There is a controversial start to this week’s podcast as P&L’s managing director Colin Lambert ponders whether the US really does have an “innocent until proven guilty” ethos in its legal system, before debating whether a firm, no last look, order book can really be spoofed? He argues “intention to deal” is fairly easy to ascertain and also makes another one of his predictions, this time about how demand for data could stimulate activity on firm liquidity venues.

Lambert is then joined by Todd McDonald, co-founder of R3, to discuss central bank digital currencies and the advance of enterprise blockchain into the market environment. McDonald discusses how moves that are only now coming to the forefront of peoples’ thinking have actually been underway for some years and explains the impact this evolution on fiscal policy as well as the more traditional areas of payments.

Interestingly, McDonald feels that the latest innovations in blockchain away from CBDCs are, possibly for the first time, being commercially driven, something Lambert sees as being a vote of confidence in the new technology. This new approach could lead, McDonald believes, to a significant change in how we view financial markets and traditional assets. To find out more, download from your podcast store or from the Profit & Loss site.