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GFIC Working Group

The Global Financial Institutions Crypto Working Group (GFIC), administered by Global Digital Finance (GDF) and chaired by Standard Chartered and Ownera, was established to work towards a common financial conduct and operating standards framework for crypto assets in the wholesale market.

GDF has released the Global Cryptoasset Standards, a code of conduct for financial institutions engaging in intermediation activities such as brokerage, custody, and settlement of cryptoassets like bitcoin and Ethereum.

The Global Cryptoasset Standards consists of a set of global principles that are intended to promote a robust, fair, liquid, open, and appropriately transparent market in which a diverse set of market participants, supported by resilient infrastructure, are able to confidently and effectively transact at competitive prices that reflect available market information and in a manner that conforms to acceptable standards of behavior.

The Standards are comprised of 63 principles across six domains: Ethics, Governance, Execution, Information Sharing, Risk Management and Compliance, and Confirmation and Settlement Processes, and were inspired by global best practice industry standards and codes such as the FX Global Code.

The Standards have been through a rigorous development process over the past 18 months, led by the Global Financial Institutions for Cryptoassets Working Group. The Standards have been subject to an open public consultation. The feedback received from the community was examined and implemented as necessary by the Working Group and its key stakeholders.

The Standards have also been in purview of global regulators, including the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA). The Standards offer the best global practices for regulated firms handling cryptoassets, aimed at giving assurance to clients, regulators, employees, and shareholders.

The GDF Global Financial Institutions Cryptoasset (GFIC) Working Group recently engaged the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to discuss the applicability of the FCA Code Recognition Programme, to the GDF Global Cryptoassets Standards and its value as a ‘living standard’ that can keep up with the pace of the rapid developments of this very dynamic digital industry.

GDF and the members of the GFIC Working Group were greatly encouraged by the FCA’s insights and willingness to engage in this collaborative process and look forward to continued engagement with the FCA on ensuring the GDF Global Cryptoasset Standard, to be released shortly.