Digital Assets 2024
14 - 15 May, 2024
Business Design Centre, London
Day 1 | 14th May
8:00 am - 8:40 am
Registration and Breakfast
8:40 am - 8:50 am
Welcome Address: Anna Andrews, Editorial Director, DigiAssets
8:50 am - 9:00 am
Chair's Opening Remarks
Julia Streets -
Founder & CEO,
Streets Consulting
Accelerating Digital Asset Adoption
9:00 am - 9:25 am
Keynote Market Outlook Interview: Examining the Future of Digital Assets: How are the latest regulatory, market structure and technology developments creating a more efficient marketplace that offers institutions greater access?
Eric Peters -
CEO & CIO,
Coinbase Asset Management
Julia Streets -
Founder & CEO,
Streets Consulting
- How has the digital assets market developed over the previous 12 months, and are we reaching a turning point for institutional adoption [numbers and stats to be provided]?
- How does market sentiment diverge from a regional perspective [numbers and stats to be provided]?
- What progress is being made to define and classify digital assets to enable a harmonized understanding of the ecosystem and to promote regulatory coordination?
- How can industry overcome the lack of regulatory commonality to run an international trading desk under different rules?
9:25 am - 9:50 am
UK Ministerial Keynote Interview: Building a progressive policy framework: What is the progress and policy roadmap for digital assets in 2024, and will it encourage greater institutional participation in the UK?
Bim Afolami -
Economic Secretary to the Treasury and City Minister,
UK Government
Ian Taylor -
Head of Crypto and Digital Assets, KPMG UK & Board Advisor to CryptoUK,
CryptoUK
- What have been the key UK digital asset milestones in the last year and what’s ahead?
- How have policymakers, regulators and industry been working together to advance the regulatory framework for stablecoins and other backed cryptoassets?
- How does the UK’s digital asset proposals compare to the EU’s MiCA regulation?
9:50 am - 10:15 am
Innovation Keynote Interview: **Hosted under Chatham House Rule** - Capitalising on the digital assets opportunity: Exploring asset management use cases for this new and emerging asset class and the implications of blockchain technology for capital markets
Gautam Sharma -
CEO & CIO,
Brevan Howard Digital
Anatoly Crachilov -
Founding Partner & CEO,
Nickel Digital Asset Management
- Digital assets: What are the investment opportunities in this asset class and how to navigate the ever changing markets?
- Web3: How will Web3 create more business and investment opportunities and enable people to participate in ownership [Helium]?
- Tokenisation: How will the concept of tokenisation enable firms to reduce friction of transferring ownership of real assets to unlock access for more investors?
10:15 am - 10:35 am
Institutional Provider Keynote:
David Mercer -
CEO,
LMAX Group
10:35 am - 11:10 am
Morning Refreshment Break & Expo Demos
10:35 am - 11:20 am
Crypto 101 Briefing (Chatham House): Understanding the investable landscape to inform allocation strategies
Louis LaValle -
Managing Director,
3iQ Digital Assets
Open to 25 participants and hosted under Chatham House Rule
- Defining and classifying the asset class
- Who are the key participants, service providers, auditors, and administrators in the ecosystem?
- How many hedge funds are in the digital assets market, how do they generate capital and what are the different strategies?
- How is custody different in digital vs traditional assets?
10:35 am - 11:35 am
Invitation Only Morning Masterclass
(Available for Sponsor)
Institutionalizing The Digital Assets Ecosystem
11:10 am - 11:40 am
Tokenization Panel: Unlocking the Potential of Tokenization: How can our industry best collaborate to build a connected blockchain ecosystem that enables seamless issuance, trading, reconciliation and settlement?
David Reed -
Director, Emerging Technology Innovation,
Invesco
Jasmine Burgess -
COO/ CRO,
Coinbase Asset Management
Stephen Whyman -
Director, Debt Capital Markets,
Fidelity International
Emma Lovett -
Executive Director, Markets DLT – Credit Lead,
J.P. Morgan
- How are banks and market infrastructure providers working together to allow interoperability across blockchains to enable the next stage of digital asset adoption?
- What are the latest developments and results with the UK and EU’s sandbox experiments for tokenised securities and what does it mean for the industry’s future?
- How will capital market infrastructure need to adapt to support the issuance, trading, and post trade activities of tokenised securities?
