Sign In

Nathan Catania

Partner at XReg Consulting

Nathan Catania is a Partner at XReg Consulting, a specialized firm focused on crypto-asset policy and regulatory affairs. He provides advisory services to public sector bodies regarding crypto-asset regulation, particularly in areas related to anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT). Additionally, he offers technical training to regulators, law enforcement, and financial intelligence units, while also auditing and advising private entities, mainly in the crypto sector.

Catania has a background as a former regulator, having worked as a technical specialist with the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission's Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) team. Before joining XReg, he was an assurance professional at PwC and holds a certification as a Blockchain Expert from the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management.123

Highlights

Sep 2 · linkedin

GM crypto LinkedIn!

🇶🇦 Some more regulatory developments coming from the MENA region, this time in Qatar by the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) Authority and Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QFCRA).

The Digital Asset Regulations 2024 went live on 1 September, bringing in force a regime that focusses on transactions involving permitted tokens as well as the provision of token services. 🏛️

On first glance the regulated activities under the regime are in line with most other jurisdictions, such as custody, exchange and transfer services. However, when reading the detail you can appreciate that the regime has been designed very specifically to cater for the tokenisation of assets and not to address crypto or stablecoin activity. ⚖️

This is evident when you consider what tokens are permitted and importantly which are excluded.

Excluded tokens include tokens that:

  1. do not represent a right in any property, or
  2. are tokens used as substitutes in payments.

This means that many cryptoassets such as Bitcoin, as well as stablecoins, would be prohibited under this regime.

Permitted tokens also need to be generated in a specific manner, with the right being certified by a validator, and the token created by a regulated token generator. Two regulated services quite unique to this regime. 🛠️

Creating a niche for tokenisation could position Qatar as one of the leaders in the tokenisation of real world assets, however the exclusion of the major cryptoassets as well as stablecoins could pose challenges. These assets are often crucial for exchange and settlement in the industry and their absence could impact liquidity for operators in Qatar. 🌊

XReg Consulting

#Cryptoregulation

Aug 30 · linkedin

I'm regularly asked by clients about the UAE landscape, in particular how do you navigate what seems like a maze of different Emirates and free zones!

🇦🇺Luckily I was invited by Amy-Rose Goodey of Digital Economy Council of Australia (DECA) to moderate a brilliant panel earlier which answered many of these questions.

I was able to reconnect with my panellists Chloe White of Genesis Block and Vishal Sacheendran of Binance. Fun fact, all three of us are ex-regulators and go way back! Chloe being ex Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority [VARA] and Vishal Sacheendran ex ADGM.

A short summary of my take aways:

  • The UAE is hot (pun intended) for crypto business.

  • Both VARA and ADGM have solid frameworks, with VARA being built from the ground up and ADGM more based on traditional regulation. This hasn't prevented ADGM from pushing ahead and innovating in both the DAO and stablecoin space.

  • As a rough guide, ADGM could be more advantageous for institutional business looking to engage the Abu Dhabi market, while VARA is usually more attractive for international exchanges looking for a base to service a worldwide client base.

  • Why not both? Could also be the answer depending on your business model!

We also ended with a conversation around the new ADGM stablecoin consultation that proposes to allow interest bearing stablecoins, which is prohibited under most regimes, including VARA and MiCA...There is already one such interest-bearing licensed stablecoin under ADGM, and this will surely pave the way for more!

XReg Consulting

#Cryptoregulation

Related Questions

What are Nathan Catania's key achievements at XReg Consulting?
How did Nathan Catania transition from PwC to XReg Consulting?
What specific projects has Nathan Catania worked on at XReg Consulting?
What is Nathan Catania's role in the Crypto Bahamas event?
How does Nathan Catania's experience as a former regulator benefit XReg Consulting?
Nathan Catania
Nathan Catania, photo 1
Nathan Catania, photo 2
Add to my network

Location

Gibraltar