WHY THIS MATTERS:
Financial institutions across Asia are increasingly engaging with digital assets as developments in tokenisation, stablecoins and central bank digital currencies accelerate. Expanding Karby Leggett’s role to lead Digital Assets for Greater China, North Asia, South Asia and ASEAN reflects growing demand from governments, central banks and institutional clients exploring how these technologies could reshape payments, capital markets and financial infrastructure.
The appointment also highlights the convergence between official sector policy discussions and private sector innovation. As regulators, central banks and financial institutions test new models for tokenised deposits, CBDCs and digital asset markets, banks are positioning leadership teams to better coordinate research, policy engagement and client advisory across the region.
We are pleased to share that Karby Leggett has been appointed Head of Digital Assets for Greater China North Asia, South Asia and ASEAN within the Digital Assets Centre of Excellence. This comes in addition to his current role as Global Head of the Official Institutions Group as part of the Bank’s Global Research team.
The expanded remit comes as digital assets and official sector engagement increasingly converge across our markets. With rapid adoption of crypto, tokenised assets, tokenised deposits, stablecoins, and central bank digital currencies, our clients are exploring how innovations in the digital assets space can transform business models and financial ecosystems.
“Karby’s extensive experience working with governments, multilaterals and other official sector stakeholders position him to accelerate our Digital Assets strategy, deepen our leadership, and support delivery of innovative solutions for our clients across Asia,” added Eric Robertsen, Global Head of Research and Chief Strategist and Rene Michau, Global Head of Digital Assets, in a joint statement.
FF NEWS TAKE:
Asia remains one of the most active regions in the development of digital asset infrastructure, particularly around tokenisation and central bank experimentation.
Expanding leadership roles dedicated to digital assets suggests financial institutions are moving beyond exploratory discussions toward more structured strategies that combine market research, regulatory dialogue and product innovation. The real opportunity will be translating these conversations into scalable institutional use cases.
