Tech Lab
A global research & educational lab focusing on Finance, Innovation, Regulation, Sustainability and Technology.
Ukraine, Sanctions and Central Bank Digital Currencies:
Weaponization of Digital Finance and the End of Global Monetary Hegemony?
This paper analyzes the geopolitical and strategic dimensions of how technology is reshaping the international monetary and payments systems. Freezing some US$300 billion of Russia’s central bank reserves in response to the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 highlighted the power of the existing Western-led digital monetary and payments architecture and the potential risks of dependence on that system. We analyze the new technologies which could underpin a new international monetary system, not dominated by a monetary hegemon. The geopolitics of a multipolar world coupled to the evolution of enabling technologies may well result in a small number of major economy central bank digital currencies and currency areas, eliminating the historical pattern of monetary hegemony. There is a clear need to redesign systems to reduce this likelihood and support international monetary and payment arrangements as a public good and we explore how this might be achieved.
Asiaglobal Papers No. 7 | by Douglas Arner, Ross Buckley, Anton Didenko and Dirk Zetzsche.
Professor Douglas W. Arner
University of Hong Kong
Professor Ross Buckley
University of New South Wales
Anton Didenko
University of New South Wales
Professor Dirk Zetzsche
University of Luxembourg
The BigFintechs and Sustainability Papers
The rapid rise of global digital finance players (BigFintechs) in which technology has come to play a key role in driving an upsurge in growth, scale and diversification into financial services has taken many by surprise. From China’s Ant Group to India’s Paytm, Amazon, Facebook and Google in the US, Mercado Libre in Latin America, ride-hailing services in Southeast Asia, mobile money in Africa and many more, BigFintechs’ dominance and impacts on sustainable development are increasingly felt, both at home and internationally, and have only accelerated during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Regulatory Ramblings Podcast
Regulatory Ramblings is a podcast hosted by the HKU-Standard Chartered FinTech Academy and the HKU-edX Professional Certificate in FinTech - focussing on the nexus all things financial, technological, legal and regulatory: featuring interviews with those in-the-know, both locally and regionally.
Governance and Data Fragmentation Paper
The historical paradigm of data globalization is fragmenting. Fragmentation of transnational data flows and related governance frameworks is emerging globally as the result of evolving differences between major economies, heightened by technological and geopolitical competition and conflicts. The irreconcilable positions of the three major economies and standard-setting jurisdictions – the United States, the European Union, and the People’s Republic of China – are breaking down the global data economy and threaten to fracture its core infrastructure, the Internet.
Looking Back, Looking Forward (LBLF) Series
LBLF provides a concise and analytical discussion of issues relating to the intersection of finance, technology, regulation, globalization and sustainable development. Topics include digitisation and datafication of finance, major trends and themes in global finance and its regulation, and the role of finance in sustainable development.
LITE Lab@HKU
Law, Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship Lab at the University of Hong Kong's Faculty of Law (LITE Lab@HKU) is an interdisciplinary and experiential programme that seeks to foster experiential learning and impactful applied research in emerging law of technology initiatives and innovative technology of law initiatives through lawtech and regtech projects bridging students and not-for-profit organisations for access to justice as well as with legal departments, startups and law firms.
SuperCharger Ventures
SuperCharger Ventures is the leading EdTech accelerator dedicated to both early-stage and growth-stage startup companies to fuel their global expansion. Its a 12-week programme focuses on acquiring growth capital for expansion, scaling business development and growing EdTech. To date, SuperCharger has accelerated 55 companies, helping them raise over $500m and executing 400+ commercial deals.
