Start the Digital Assets at Duke Conference with an optional golf tournament at the renowned Duke University Golf Club (shotgun start scheduled beginning at 10:00am, weather permitting). Don’t miss this unique networking opportunity in a relaxed setting—sign up early to secure your spot!
Start your morning with Ari Redbord and the TRM Run Club on a scenic 5K run at a conversational pace through Duke University’s campus. We’ll be running each morning of the conference. You’re welcome to join for both days or just one — whatever fits your schedule.Register in advance to save your spot: https://event.trmlabs.com/trmrunclubatduke2026
This session will discuss how banks are approaching digital assets, including custody, settlement, tokenization pilots, and balance-sheet considerations in the context of the OCC’s 2025 clarification (which removes prior-permission requirements but emphasizes risk management) and Basel’s new disclosure framework for crypto exposures. The discussion will address implications for product design, vendor oversight, and supervisory expectations in 2026.
Speakers:
Rodney Hood
Carleton Goss
Katie Bosken
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ETFs and listed derivatives pulled millions of new investors into crypto markets. We’ll unpack flows and market structure after spot bitcoin ETFs (Jan ’24) and spot ether ETFs (Jul ’24), plus the knock-on effects in CME futures and options, the potential for new staked-crypto ETFs, and what “24/7 markets” might mean if regulators move further.
Speakers:
Cynthia Lo Bessette
Johanna Collins-Wood
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Join us for a fireside chat with Johann Kerbrat, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Crypto at Robinhood, as he discusses how the firm has become one of the most consequential players in bringing digital assets and tokenization to mainstream investors. Johann leads strategy for Robinhood’s rapidly expanding crypto business, which has moved well beyond experimentation to include scaled trading, custody, and on-chain initiatives aimed at integrating digital assets into a familiar, regulated brokerage experience. Drawing on his background as an engineer and founder, Johann will speak to Robinhood’s major strategic moves in crypto, its growing interest in tokenized assets, and how retail demand is influencing the design of next-generation financial products. The conversation will also explore how Robinhood is navigating regulatory complexity while helping to shape the future of retail access to crypto and tokenized securities.
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With the IRS’s new Form 1099-DA in effect and guidance on staking, lending, and DeFi under debate, tax and accounting challenges are front and center. This panel will review the latest accounting standards, insurance considerations, and compliance obligations for companies and individuals navigating an increasingly complex digital asset landscape.
Speakers:
Sulolit Raj Mukherjee
Andie Kramer
Seth Wilks
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From Fortune 500 treasuries to crypto-native firms, corporations are experimenting with holding, hedging, and transacting in digital assets. This discussion will explore why companies add digital assets to their balance sheets, how they manage volatility and accounting treatment, and the regulatory and governance considerations they face.
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Stablecoins are gaining momentum as a mainstream payment and settlement tool, with adoption accelerating across trading platforms, payment networks, and corporate treasuries. New issuers—from fintech startups to traditional financial institutions—are entering the market, expanding the range of reserve models and use cases. This panel will explore how stablecoins are being integrated into day-to-day financial activity, what is driving user and merchant adoption, and how evolving regulations continue to shape their design and growth.
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In a climate of rapid technological advancement and shifting regulatory priorities, understanding the rules that shape the digital asset market is more critical than ever. This panel will dissect the labyrinth of U.S. oversight—from SEC and CFTC enforcement actions to the latest legislative initiatives. Panelists will highlight the practical realities of compliance, emerging best practices, and the potential impacts of upcoming policy changes.
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A rapid tour of what’s live and what’s coming: MiCA’s staged go-live across the EU, the UK’s stablecoin and custody proposals, Hong Kong’s new stablecoin regime, and FATF’s Travel Rule implementation progress. Panelists will map where cross-border activity is easiest—and where frictions remain.
Speakers:
Ryan Clements
Colin Payne
Jon Fink Isaksen
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2025 marked a pivotal turning point as Wall Street moved digital asset products from pilot programs into real production. In 2026, a new wave of on-chain securities and digital asset products will expand beyond isolated networks and reach mainstream investors through regulated broker-dealer channels. As these digitally native products gain broader access, U.S. capital markets and their underlying infrastructure will accelerate their modernization – fundamentally changing how banks, asset managers, brokerages, and investors engage with digital assets. This session will explore how that shift is redefining how on-chain assets are created, distributed, held, and traded.
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Financial Market Utilities are rapidly evolving as tokenized assets and real‑time settlement shift them from passive record‑keepers to active orchestrators of trust, risk, and market integrity. This session explores how tokenization reshapes clearing and settlement—compressing timelines, enabling atomic settlement, and challenging assumptions about disintermediation—while highlighting where FMIs remain essential for netting, risk management, and finality. We’ll also examine how tokenized and traditional finance are converging, requiring FMIs to bridge on‑chain and off‑chain systems in ways that preserve stability, regulatory alignment, and confidence.
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In this live taping, Crypto in America – the podcast focused on the intersection of crypto, policy, and U.S. politics – sits down with Bo Hines for a timely conversation on the state of digital asset regulation and Tether’s US ambitions. Hines is currently CEO of Tether USA and previously served as a senior advisor on digital assets in the Trump administration. The discussion will explore how crypto is being debated inside Washington, the political forces shaping regulatory outcomes, and what comes next for Tether and the industry under a second Trump administration.
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From cross-chain exploits to sophisticated tracing, crypto security is now an intelligence discipline. Investigators, privacy engineers, and counsel will explore the newest tracing techniques, Travel Rule supervision, privacy-preserving compliance, and lessons from recent enforcement and recovery efforts.
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Tokenized funds, equities, and fixed-income products are no longer theoretical—they are live and gaining traction. Panelists will explore the benefits of blockchain-based settlement, custody, and secondary trading, alongside the regulatory and operational hurdles that remain in moving securities fully on-chain.
Speakers:
Jason Ward
Stephen Gardner
Charles DeSimone
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DeFi is evolving toward safer rails and institutional touchpoints: L2 adoption, intent-based execution, real-world collateral, and clearer lines between interfaces and protocols. We’ll parse the current regulatory dialogue (including the CFTC’s look at perpetuals and around-the-clock trading) and what it means for liquidity, disclosures, and consumer protection.
Speakers:
Salman Banaei
John Church
Linda Jeng
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Private-sector stablecoins and tokenized deposits are advancing rapidly, but sovereigns are responding with CBDC pilots, faster payment systems, and oversight of alternative rails. This session will explore the tension between public and private innovation, and what the future of money means for consumers, banks, and central banks.
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This virtual fireside chat will feature Jesse Pollak, VP of Engineering at Coinbase and the creator of Base, Coinbase’s decentralized Ethereum Layer 2. Jesse will discuss how Coinbase is advancing its onchain strategy—from scaling blockchain infrastructure to enabling developers and users to build, transact, and interact directly onchain. Drawing on his experience leading Coinbase’s consumer-facing products and launching Base as a low-cost, builder-friendly network, the conversation will explore the role of Layer 2s in expanding mainstream access to crypto, the evolution of onchain applications, and how major platforms like Coinbase are shaping the next phase of blockchain adoption.
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The courts remain central in defining crypto’s regulatory perimeter. This panel will analyze the latest decisions in headline cases—including SEC actions against exchanges and token issuers, CFTC enforcement of derivatives, and private litigation—and discuss their implications for industry participants going forward.
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