James Newman

Managing Partner, Fund Manager Republic

James Newman is Co-Managing & General Partner – Fund Manager at Republic. Prior to this, James worked in a wide variety of investing, business building and operating roles across the Alan Howard ecosystem. Originally hired into Brevan Howard, his focus was Principal Investing across Crypto, Web3, Fintech & Frontier Technologies.

James was also one of the founding team at WebN Group, the well-known incubator for Fintech & Web3 innovation, where over 18 months significant equity value was created. Twinstake, TruFin, Libre, Geometry and Soter are a few of those companies. Due to James’s extensive experience, he additionally spent 6 months restructuring, realigning and putting into place operational policies and scaling procedures at Elwood, a market leading EMS & PMS provider backed by Goldman Sachs, Citi Bank, and Barclays.

Having been heavily involved in Web3 & Digital Assets Markets for over 8 years, James started his career with ~15 years of investment banking experience across multi-asset trading, derivative, sales and structuring desks at top tier banks. His deep understanding of the intersection between digital assets, financial technologies and traditional finance has been crucial to creating robust investment thesis’s, venture builds and implementing operational policies, scalable processes and go-to-market strategies in portfolio companies.

Outside of work, James is an advisor to various companies, including Saltford FC and has published numerous quantitative, financial and regulatory papers across both traditional and digital markets, most recently for the Digital Economic Initiative. As a qualified Chartered Financial Analyst®, James holds a Masters in Finance (Distinction) & graduated with an Honours Degree in Economics from Durham University.

Day 1 | 17th June

3:40 PM Fund Tokenization Case Study: Title TBC

Digital currencies are reshaping the institutional payments landscape. This panel will examine their maturation, highlighting the opportunities and risks they present. Key topics include the latest WCBDC initiatives across the U.S., EU, and Asia, the evolving regulatory landscape for stablecoins, and the debate between public and private digital currencies. We’ll also explore how stablecoin issuers are addressing compliance and the integration of various digital money types into real-time financial systems.

What are the threats and opportunities posed by CBDCs and stablecoins?
What are the latest CBDC initiatives in the U.S., EU, and Asia, and what are their similarities and differences?
Outlining the key stablecoin regulatory considerations and private vs. public digital currency debates.
How are stablecoin issuers navigating regulatory requirements?
How can you integrate different digital money types with real-time gross settlement and other legacy systems?

Day 2 | 18th June

3:40 PM AI & DLT Keynote Panel: Exploring the Convergence of AI and DLT: How are AI-driven tools and blockchain technology reshaping capital markets and transforming traditional finance models?

The convergence of AI and DLT is set to revolutionise financial markets, driving efficiency, automation, and security in areas such as trade finance, fraud prevention, smart contracts, and real-time transactions. While the potential is vast, challenges remain in regulatory compliance, interoperability, and adoption. This panel will feature academics, legal experts, banking executives, asset managers, and project founders discussing real-world applications, regulatory considerations, and key technological hurdles in integrating AI and blockchain.

AI & DLT in capital markets: How can AI and DLT interact to enhance security and efficiency in capital markets?
Real-world use cases: What are the real-world use cases of AI and DLT in traditional finance? (Trade finance, fraud detection, and 24/7 cross-border payments)
Key challenges: How can you overcome the key challenges of integrating AI-powered blockchain with legacy systems while navigating legal and compliance hurdles?
Future outlook: What does the future hold for AI and DLT in financial markets, and how can firms leverage their combined potential to drive efficiency, security, and innovation?

Check out the incredible speaker line-up to see who will be joining James.

Download The Latest Agenda