When examining the success of the world’s biggest companies, it is astounding to chart just how quickly many of them have been able to create value for their users and, in doing so, attain their status of “apex predator”. More often than not, moreover, it has been their skills at exploiting network effects that have enabled them to achieve such dominance.

Digital ledger technologies and crypto-assets have evolved from obscurity to prominence in recent years, bringing with them opportunity and risk. Initially regulators focussed primarily on mitigating risks to consumers but as the applications of the technology have continued to evolve the principle of technological neutrality demands a more adaptive approach. The challenge now is to harness the benefits for EU citizens of scaling up business applications whilst continuing to effectively mitigate the risks. The EBA shows the way.

Discussions regarding the pros and cons of issuing central bank digital currency continue around the world, and discussions evolved into issuance of digital collector coin in, Lithuania. In July, the Bank of Lithuania released the LBCOIN, “the world’s first blockchain-based digital collector coin”. Now that its first-of-its-kind digital collector coin is out, the BoL is setting an example to other central banks in an experiment that is exciting but immersed in its share of yet-to-be-answered questions.

The investment-management industry is undergoing arguably its most disruptive period ever. Thanks to a new wave of disruptive technologies, the very concept of investing is being transformed from a practice that was relationship-driven