The global regulatory landscape for unbacked crypto assets is rapidly evolving, with some jurisdictions leading the way in establishing bespoke licensing regimes. The UAE, Singapore, EU, Japan, and Hong Kong, among others, have been praised for their pro-innovation approach, having established robust frameworks to attract the blockchain industry to their respective markets by providing regulatory certainty and approval. The US, meanwhile, is still catching up as legislation like FIT 21 and the Payment Stablecoin Act make their way through Congress, signaling a shift towards more regulation.
Looking ahead, global authorities around the world could either restrict private digital money or promote publicly backed digital currencies, turning the debate over the future of money into an increasingly political one.
Global Counsel and The Messina Group, leveraging the expertise of Greenbrier, a division of The Messina Group specialising in strategic communications, advise a range of digital assets businesses - including stablecoin issuers, trading platforms, financial infrastructures, and payment service providers—on navigating complex regulatory and political environments, anticipating market trends, and developing effective strategies.
Drawing on our collective approach as global partners, we provide clients in the crypto industry with world-class integrated consultancy services.
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Understand and track
Understand the evolving regulatory landscape for digital assets and Web3 technologies, anticipating policymakers’ positions and aims.
Track political and regulatory debates in key markets like the US, EU, APAC and other major regions, focusing on how these frameworks will shape the crypto and blockchain industries.
Monitor the interaction between crypto-asset regulatory frameworks at the national level, as well as efforts to coordinate them at an international and supranational level.
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Assess and prioritise
Identify and prioritise key markets for compliance and regulatory opportunities that align with business priorities, including the politics and policy involved during market entry discussions.
Evaluate risks and opportunities in emerging regulatory frameworks and develop strategies to navigate them effectively.
Assess opportunities to engage with multilateral bodies (e.g., BIS, IMF) to influence global standards on digital assets, crypto, and Web3 technologies.
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Contribute and engage
Engage with policymakers to inform the design of regulatory frameworks for digital assets and blockchain.
Provide data-driven insights and use cases to guide policy development related to the private sector’s innovations around blockchain and digital technologies.
Offer expertise on the technical implications of Web3 and AI technologies, contributing to policy discussions on their public sector applications.
GLOBAL EXPERTISE
Our people
The GC, TMG and Greenbrier teams are specialists with regulatory and policy expertise across sectors and markets. They translate their experience from government, trade departments, politics, think tanks, international organisations, and business to advise clients at all levels, including C-Suites, boards, and government/public affairs and operational teams.
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Jim
Messina
Jim is the CEO of The Messina Group, providing strategic consulting to businesses around the world and drawing on his experience winning public policy campaigns on six continents.
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Rebecca
Park
Rebecca advises financial services firms and investors navigating the political and policy regulatory agenda as it impacts commercial decisions.
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Abram
Smith
Abram leads The Messina Group’s blockchain practice covering DeFi projects to leading wallets and exchanges to Layer 1 blockchains and global NFT marketplaces.
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Andrew
Yeo
Andrew leads the Asia practice, supporting international corporates and investors to navigate policymaking, and coordinating with international colleagues to scale Asian businesses abroad.
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David
Song
David covers a wide spectrum of financial services issues, specialising on European policy on payments, fintech and digital assets, and helping clients to deepen and develop their engagement with the policymaking process.
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Max
Mandich
Max analyses US policy and regulation within the financial services sector, advising both corporate and investor clients on issues relevant to fintech and digital assets.
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Sewar
Quran
Sewar provides strategic advice to clients with an interest in understanding policy and regulatory developments in the Middle East, especially related to foreign investment regimes and tech policy.