Introducing the Cambridge Digital Innovation and Regulation Initiative
A global policy convening platform
C:\>DIR will cultivate collaborative communities and public-private partnerships, to develop common solutions and shape the future of digital markets and economies, for the benefit of the many.
On Monday 8 December 2025, the Cambridge Digital Innovation and Regulation Initiative (C:\>DIR) launched within an international webinar, revealing details of a global policy convening platform that will foster high-level dialogue on issues at the intersection of digital innovation and regulation between policymakers, regulators and market innovators.
The initiative will cultivate collaborative communities and public-private partnerships, to develop common solutions and shape the future of digital markets and economies, for the benefit of the many.
C:\>DIR is led by Financial Innovation for Impact (Fii) and Networks for Humanity, in collaboration with the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF), the Centre for Science and Policy (CSaP), the Centre for Resilience and Sustainable Development (CRSD), and King's Entrepreneurship Lab – co-created by Bryan Zhang, Co-Founder and Executive Chair of Financial Innovation for Impact (Fii) and Co-Founder and Executive Director of CCAF, together with Siddharth Shetty, Co-Founder of Networks for Humanity and Co-creator and CEO of Finternet, where he leads the development of digital public infrastructure to enable open and inclusive financial ecosystems.
Catch up on our launch webinar recording above to hear from C:\>DIR’s Co-Convenors, Agustín Carstens, Former General Manager, Bank for International Settlements (BIS). Former Governor, Bank of Mexico (2010-2017); economist, and Gillian Tett, Provost, King's College, Cambridge and member of the Financial Times editorial board; formerly chair of the editorial board and US editor-at-large.
The Initiative will act across three interconnected dimensions:
Reimagining digital regulation as technology transforms markets.
Catalysing regulatory and supervisory innovation through a digital commons approach.
Facilitating cross-regulatory and cross-border collaboration.
C:\>DIR’s work programme prioritises frontier and cross-regulatory areas, with an emphasis on the needs and perspectives of Emerging Markets and Developing Economies (EMDEs).
Thematic areas include:
Digital infrastructure and inclusion
Data governance and sharing frameworks
Operational resilience and critical third parties
DLT, digital assets and the token economy
AI governance and agentic systems
Competition policy and digital markets
Quantum risk and cyber security