- How are regulatory regimes looking to address the custody of tokenised assets?
- What are the pros and cons of permissioned vs permissionless blockchains?
(Available for Sponsor x3)
11:40 am - 12:00 pm
Institutional Provider Keynote
12:00 pm - 12:20 pm
Bitcoin ETF Case Study: The Journey of launching a Bitcoin ETF: What is the process of designing and launching a Bitcoin ETF, and what role will it play in an investor’s portfolio?
Eric Pollackov -
Global Head of ETF Capital Markets,
Invesco
- What were the key regulatory hurdles when launching the Bitcoin ETF and how were they addressed?
- What is the operational workflow, and how does it differ from traditional ETF’s?
- How can you manage the liquidity and trading volumes of Bitcoin ETs during periods of high market volatility?
- How can you ensure the track accuracy of ETFs to the underlying Bitcoin market price?
- What role will Bitcoin ETF’s play in an investor’s portfolio during times of economic uncertainty?
12:20 pm - 12:50 pm
ETF & ETP Panel: Exploring the Next Stage of Market Evolution: What are the latest ETF and ETP developments and how will the emergence of these new products impact the wider market and investor sentiment?
Eric Pollackov -
Global Head of ETF Capital Markets,
Invesco
Barbara Schlyter -
Head of Digital Products and Solutions,
DWS Group
David Knowlton -
Head of Product,
Galaxy Asset Management
Eva Szalay -
Head of Media Relations,
HokkuPR
- What are the key regulatory and structural differences between ETF and ETPs in the US and Europe, and how do they converge and how do they differ?
- Which major institutions are launching spot Bitcoin ETFs and what is the status of these applications?
- How can you leverage these products to complement existing holdings in equities, bonds, and traditional funds?
- What will be the wider market impacts of greater adoption of these new institutional-grade products?
- How is the introduction of Bitcoin ETFs impacting liquidity and flows of the cryptocurrency market?
(Available for Sponsor)
12:50 pm - 1:50 pm
Networking Lunch
12:50 pm - 1:50 pm
VIP Asset Allocator Think Tank & Lunch, Hosted Under Chatham House Rule: What are the key considerations that asset allocators should be making when entering into this new market?
Marc de Kloe -
Partner,
Theta Capital Management
This is an invitation-only session hosted under Chatham House, open to 20 senior representatives from asset allocators, who are either actively allocating to this market, or looking to become active in the next 12-18 months.
This session is open to asset allocators only, this includes pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, family offices, wealth managers and fund of funds.
*By invitation only. If you would like to inquire, please email: anna.andrews@wbr.co.uk*
12:50 pm - 1:50 pm
VIP Asset Manager Think Tank & Lunch: How can asset managers adapt their approach and infrastructure to successfully integrate or issue digital investments?
Jasmine Burgess -
COO/ CRO,
Coinbase Asset Management
- What are the key differences and nuances between a digital asset management approach vs a traditional institution?
- What are the new skill sets required?
- How can you evaluate and evolve existing infrastructure and data architecture?
- What does interoperability mean when running TradFi systems and settlement together with tokenised securities? How do you get them to marry up?
This is an invitation-only session hosted under Chatham House, open to 20 senior decision makers from leading asset managers.
Track Chair: Julia Streets, Founder and CEO, Streets Consulting
Track A: Crypto Use Cases
1:50 pm - 2:20 pm Crypto Liquidity Management Panel: Assessing Liquidity Provision & Connectivity: How can you access efficient liquidity in the OTC and exchange market through a single-entry point whilst minimizing counterparty risk? Vladimir Vishnevskiy - Partner, Quonota Investments Michael Higgins - Partner, Global Head - Business Development, Hidden Road Partners Katryna Hanush - Director of Business Development and Partnerships, Wintermute Thomas Restout - Group CEO, B2C2 Reed Werbitt - US CEO, Flowdesk Julia Streets - Founder & CEO, Streets Consulting- How can you seamlessly connect your existing workflow to the digital asset ecosystem to access deep liquidity?
- An overview of the main institutional-grade providers who are connecting buy side with exchanges, PB’s and OTC desks, whilst eliminating counterparty risks.
- How can you overcome liquidity fragmentation across various exchanges and OTC markets?
