Upon completion of this program, participants will be able to:

• Define and distinguish between various digital asset types (e.g., utility tokens, security tokens, stablecoins).
• Analyze the legal and regulatory classification of digital assets (e.g., security, commodity, currency).
• Evaluate the financial stability risks posed by decentralized finance (**DeFi**) and large stablecoin issuers.
• Describe the regulatory frameworks for Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter-Terrorist Financing (CTF) for Virtual Asset Service Providers (**VASPs**).
• Understand the policy debate surrounding Central Bank Digital Currencies (**CBDCs**) as a response to private digital money.
• Assess the risks related to market integrity, investor protection, and operational resilience in digital asset markets.
• Examine the challenges of cross-border regulation and enforcement in decentralized environments.
• Formulate a comprehensive regulatory strategy for a specific class of digital assets.

• Central Bank Policy and Financial Stability Analysts
• Financial Regulators and Securities Market Supervisors
• Compliance and Risk Management Professionals for Digital Assets
• FinTech Strategists and Digital Asset Exchange Executives
• Legal Counsel specializing in Blockchain and Digital Assets
• Government Policy Makers on Financial Innovation

Legal classification case studies (Howey Test application), Group project on drafting a stablecoin regulation framework, Policy debates on DeFi systemic risk, Workshops on VASP AML/CTF compliance, Technical deep dives into smart contract risk, Structured discussions on cross-border enforcement.

Unit 1: The Digital Asset Landscape and Classification

• Cryptocurrencies (e.g., Bitcoin, Ether): technology, governance, and market characteristics.
• **Stablecoins**: design types (fiat-backed, algorithmic) and their potential for systemic risk.
• Utility tokens, security tokens, and their classification under existing securities law.
• Tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) and its legal implications.

• Applying the **Howey Test** and similar frameworks for digital asset classification.
• Identifying key risks: market integrity, consumer protection, operational risk, and illicit finance.
• The challenge of regulating decentralized autonomous organizations (**DAOs**) and DeFi protocols.
• International guidance: the role of the **Financial Stability Board (FSB)** and **IOSCO** on digital assets.

Unit 2: Stablecoins and Financial Stability

• Analysis of the potential for stablecoins to scale and achieve global use.
• Regulatory expectations for stablecoin reserve management, transparency, and audit.
• The concept of "same activity, same risk, same regulation" applied to stablecoin issuers.
• Policy on whether stablecoin issuers should be subject to bank-like regulation.

• Overview of key DeFi protocols (e.g., lending, decentralized exchanges) and their functionality.
• Identifying the sources of risk in DeFi (e.g., smart contract failure, oracle risk, extreme leverage).
• The challenge of data collection and effective surveillance in a permissionless environment.
• The regulatory need for consistent standards for tokenized financial transactions.

Unit 3: Regulatory Requirements and Enforcement

• The **FATF** standards for Virtual Asset Service Providers (**VASPs**) and the "Travel Rule."
• Implementation challenges for AML/CTF in decentralized and peer-to-peer transactions.
• The use of blockchain analytics and tracing tools for compliance.
• Sanctions compliance and the treatment of sanctioned digital asset addresses.

• Regulation of digital asset exchanges (e.g., licensing, market manipulation rules).
• Requirements for investor disclosure and transparency for token sales.
• Custody rules for digital assets and the protection of client funds.
• Enforcement challenges in a decentralized and cross-border market.

Unit 4: Central Bank Response and Future Policy

• Analyzing the issuance of a **CBDC** as a potential response to private digital money.
• The design choices of a CBDC (e.g., limits, remuneration) aimed at managing stablecoin risk.
• The policy debate on whether to restrict or encourage private sector stablecoins.
• The role of the central bank in establishing a digital asset infrastructure.