COVER STORY • AON PARTNERSHIP
exposure is linked to crypto. However, this becomes more
(CASPs) as financial institutions and regulators increasingly scrutinise governance and risk culture. "Strong, systemic gender equality policies signal maturity, integrity and resilience," Sullivan says. "They also help prevent groupthink, strengthen decision-making and help CASPs align with the regulatory expectations of regimes such as MiCA,” he adds. Both firms agree on the commercial imperative to build sustainable businesses and long- term trust with clients, and gender quality is a key element in making that happen. BUT THERE ARE CAVEATS Sullivan says the UK's PRA is unlikely to permit the use of non-stable digital assets as primary insurance capital in the near term. The priority, at least for now, is policyholder protection and establishing resilience under the current solvency regimes. If the UK does not permit the use of non-stable digital assets as primary insurance capital, this could be detrimental to its ambitions to become a global digital assets hub. "The goal of becoming a hub is not just to house crypto exchanges, but to modernise financial market infrastructure using the underlying technology," says Sullivan. “The inability to tokenise insurance- linked securities or other forms of capital to improve efficiency and access to third-party funding would represent a ‘missing trick’ in the broader financial services overhaul.” As payments, custody and capital markets adopt digital assets, institutional engagement with this sector is now becoming the default option. However, the big question is whether governance, safeguarding and regulations will advance quickly enough to support this rapid adoption as the market matures. The winners in 2026 will be those that embed digital assets into their financial infrastructure and fully integrate risk into their group-level governance structures.
The industry's most important milestone from a legal and regulatory perspective will be the convergence of global tax reporting requirements and the operationalisation of new structural frameworks, according to James Sullivan, Chief Risk and Compliance Officer, BCB Group. Key milestones and unresolved questions for 2026 The Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) deadline This will lift compliance standards across the OECD and set the global floor for institutional trust and transparency. "CARF is a G20-mandated, OECD-developed international standard for the automatic exchange of information in tax matters. This is a massive, multi- jurisdictional undertaking that demands a wholesale overhaul of compliance and reporting technology and processes." Structural operationalisation The industry will also need to prepare for the full operationalisation of MiCA and the UK's new systemic stablecoin regime. This will need to cover everything from capital structures and reserve management to segregation mechanisms. "They will need to be fully compliant with the explicit, often prescriptive, requirements of these new laws," Sullivan said. "The industry will need to focus on integrating the data requirements of CARF into systems that are already being fundamentally shaped to meet capital and custody compliance requirements for MiCA and the Bank of England."
complex when the value of reserves is not correlated to the exposure. "If you’re underwriting traditional USD-denominated risks – a hurricane loss in Jamaica, for example – holding Bitcoin as capital introduces a separate market risk that has nothing to do with the underlying catastrophe exposure, which needs to be considered fully" Poland says.
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Premiums are falling, and the digital asset sector is becoming more legitimised. This has made it easier for insurers to get sign-off and assess more options. Poland says this has reduced prices to what seems “fairer and more appropriate to the risk” − underpinned by regulation, the involvement of the big institutions, and the ongoing maturation of the digital asset ecosystem. "Another driver is the pure sales pitch. If you can earn a million with Bank A, then the insurance spend becomes less important,” he adds. For institutions, capital strength is only one part of governance Increasingly, regulators and counterparties are scrutinising culture and diversity. Aon and BCB Group are unanimous about the importance of making more progress on gender equality, especially as the digital asset market matures. This is now becoming a critical differentiator for crypto-asset service providers
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Please note that since this interview took place on the 20th of November 2025, the UK Government, HM Treasury, and the FCA have released proposals, statutory instruments, and consultation papers that may update or clarify the points discussed.
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