- What improvements are being made to exchange interoperability to reduce the need for multiple settlement methods for each exchange?
(Available for Sponsor)
Track A: Crypto Use Cases
2:20 pm - 2:50 pm ETP Deep-Dive Panel: Examining How to Enter the Crypto ETP Market: How can you leverage crypto ETPs as a secure entry point to gain exposure to digital assets whilst maintaining your risk and compliance standards? Andres Fondevila - Head of Digital Assets, BBVA Asset Management Barbara Schlyter - Head of Digital Products and Solutions, DWS Group Rutger Vijgen - Public Affairs Advisor, FIA European Principal Traders Association Joshua Deems - Institutional Business Development Lead, Figment- What are the key factors and considerations when evaluating providers and ETP issuers?
- How can you adapt your traditional due-diligence and on-boarding processes to best analyse different issuers and products?
- What are the key benefits of ETPs vs holding digital assets in a wallet, and how will these markets develop in conjunction?
- What impact will the EU’s MiCA bill have on institutional demand for crypto ETPs?
(Available for Sponsor x2)
Track A: Crypto Use Cases
2:50 pm - 3:20 pm Crypto Derivatives Panel: How have products evolved from basic offerings to more sophisticated instruments to enable institutions to gain exposure to the digital assets markets? Jaime Baeza - Founder, ANB Investments Leon Marshall - CEO of Galaxy Europe and Global Head of Sales, Galaxy Greg Magadini - Director of Derivatives, Amberdata Kok Kee Chong - Chief Executive Officer, AsiaNext Rafael Zanatta - Digital Assets Sales, Eurex Matt Milsom - Digital Asset Portfolio Manager, MHC Digital- Who are the key providers in this space, what so they offer, how do they operate and who are they targeting?
- How can you gain synthetic exposure through options and NDF’s via an OTC desk?
- How can you address counterparty risk issues in the crypto derivatives market?
Track Chair: Allan Guild, Director, Hilltop Walk Consulting
Hosted under Chatham House Rule
Track B: Tokenization & Real-World Assets Use Cases
1:50 pm - 2:15 pm Digitisation of RWA Case study & Interview: Examining the implementation process and key outcomes of tokenising a money market fund, as well as exploring what’s next for abrdn Russell Barlow - Global Head of Alternative Investment Strategies, abrdn Graham Rodford - CEO & Co-founder, ArchaxThis session will explore the process, challenges, benefits, and results of tokenising a money market fund. The speakers will also explore what’s next for abrdn, including tokenisation of private markets.
Track B: Tokenization & Real-World Assets Use Cases
2:15 pm - 2:40 pm Digitisation of RWA Case Study: Examining the implementation process and key outcomes of tokenising private equity fund Christoph Hock - Head of Tokenisation & Digital Assets, Union InvestmentsThis session will explore the process, challenges, benefits, and results of tokenising a private equity fund:
- How can you build a business case to gain internal buy-in and investment?
- Stage one: Deal structuring- How can you decide on asset type, shareholder type and jurisdiction?
- Stage two: Legal structure- how to create a legal wrapper to form an investment vehicle.
- Stage three: Technology selection- How can you decide which ledger to select, which platform, custody provider and AML/KYC partners to use?
- Stage four: Distribution and marketing- exploring token generation and distribution as well as post-tokenisation management.
(Available for Sponsor)
Track B: Tokenization & Real-World Assets Use Cases
2:40 pm - 3:05 pm Digitisation of RWA Fire Side Chat: Examining implementation process and key outcomes of tokenising a renewables project finance bond Julien Clausse - Head of AssetFoundry (Digital Asset & Tokenization), BNP Paribas CIB Stefan Brinaru - Head of Digital Strategy & Investment, BNP Paribas Asset ManagementThis session will explore the process, challenges, benefits, and results of tokenising bonds:
- How can you build a business case to gain internal buy-in and investment?
- Stage one: Deal structuring- How can you decide on asset type, shareholder type and jurisdiction?
- Stage two: Legal structure- how to create a legal wrapper to form an investment vehicle.
- Stage three: Technology selection- How can you decide which ledger to select, which platform, custody provider and AML/KYC partners to use?
- Stage four: Distribution and marketing- exploring token generation and distribution as well as post-tokenisation management.
