The Federal Reserve Board announced it will host a payments innovation conference on October 21 to examine emerging technologies shaping U.S. payment systems. The event will bring together regulators, academics and industry participants to discuss ways to innovate and improve the payments system, the Fed said.
Governor Christopher J. Waller said innovation has been a constant in meeting changing consumer and business needs, and the conference aims to gather ideas to improve the safety and efficiency of payments.
Panels will cover the convergence of traditional and decentralized finance (DeFi), new stablecoin use cases, the intersection of artificial intelligence and payments, and the tokenization of financial products and services. The sessions will be livestreamed on the Fed’s website; additional details are expected ahead of the event.
Bringing stablecoins and tokenization onto the same agenda signals that the Fed and other regulators increasingly view digital assets through the same policy lens as conventional payment rails. The conference arrives amid a packed Q4 regulatory calendar that includes initiatives from the SEC, CFTC, Bank for International Settlements and the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Recent regulatory moves include the CFTC’s public consultation for its Crypto Sprint—examining custody, leveraged retail trading and consumer protections—and a joint SEC‑CFTC statement clarifying how registered exchanges may list certain spot crypto products. Those actions underscore a push for clarity as market participants explore new tokenized and AI-driven payment models.
For industry players, the conference offers a forum to shape policy and operational standards. Firms should note that regulatory scrutiny is increasing; projects touching stablecoins, tokenization or AI-enabled payment services may face heightened compliance and consumer-protection expectations.
Source: Decrypt. Read the original coverage for full details.