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Select committee cryptocurrency inquiry adviser Jeremy Muir on what may come out of the inquiry, what the local industry is up to & the battle over the future of money

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Select committee cryptocurrency inquiry adviser Jeremy Muir on what may come out of the inquiry, what the local industry is up to & the battle over the future of money
20th Oct 22, 2:02pm by Gareth Vaughan
Of Interest podcast
Illustration by Ross Payne

By Gareth Vaughan

There's no silver bullet law that parliament could pass to oversee all the good and bad aspects of the crypto and blockchain industry, according to an adviser to the parliamentary select committee running a cryptocurrency inquiry.

Speaking in the latest episode of interest.co.nz's Of Interest Podcast, MinterEllisonRuddWatts partner Jeremy Muir discusses a wide range of crypto-asset related issues.

A leading lawyer for cryptocurrencies, digital tokens and coins, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and other blockchain projects, Muir is one of two special advisors to the finance and expenditure committee for its crypto inquiry.

Muir is currently working on a report for the committee.

"We will certainly be counselling as part of our report that there isn't a single easy fix, there isn't a single crypto act which will make all of the scams and problems go away whilst also encouraging innovation in the industry," Muir says.

In the podcast Muir discusses a range of other issues including the New Zealand blockchain-related technology scene, the Financial Markets Authority's attitude to the industry, NZ regulatory gaps, overseas regulations, stablecoins, and the "battle brewing over the future of money."

You can find all episodes of the Of Interest podcast here.

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5 Comments

by  J.C.  |  20th Oct 22, 4:08pm 1666235282

Don't want to be dismissive and must listen to the podcast first, but a partner at a law firm would need to be spending most of his waking hours to comprehensively understand the various developments and issues surrounding crypto and digital assets. Some lawyers in the U.S. are knees deep in this stuff. For ex, John Deaton who is closely connected to the Ripple vs SEC court battle. 

Post listen: Great questions and discussion. Jeremy highlights some of the crucial issues re enforcement vs guidance as demonstrated by the SEC. And it seems that NZ may be better positioned in terms of how the law actually defines securities as they relate to digital assets.  

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by  JRSNZ  |  20th Oct 22, 3:25pm 1666232703

I believe Campbell is at least shin deep in this stuff, if not knee deep.

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by  J.C.  |  20th Oct 22, 4:09pm 1666235384

You mean Jeremy Muir? Seems to understand things very well and explains things in clear, easy to digest language (which suggests he knows what he's talking about).  

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by  JRSNZ  |  20th Oct 22, 4:13pm 1666235584

Sorry, yes. There is another lawyer, Campbell who deals with the same stuff. Both are knee deep.

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by  Justa comment  |  21st Oct 22, 9:13am 1666296835

Gareth, re RBNZ ongoing review on overseas banks acting as 'branches' (eg Rabobank). Are the Chinese banks ie Bank of China and ICBC subject to this review as 'branches' or are they fully fleged 'subsiduaries' that will be allowed to keep their 'retail' customers? 

 

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