Project Pigeon Consortium Launches APAC Working Group to Advance Governance Standards for Permissionless Blockchains

BitcoinWorld Project Pigeon Consortium Launches APAC Working Group to Advance Governance Standards for Permissionless Blockchains Joint initiative by Elliptic, Digital Asset Association (DAA), Responsible Fintech Institute (RFI) and Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow to establish an industry standard risk-management framework, supporting safe innovation and Group 1 crypto asset treatment. SINGAPORE, Aug. 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ – The Project Pigeon consortium, jointly convened by Elliptic, the Digital Asset Association (DAA), the Responsible Fintech Institute (RFI) and Baker McKenzie, today announced the formation of “Project Pigeon: A Working Group for Permissionless Blockchain Governance in APAC”. This regional initiative is dedicated to advancing safe, compliant innovation on public blockchain networks, providing financial institutions with the frameworks necessary to operate securely within rapidly evolving regulatory landscapes. The initiative takes its name from carrier pigeons, reflecting the consortium’s goal of developing trusted governance frameworks that enable secure communication and value transfer across open, decentralized blockchain networks. The launch of the working group follows the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) April 2026 Consultation Paper regarding the prudential treatment of crypto assets on permissionless blockchains. A primary objective of Project Pigeon is to help banks and financial institutions assess and address regulatory considerations raised in the consultation through the development of a framework structured around four fundamental risk pillars, each spearheaded by a designated consortium co-convenor: Governance Risk (led by RFI): Addressing node concentration, maintaining governance transparency, and ensuring strict accountability within decentralized ecosystems. Technology Risk (led by DAA): Mitigating threats such as 51% attacks, protocol vulnerabilities, smart contract exploits, and broader infrastructure risks. Settlement Finality Risk (led by Baker McKenzie): Evaluating consensus mechanisms, reconciling probabilistic versus deterministic finality, and establishing the legal certainty of settlement. AML/CFT Risk (led by Elliptic): Tackling challenges related to pseudonymity, implementing effective sanctions screening, leveraging advanced on-chain analytics, ensuring Travel Rule compliance and managing the linkage to prudential risk. The working group brings together a diverse coalition of banks, crypto-native firms, digital asset exchanges, and legacy financial institutions operating across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. Underscoring the systemic importance of this initiative, Project Pigeon has established observer and consulting roles for leading regulatory bodies. Baker McKenzie serves as the official secretariat to the consortium, providing comprehensive editorial oversight, supporting engagement with regulators, and managing the consortium’s governance processes. This structured approach includes bi-weekly plenary sessions, focused meetings for the four workstream sub-groups, quarterly regulatory checkpoints, and monthly reviews conducted by the central Steering Committee comprising DAA, RFI, Elliptic, and Baker McKenzie. The culmination of the consortium’s efforts will be an authoritative industry guide, “Pigeon Permissionless Blockchains”, which will set out a practical, end-to-end risk management lifecycle framework and executable guidelines for risk and compliance managers, referencing existing industry standards and regulatory guidance.