Núñez: Digital assets, DORA reshape finance
Soledad Núñez, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Spain, discussed the transformation of the financial sector by digital assets and tokenization. Speaking at the XII Securities Services Conference, she also addressed the critical role of specialized technology providers and DORA regulation.
Digital assets' global surge
The digital asset market has seen significant global growth.
IMF estimates show cryptoassets reached $4.2 trillion and stablecoins over $300 billion by 2025.
Tokenized traditional assets on public blockchains surged from $5 billion in early 2023 to $45 billion two years later.
Institutional platforms like Regulated Layer One and SWIFT's DLT cross-border payments project are emerging.
The Bank of Spain aims to preserve central bank money's role and remove barriers to tokenization, such as fragmentation and the lack of a reliable on-chain settlement asset.
Public initiatives like the BIS Innovation Hub's Project Agorá, exploring a multi-currency wholesale payments platform, and the Eurosystem's acceptance of DLT instruments as collateral, are advancing.
European projects Pontes and Appia further aim to integrate a digital financial ecosystem, ensuring an orderly transition to tokenized capital markets.
DORA's oversight for tech providers
Financial institutions increasingly rely on specialized technology providers, some now systemic.
The EU's Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) sets uniform requirements for the sector, ensuring critical business functions remain resilient or recoverable.
DORA mandates robust risk management for third-party tech providers, particularly those offering essential services.
A key innovation is DORA's supervisory framework for critical technology providers to the European financial sector, acknowledging their systemic dimension.
This oversight complements institutions' existing risk management duties.
Critical providers are identified from aggregated records of third-party agreements, submitted by European financial entities to European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) for assessment against DORA's criteria.