The Daily Peg
Innovate Finance launches world's cringiest stablecoin campaign.
Editorial hello
The great and the good of the UK fintech world gathered yesterday in the Guildhall in London for Innovate Finance summit — aka where policy professionals like to go to talk at length without really saying very much at all.
As I learned a couple of years ago, Innovate Finance is very anxious about the prospect of their guest panelists being caught unaware by interviewers. Journalist moderators are obliged to pre-submit questions to panelists days in advance, even though said panelists are supposed to know what they are talking about. Those who decline are unceremoniously knocked off the agenda at the last minute without even being informed. They’re then replaced by slick presenter types who perform as directed. Overall, the whole thing operates like a giant safe space environment for policy wonks who want to appear authoritative without being challenged on their authority.
Predictably, The Peg has been NFI ever since.
Not that it matters. The most creative thing a few hundred policy professionals locked into a medieval court came up with on the day was the “Let’s Go for British Stablecoin Leadership” campaign. The initiative calls on the government and UK regulators to secure a “leading spot for Britain in the next generation of digital finance”. And we’re sure it will be very popular on LinkedIn.
Beyond that, audiences got to experience a not-that-thrilling pre-recorded address from UK chancellor Rachel Reeves, who said little about stablecoins specifically and much about prioritising market tokenisation and the development of the Pisces trading exchange to bolster liquidity. That’s despite the Treasury simultaneously announcing plans that day to consult on how to reform payment regulation to support tokenised payments such as stablecoins.
For reasons that remain unclear, the full agenda was not readily accessible, beyond the occasional panel advertisement on, you’ve guessed it, LinkedIn. What we can glean from the public comms is that stablecoins were, oddly, under prioritised. Even the meatist regulation-focused session was relegated to the confines of the Guildhall crypt. This was moderated by a fellow regulator, ensuring it delivered earth-shattering insights such as: “There was consensus that one element of regulation’s role was to make stablecoins accessible and understandable so more people can experience the benefits presented by these new financial products, and the panel emphasised the importance of consumers understanding the different types of stablecoins that exist.”
