In this first episode of season three’s “Looking Back Looking Forward”, Professor Douglas Arner discusses the big issues relating to finance, technology and regulation for the new year. Topics expecting to make headway include asset pricing, potential financial crises, inflation, geopolitical issues and COVID-19. Crypto and digital assets, still causing concern by regulatory bodies, will continue to seek normalisation. Professor Arner also foresees central bank digital currencies and the Metaverse to rise among the topics for financial technology’s advancement in 2022.