Innovation Hub: Market insights

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published an update on the level and area of participation in the FCA’s regulatory sandbox and innovation hub. The disclosed information contains data collected between 2014 and December 2022 and shows
(1) the number of firms participating in the sandbox and hub by market sector;
(2) the key technological areas and focus of participating firms; and
(3) and the key locations of firms taking part in the sandbox and / or hub.
Some interesting findings from the data include:
– most firms participating in the sandbox are located in London (65% of of Regulatory Sandbox and 54% of Innovation Pathways firms);
– in 2022, firms engaged in investment services business (fund management, investment firms, financial advisors) made up 21% of all participating companies in the innovation hub (pathway);
– the key areas where firms seek financial innovation via participation in the sandbox concern decentralized finance and crypto-assets and currencies (more than 27%);
– the key technological focus of firms participating in the sandbox program evolve around distributed ledger technologies and blockchains (nearly 34%); and
– the key innovation of firms seeking participation in the innovation pathway concern the advancement of robo advice.
Details on the findings may be viewed via above noted link.