other regulated or unregulated entities managing the platform. examples include marketplaces ( e. g. deposit marketplaces ) or even e - commerce portals distributing financial services, which are ancillary to their core business ; big techs play a significant role in this space. many authorities and stakeholders are addressing this issue, striving to increase their knowledge of this important phenomenon, raising interest from different perspectives. today i want to focus on one perspective : the microprudential one. the eba published a first report4 in september 2021, providing an initial taxonomy of the main business models observed. a crucial finding of this analysis is that regulators and supervisors do not yet have sufficient information on platforms and on their relationships with banks. thus, properly and systematically mapping the use of digital platforms by supervised entities and, more generally, the platformization of the financial ecosystem, are indeed essential. in a business model perspective, platforms can help financial intermediaries, specifically the traditional ones, in providing new products and services to their clients and / or increasing their customer experience, thus representing a way to support the viability and sustainability of business models. 5 in the meantime, the reliance on digital this paradigm is usually associated with the use of the open api, which allows an application to have access to the data of financial intermediaries and which therefore allows the exchange of information between different operators ( financial intermediaries, technical suppliers, other non - financial parties ) the functioning of the ecosystem is even more complex due to the presence of tpps with the freedom to provide services without establishment, located in other jurisdictions than the european union, and of big tech companies that are currently acting as purely technical service providers, but that might decide to have a bigger role in the financial ecosystem. https : / / www. eba. europa. eu / sites / default / documents / files / document _ library / publications / reports / 2021 / 1019865 / eba % 20digital % 20platforms % 20report % 20 - % 20210921. pdf for example, digital platforms facilitate access to financial services, the matching of customer preference ( e. g. in terms of ‘ search for convenience ’ ), support economies of scale, and leverage on network effects, reducing the need for physical premises. digital platforms also allow innovative business models to be developed that should be monitored and understood by the supervisors. platforms to promote and distribute services introduces strong interdependencies

the case of the communication on crypto - assets published by the bank of italy to which i referred before. let me give you another example. in europe, the co - legislators have recently agreed over the last months on the regulation on markets in crypto - assets ( mica ) and the regulation on a pilot regime for market infrastructures based on distributed ledger technology. these two regulations represent an attempt to design a comprehensive framework for digital assets. indeed, the mica defines a clear set of rules for crypto - issuers, identifies a clear taxonomy for digital assets, and sets up a supervision architecture including a sanctions regime. with the pilot regime, we allow intermediaries to experiment with new technical solutions for trading digital assets. in both regulations, the co - legislators have tried to achieve a delicate balance between sufficiently flexible rules which do not curb innovation but are adequate for mitigating risks. https : / / www. bancaditalia. it / pubblicazioni / mercati - infrastrutture - e - sistemi - di - pagamento / approfondimenti / 2022 - 026 / n. 26 - misp. pdf innovation facilitators in order to answer the challenges posed by technology, the bank of italy is implementing a clear strategy to support financial institutions and promote the development of a sound and responsible innovation ensuring financial stability and consumer protection. in this contest, resilience and adaptability, the two key words of our conference, play a pivotal role. let me explain. our fintech strategy is based on a twofold approach : 1 ) implementing a set of innovation facilitators able to cover the entire ‘ product life ‑ cycle ’ ; and 2 ) promoting dialogue with all stakeholders in order to share good practices and sound common standards. the set of innovation facilitators is composed of three different initiatives : the fintech channel, milano hub and the regulatory sandbox. the fintech channel is the point of contact through which operators can dialogue easily and informally with the bank of italy. they can present projects in the fields of financial services and payments, based on innovative technology, or propose technological solutions designed for banks and financial intermediaries. since its establishment in 2017, the fintech channel has received over 120 requests for support. these initiatives involve companies in all phases of their life - cycle ( 30 per cent developed and 70 per cent start - ups or projects ), relating to a