The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE SECURITIES Commission yesterday confirmed it has teamed with the Government to host a three-day digital assets summit at Atlantis in January that aims to attract some 3,000 industry leaders.

The regulator, in a statement, said the FinTech (financial technology) and Web3 Festival will be branded as D3 Bahamas. This stands for Decentralised; Digital; Disruptive. The conference has been designed to shape global, regional and industry agendas in areas such as Web3, digital/crypto assets, decentralised finance (DeFi), Central Bank digital currencies (CBDC), green finance and more.

Senator Michael Halkitis, minister of economic affairs, said: “The Government is aiming to substantially grow the digital assets sector in The Bahamas and, through this festival, bring FinTech thought leaders, entrepreneurs, enthusiasts and people with a deep interest in this space to our shores.”

Christina Rolle, the Securities Commission’s executive director, added: “The Commission is pleased to collaborate with the Government in hosting D3 Bahamas. The festival represents a proactive initiative by the Commission to lead the regulatory discussion about FinTech, and to address solutions that will inform the future of FinTech and Web3 in The Bahamas and globally.”

D3 Bahamas will have five different elements. The first will involve a regulatory showcase, where global supervisors convene to share information, knowledge and experiences related to FinTech and to collaborate on regulating digital assets issues, trends and risks.

There will also be a venture capital forum, where active investors set the agenda for 2023 and tackle issues limiting the growth and adoption of FinTech and Web3. 3. Technology companies in the Web3 space will also compete for up to $1m in funding, while a focus will also be placed on opportunities for Bahamian professionals in sectors such as law, accounting, real estate, tourism, sports and the arts. The conference will also feature 50 networking events.

D3 Bahamas is being organised by Finnoverse, a firm that has been organising the Hong Kong FinTech Week since 2015. Anthony Sar, its chief executive and founder, said: “We are pleased to collaborate with the Government of The Bahamas and the Commission to expand our international FinTech expertise with D3 Bahamas.

“The event will focus on three global trends reshaping financial services today: Digitalisation, decentralisation and disruption. As more global computing power has driven down computing costs, all-things digital are more possible than ever and decentralisation will help ‘solve for trust’ the challenges that blockchain overcomes.

“This space is poised for continued disruption, as the technology and teams that power tomorrow’s solutions with investment, competition and innovation come together at D3 to discuss what’s possible throughout the digital economy ecosystem.”