COVER STORY Camille Tas
→ “Listening to clients and feeding that back to other departments inside BCB is a really important part of what we do in sales,” says Tas. One of her key relationships is with Claire Barratt, Head of Banking Strategy and Partnerships, who is in charge of developing new banking alliances for BCB and aligning them with client needs. Tas and Barratt guide and inform each other in their priorities, combining a sense of what clients are asking while considering which potential partners are eager to forge links with the digital assets world. “Our clients and even potential clients may want to enter certain markets and can't find a partner. So, we have fortnightly calls with the banking team. They share insights from their conversations with partners and keep us informed on the progress of products that we might be able to add to our portfolio. And we provide feedback about anything we hear in the market,” Tas says. Beckoning global opportunities... and challenges “BCB is based in the UK, and authorised in France, so Europe is a big focus, but we are also looking at what is going to be the next big market that we want to enter. The United Arab Emirates is one area and naturally we took a team to TOKEN2049 in Dubai earlier this year. Asia Pacific is another region we are looking towards.” “One region we are hearing a lot about from clients and prospective clients is Africa,” says Tas. “The African market is a huge user of crypto assets in general, partly because domestic fiat currencies can be quite volatile. So, there is a lot of interest in using stablecoin as a store of value and converting into fiat as and when it is needed.” Stablecoins remain dominated by USD-denominated coins, but the market for stablecoins pegged to other currencies is expanding. BCB Group, for example, has announced deals involving EUR-denominated stablecoins with both Circle. EUR stablecoins are likely to prove attractive not only to businesses trading in that currency but also in emerging markets where some businesses may be looking to reduce exposure to the USD in their international transactions. The uncertainty surrounding the trade and economic policies of the unpredictable administration of Donald Trump is one factor that may encourage such de-dollarisation. But Trump’s America is also contributing to some uncertainty surrounding regulation of digital assets. The EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation has provided much-needed clarity to the crypto industry, establishing a comprehensive framework that sets a new standard for regulatory certainty. In contrast, many other jurisdictions are still navigating unclear or incomplete rules. The UK, however, is beginning to close the gap with the recent release of a draft Statutory Instrument focused on crypto asset regulation. 1 BCB has been actively involved in the consultation process - alongside other major industry participants - helping to share the discussion around what these new rules should include, and ensuring they strike the right balance between innovation and oversight. “There is more and more knowledge out there among companies of all kinds about crypto,” says Tas, “but I do encounter a lot of uncertainty. MiCA is coming in, but the UK is consulting on regulation and there are all the changes with Trump, so there are a lot of question marks. “I get the sense that a lot of people are waiting for more confirmation on regulations before committing heavily to digital assets.”
Our clients and even potential clients may want to enter certain markets and can't find a partner. So, we have fortnightly calls with the banking team. They share insights from their conversations with partners and keep us informed on the progress of products that we might be able to add to our portfolio. And we provide feedback about anything we hear in the market Camille Tas
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