Former corporate cop Greg Medcraft says digital currencies issued by central banks and “stablecoins” have the potential to unleash major changes in finance, while labelling cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin as speculative assets.
Mr Medcraft, chairman of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) between 2011 and 2017, was on Tuesday appointed to the board of wholesale mortgage broker AFG.
It is his first role on an ASX-listed board since his return last month to Australia from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris, where one of his responsibilities was digital finance.
As local regulators grapple with the rise of digital assets, Mr Medcraft highlighted the potential significance of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), which would be akin to digital banknotes.
“I think once we see the evolution of … central bank digital currencies or stablecoins, I think that will be the game changer on the crypto side,” Mr Medcraft said in an interview.
