GBA Research & Analysis Capability

The GBA is pleased to announce that Mark Montoya has accepted our invitation to join the GBA Leadership Team as our Chief Data Officer. Mark has more than two decades of data analytics experience with the Federal Deposit & Insurance Corporation (FDIC). He recently earned certifications in blockchain and cryptocurrencies, Hyperledger technologies and FinTech Ethics and Risks. He has made numerous presentations on crypto-economics, decentralized finance, privacy coins and Rise of the FinTechs. He was the first to receive the Financial Blockchain Specialist certification from the GBA and has completed Foundations for Chief Data Officers Certificate Program. In addition to his many accomplishments, he builds both internal FDIC and external U.S. regulatory agency coalitions to achieve data quality and integrity goals. He currently chairs two inter-agency working groups addressing future innovations and data strategy. He also engages with senior executive leadership to establish multi-year strategic planning of large data management network infrastructures.

The first research project that GBA is launching is focused on examining the state of cryptocurrency adoption and the impact it has on governments and financial systems. This research is premised on two fundamental questions. They are:

1. If the adoption of peer-to-peer cryptocurrencies have grown in ten years from zero to hundreds of billions of dollars in market cap, what is the future of the adoption curve and
2. If mass adoption of peer-to-peer cryptocurrencies (including privacy coins) happens, how are governments impacted in terms of taxation and their ability to govern?

By looking at public sources of data that describe the Fiat Leak (value moving from fiat currencies into the crypto economy), Cryptocurrency ATM deployment and surveys, it becomes clear that the adoption of cryptocurrency continues to climb over the past decade. How this will impact the fiat financial system is not so clear.

The GBA is extremely fortunate that Ksenija Cipek is leading this project. Ksenija is an international tax expert, lawmaker, and project leader at the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Croatia. She recently addressed hundreds of leaders from around the world at the United States Capitol during the international conference on the Future of Money, Governance, and the Law. She also leads the GBA Taxation & Revenue Collection Working Group. She will be coordinating with other GBA Working Groups and the GBA Government Advisory Board led by Sandy Barsky and the GBA Corporate Advisory Board led By Dr. Ann Ingraham.

To participate in this project, GBA members should join the GBA Taxation & Revenue Collection Working Group. Non-GBA members can stay informed about the results of the study by joining GBA (free for all civil servants) or by subscribing to the GBA Newsletter.