(Available for Sponsor)
Track B: Tokenization & Real-World Assets Use Cases
3:05 pm - 3:35 pm Alternative Asset Tokenisation Panel: Music Royalties, Whiskey, Art, Athletes, Cattle Farms: How is blockchain technology and smart contracts unlocking new investment opportunities and how can you tap into these new revenue streams? Carlos Fernandez Matzi - Co-Founder & CEO, Finka Token Asif Kamal - Founder, Artfi Amber Ghaddar - Founder & Co-founder, The 200 Bn Club and AllianceBlock Clarissa Ralston- Boyle - Director, Jade City Victor Jung - Managing Director, Head of Digital Assets, Hamilton LaneSpeakers will explore the following: What is the new alternative asset class of the future?
Track Chair: James Hopegood, Director of Asset Management Regulation, AIMA
Track C: Operations & Infrastructure
1:50 pm - 2:20 pm Digital Assets Taxonomy Interview: Exploring Data and Taxonomy Developments: What is the best practice approach to setting up a digital asset taxonomy to help define financial instruments and how to classify them? Radek Krysztofiak - Strategic Consultant – FTS & Investment Data, Franklin Templeton Stephan Dreyer - Managing Director, ANNA- An overview of the digital asset taxonomy frameworks that are available in the market and how to adapt to your organisation
- How can you build a reference data map to allow systems to categorise, manage and follow digital assets by classification?
- Which providers offer a security master data feed to capture crypto features and descriptions?
- How can you develop a security master data system that stores the features, attributes and data points of traditional and digital assets?
(Available for Sponsor)
Track C: Operations & Infrastructure
2:20 pm - 2:50 pm Digital Assets Trade Processing Presentation: Harmonising Your Post-Trade Processing Capabilities: How can you adapt your post trade workflows to ensure digital asset transactions are processed correctly and positions are reflected on IBOR and portfolios? Krzysztof Wierzchowski - Vice President, Securities Services, Franklin Templeton Virginie O’Shea - Founder, Firebrand Research- What post-trade processing solutions are emerging to help asset managers unify their post trade workflows for digital and traditional assets?
- How can you adapt your infrastructure and tech stack to integrate trade management of asset classes?
- Which institutional-grade providers are developing multi-asset platforms to securely custody, manage and standardise digital asset trades alongside traditional assets?
- How will the traditional post trade functions of trade confirmation and reconciliation transfer to digital assets?
- Which, if any, IBOR systems support both digital and traditional assets, or are managers having to create new systems to correctly track positions?
(Available for Sponsor)
Track C: Operations & Infrastructure
2:50 pm - 3:20 pm Demystifying Custody Panel- Where to Start: Assessing Custody Solutions: How can you navigate the various custody solutions to determine which approach is the right fit for your firm’s needs and AML/ KYC obligations? Stuart Naples - Head of New Business, Brevan Howard Digital Admire Chatiza - Managing Director, Head of Operational Due Diligence, Forteus Stijn Vander Straeten - CEO, Crypto Finance Group Timothy Tan - Head of Sales and Partnerships, Cactus Custody James Hopegood - Director of Asset Management Regulation, AIMA- What are the key considerations when starting to evaluate the various custody offerings available in the market?
- What are the pros and cons of self-custody and third-party custody services?
- What are the differences between custodial and non-custodial wallets?
- How can you build a robust assessment framework when reviewing and evaluating custody providers? [regulatory considerations, compatibility with investment strategy, due diligence]
- What are the latest digital asset custody developments and services being offered by the traditional custodians?
- Understanding wallet infrastructure and security around it
(Available for Sponsor x3)
Stuart Naples
Head of New BusinessBrevan Howard Digital
Track Chair: Elise Soucie, Director of Policy & Regulation, GBBC Digital Finance
Track D: DeFi Protocols & Investment Strategies
1:50 pm - 2:20 pm Institutional Staking Panel: Institutional Staking 101: How can you safely engage in regulated staking services to access yield-generating crypto assets? Valerie Noel - Head of Trading, Syz Group Olga Romanova - Former Head of Operational Due Diligence, Aaro Capital Laurent Bourquin - Managing Partner, MEV Capital Evgeny Gokhberg - Managing Partner, Re7 Capital- Who are the emerging services providers offering compliant staking products for institutions?
