The paper presents the results of a survey that the WFE conducted among its members and affiliates in 2022. It provides a snapshot of the evolution of crypto-trading platforms across different jurisdictions and reports the exchanges’ engagement with these developments and their views on the future opportunities or challenges that these new technologies bring.

It also provides an overview of the setup and operation of crypto-trading platforms, contrasting the models of centralised platforms (CEXs) with those of the decentralised platforms (DEXs). The paper looks at the implications that the differences in model design between DEX and CEX have on liquidity provision, price discovery and the custody of assets; and reviews the academic literature findings about the market microstructure of these platforms. In addition, the paper discusses what these differences may imply in terms of three fundamental aspects of financial markets regulation: anti-money laundering, prudential regulation and financial stability, and investor protection.

The WFE asked the Financial Stability Board, and other international standard-setting bodies, to create a global taxonomy to drive a common understanding of whether a global stablecoin or cryptoasset fits a certain classification or definition.

"This would reduce the variance between jurisdictions and curb regulatory dissonance. A periodic review of the taxonomy would ensure that forms of GSC and crypto-assets, which have matured and may constitute a new, viable and commonly used product, can be incorporated and regulated accordingly," the WFE said.

The organisation also wants regulators to share information on global stablecoins and cryptoassets and on their issuers and the platforms on which they are traded,

"Without formalised co-ordinated approaches to enforcement and oversight in general, issues around market integrity and consumer protection will not be fully addressed," the WFE said.