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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
From real estate to commodities to carbon credits, tokenization is unlocking new ways to fractionalize and transfer real-world assets outside of traditional securities law. This panel will examine leading use cases, technical standards, and regulatory considerations for non-securities tokenization, highlighting both opportunities and challenges.
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.
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.