Solidus Labs

What does compliance look like when payments regulation, crypto licensing, and AML requirements are all changing at the same time?
In the latest episode of Compliance Champions, Delphine Forma sits down with Hailey Shi, Legal Counsel at Manova, for a deep dive into Australia's rapidly evolving regulatory landscape and what it means for payment service providers, crypto businesses, and compliance professionals.
They cover:
• Australia's transition to a new function-based payments licensing framework
• how the digital asset licensing regime will impact exchanges, broker dealers, custodians, and assets tokenization platforms
• the implications of bringing crypto businesses into a broader financial services framework
• the shift from prescriptive AML rules to risk-based compliance obligations
• travel rule implementation challenges for payment providers and digital asset businesses
• the introduction of reporting groups and lead entities under Australia's AML reforms • practical strategies for operationalizing major regulatory change across legal, compliance, product, and engineering teams
• where AI can improve compliance efficiency and support regulatory implementation efforts
Hailey shares practical lessons from the front lines of regulatory transformation, offering valuable insights into licensing, financial crime compliance, governance, payments infrastructure, and digital asset regulation.
A must-listen episode for professionals working in compliance, legal, financial crime, payments, fintech, and cryptocurrency regulation.

What does regulatory compliance look like when your business spans traditional finance, crypto assets, multiple jurisdictions, and evolving regulatory frameworks?
In the latest episode of Compliance Champions, Delphine Forma sits down with Dimitar Manolchev, Managing Director of Regulatory Compliance at FXCM Group, for an in-depth discussion on building global licensing strategies across traditional financial services and digital assets.
They cover:
• how firms design licensing strategies across the globe and global markets
• why regulatory synergies matter more than simply collecting licenses
• the practical advantages and limitations of MiCA Article 60 notifications
• the relationship between MiFID and MiCA licensing frameworks
• appropriateness and suitability tests in financial services and digital assets
• ESMA's position on crypto perpetual futures and the implications for retail investors and crypto exchanges
• managing regulatory uncertainty and conflicting supervisory expectations across jurisdictions
• how compliance teams can build flexible frameworks that adapt to regulatory change
• the growing role of AI in compliance advisory, monitoring, regulatory reporting, and governance
Dimitar shares practical lessons from operating across multiple regulatory regimes and explains how compliance leaders can balance regulatory expectations, business objectives, and innovation in an increasingly complex global environment.
A must-listen episode for professionals working in crypto compliance, digital asset regulation, financial services regulation, licensing, risk management, and fintech governance.

In this episode of Compliance Champions, Delphine Forma, Head of Policy Europe at Solidus Labs, speaks with Johan Hetzel, Global Head of Compliance & Anti-Financial Crime at Luno — a leading crypto exchange operating across Africa, Europe, and Southeast Asia.
They explore the practical realities of scaling compliance across multiple jurisdictions — from the principle-based framework in South Africa to the more prescriptive rules in Malaysia — and how firms design global standards while allowing for local adaptation. Johan shares his approach to building trade surveillance programmes, managing the tension between compliance and engineering priorities, and tackling some of the industry's most debated challenges: travel rule implementation and unhosted wallet treatment.
The conversation also covers the growing role of AI in financial crime detection — where it genuinely helps and where the risks lie — as well as what compliance leaders should prioritise when everything feels urgent and resources are never enough.
A candid, experience-driven conversation offering a rare practitioner's view into what global compliance leadership in crypto actually looks like.

Join Delphine Forma, Head of Policy Europe at Solidus Labs, as she sits down with Alan Crofts, Sarah Davidson, and Nelson Curry from the New Zealand Financial Markets Authority.
They unpack how New Zealand regulates digital assets—from defining financial services and stablecoins to tackling scams, custody risks, DeFi, and market abuse. A practical, regulator-led deep dive into compliance expectations, enforcement trends, and what’s next for crypto oversight.

In this episode of Compliance Champions, Delphine Forma, Head of Policy Europe at Solidus Labs, sits down with Wise Wang, Head of Legal and Compliance at HashKey Japan.
They explore how Japan’s regulatory approach to crypto is evolving, including the shift from a payment-based framework to a capital markets model. Wise shares insights into what these reforms mean for firms operating in Japan, from increased disclosure requirements and stronger investor protection rules to the growing importance of governance, surveillance and internal controls.
The conversation also covers the potential impact of tax reform on market activity, the challenges of building compliant crypto businesses in a highly regulated environment, and why firms need to rethink compliance as a core part of their product and strategy.
Drawing from his experience in both tech platforms and crypto, Wise also reflects on the similarities between early social media regulation and the current evolution of crypto oversight.
A deep dive into one of the most advanced regulatory markets and what it means for the future of institutional crypto adoption.