Industry
Regulators & Supervisors
As regulatory frameworks move beyond the AML-focused era, supervisors are expected to oversee a broader set of requirements, including authorisation, governance, prudential safeguards, conduct standards, market integrity, operational resilience, disclosures, safeguarding, and cross-border activity.
This creates a significant supervisory challenge. Digital asset businesses often operate across jurisdictions, rely on complex technology stacks, use third-party vendors, and offer products that may not fit neatly into traditional regulatory categories. Supervisors therefore need not only legal and policy expertise, but also practical understanding of blockchain infrastructure, wallet activity, token design, compliance tooling, and the operational realities of digital asset firms.
Key supervisory challenges for Regulators & Supervisors
Defining and applying the regulatory perimeter
Assessing which activities, entities, tokens, services, and business models fall within scope of regulation. This includes understanding how the perimeter applies to CASPs, stablecoin issuers, token issuers, DeFi arrangements, payment flows, tokenisation projects, and traditional firms entering digital assets.
Assessing authorisation and licence applications
Reviewing whether applicants have appropriate governance, capital, systems, controls, policies, procedures, risk management, safeguarding arrangements, outsourcing oversight, and senior management capability to operate in the digital asset market.
Supervising cross-border and multi-jurisdictional activity
Understanding where firms are operating, where customers are located, where services are marketed, and where regulatory touchpoints may arise. Digital asset activity often crosses borders by design, making cooperation between regulators and consistent supervisory expectations especially important.
Building supervisory capability around blockchain data and compliance technology
Developing the ability to understand blockchain analytics, wallet screening, transaction monitoring, Travel Rule workflows, token flows, smart contracts, and on-chain risk indicators. Supervisors may need to assess not only whether firms have tools in place, but whether those tools are properly configured, integrated, governed, and used in decision-making.
Monitoring financial crime, sanctions, and Travel Rule compliance
Supervising whether firms can identify and manage AML, sanctions, fraud, terrorist financing, proliferation financing, scam, and illicit finance risks across both fiat and crypto-asset flows. This includes reviewing onboarding, ongoing monitoring, wallet risk assessment, transaction monitoring, escalation processes, Travel Rule compliance, and suspicious activity reporting.
Upskilling supervisory teams
Building internal capability so supervisory, enforcement, policy, authorisation, financial crime, technology, and legal teams can confidently assess digital asset business models, blockchain infrastructure, token design, wallet activity, stablecoin arrangements, DeFi risks, compliance tooling, and on-chain data. As digital asset regulation becomes more operational and technical, regulators need teams that understand not only the legal framework, but also how firms actually implement controls in practice.
Recommended CARCI programmes
Examination-assessed specialist programmes for regulatory and compliance professionals.
MiCAR Specialist
EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation Specialist
80h · Examination included
Travel Rule Specialist
Certified Crypto Travel Rule Specialist
12h · Examination included
GENIUS Act Specialist
GENIUS Act & US Stablecoin Regulation Specialist
15h · Examination included
From the Intelligence Hub
Further reading
Regulatory capacity building for public sector bodies
CARCI delivers tailored training and advisory programmes for supervisory authorities, financial intelligence units, and government bodies building virtual asset capability.