Sayed Hussein Al-Qassab – Photography by Suhail Wazir
During the third session of the Fintech Forward 2025 conference, entitled “Shaping the Features of the Next Generation of Digital Assets,” financial experts discussed the future of emerging digital financial solutions, and the role of central banks and financial institutions in formulating integration standards between modern technologies, such as stable currencies, digital currencies for central banks, infrastructure based on blockchain technology, and wallets enhanced with intelligence. Artificial intelligence, stressing that balanced regulatory frameworks are the key to the development of digital assets at the global level.
The session witnessed the participation of an elite group of speakers, including the CEO of the National Bank of Bahrain, Othman Ahmed, the Head of the Financial Technology Sector at the British Department of Business and Trade, Katie Ramsay, and the CEO of Ripple in the Middle East and Africa, Rhys Merk.
National Bank of Bahrain Group Chief Executive Officer, Othman Ahmed, stressed the importance of developing integrated regulatory frameworks that keep pace with the rapid developments in the digital assets sector, noting that cooperation between regulatory authorities and innovators in the field of financial technology forms the basis for building an interconnected regional system that supports the cross-border use of digital assets.
He stressed that a balanced regulatory environment that combines stimulation and oversight enables innovation to flourish without disturbing the elements of governance and financial stability.
For her part, Head of the Financial Technology Sector at the British Ministry of Business and Trade, Katie Ramsay, explained that central banks play a pivotal role in achieving financial stability and ensuring monetary security, while financial technology companies represent a source of innovation and technical development, stressing that the integration between these three parties – central banks, traditional financial institutions, and financial technology companies – is what creates the required balance between flexibility. And organization.
As for Ripple’s CEO in the Middle East and Africa, Rhys Merck, he praised the pioneering regulatory efforts in the Gulf region, especially in Bahrain and the Emirates, which contributed to providing a legislative environment stimulating for the growth of companies working in the field of blockchain and digital assets.
He stressed that this clear and stable environment encourages international companies to expand their operations in the region, especially in light of the clarity and proactiveness of the regulatory frameworks compared to a number of markets.