- How can you best assess the tokenomics and staking rewards structure when selecting digital assets for staking?
- How can you evaluate different protocols when each has different staking rules?
- Who is providing institutional- grade custodial staking solutions?
- What are the regulatory and compliance pain points institutions need to be aware of when exploring staking?
- What is the right accounting and tax treatment for staking and how should you recognise it [income, interest]?
(Available for Sponsor x2)
Laurent Bourquin
Managing PartnerMEV Capital
Track D: DeFi Protocols & Investment Strategies
2:50 pm - 3:20 pm Layer 2 Panel: Exploring Advancements in Blockchain Networks: What are the latest layer 2 scaling solutions that are helping to reduce fees, retain security and improve speed? Romain Braud - Director of Digital Assets, Arab Bank Samed Bouaynaya - Portfolio Manager Digital Assets Fund, Altana Wealth Mara Schmiedt - CEO and Co-Founder, Alluvial- Breaking down the differences between layer 1 and layer 2 networks and outlining the main players.
- What are the latest layer 2 digital asset projects that are optimising the blockchain ecosystem and driving efficiency and scalability?
- Will layer 2 networks allow for permissioned and a pre-defined set of KYC users?
- What are the regulatory and compliance hurdles for regulated financial institutions when exploring the use of layer 2 solutions?
- What role will layer 2 play in the evolution of blockchain technology?
(Available for Sponsor)
Track D: DeFi Protocols & Investment Strategies
2:50 pm - 3:20 pm Evaluating Fund Strategies Panel: Assessing Fund Strategies: Which digital asset investment strategies are delivering the best returns in 2024? Carl Szantyr - Managing Partner, CEO, Blockstone Capital Ankush Jain - CIO and Co-Founder, Aaro Capital Alek Kloda - Founding & Co- CIO, Nickel Digital Asset Management Jean-Marc Bonnefous - Managing Director, Tellurian CapitalHear from three fund of funds and allocators on how they select different strategies and managers to invest in, they will cover:
- Market neutral, trend following, directional, statistical arbitrage- which strategies are delivering the best returns?
- What are the key drivers delivering the best returns, and is this driven by macro views or crypto fundamentals?
- Is macro driving the crypto market, or fundamentals?
- How can you best allocate to a range of funds so you can be agile if market conditions change?
Roundtables, Bubbles & Bites
Roundtable 1
3:20 pm - 4:20 pm How can institutions leverage onchain structured products to unlock new opportunities? Mara Schmiedt - CEO and Co-Founder, AlluvialRoundtable 2
3:20 pm - 4:20 pm How can you leverage digital assets in your investment strategy as a diversifier? Edouard Hindi - Chief Investment Officer, Tyr Capital Kevin Ballard - Co-Founder & CCO, Block Asset Management
Roundtable 3
3:20 pm - 4:20 pm The changing UK legislative landscape- what will be the major developments in 2024? Laura Navaratnam - UK Policy Lead, Crypto Council for Innovation
Roundtable 4
3:20 pm - 4:20 pm Evaluating digital asset custody options Marcello Cavalcanti - Managing Partner, Tagus Capital Glenn Rosenberg - COO, ML Tech
Roundtable 5
3:20 pm - 4:20 pm Optimising performance: Examining the benefits, disadvantages and challenges of SMA vs fund investment Hugo Langeen - Co-founder and CEO, ValidAlpha Leo Mindyuk - CEO, ML Tech
Roundtable 6
3:20 pm - 4:20 pm Exploring the latest developments with Crypto ETPs and what this means for institutions Jonathan Bier - Chief Investment Officer, Farside Investors
Asset Manager 101 Workshop
3:20 pm - 4:20 pm *Chatham House* Crypto 101 Briefing: Outsource vs In-house: How can asset managers participate in this market, and what are the key considerations? Louis LaValle - Managing Director, 3iQ Digital Assets- How to determine whether to outsource to a fund manager, or whether to build out a division?
- ETF’s, Mutual funds, fund managers- how can you participate?
- If building in-house, what are the regulatory, counterparty and advisory considerations?
Hosted by a leading fund of fund and market expert: Louis LaValle, Managing Director, 3iQ Digital Assets
Leave this workshop with a clear understanding on the different ways asset managers can participate in this market.