As the digital-asset ecosystem matures, banks are exploring how to bring the trust and stability of traditional deposits onto new digital rails. Tokenized deposits—bank-issued, blockchain-based representations of fiat money—could redefine payments, liquidity, and market infrastructure. This session brings together leading voices from the banking and crypto worlds to examine how tokenized deposits can bridge TradFi and DeFi, enabling 24/7 settlement, programmable payments, and more efficient markets—without compromising on compliance or safety. Among the things the panel will discuss:

• What’s driving the interest in tokenized deposits now
• How tokenized deposits differ from stablecoins and CBDCs
• Whether tokenized deposits a defensive move—or an offensive innovation strategy for banks?
• What are the biggest operational and technology hurdles to tokenizing deposits within a regulated bank environment?
• How would tokenized deposits change interbank settlement, liquidity management, or treasury operations?
• Could tokenized deposits make correspondent banking and cross-border payments obsolete?
• How are tokenized deposits likely to coexist with stablecoins and CBDCs?

As stablecoins become poised to potentially dominate the settlement rail for on-chain finance, traditional financial institutions face a strategic inflection point: how to build, deploy, and scale an institutional-grade stablecoin strategy that positions them for leadership rather than displacement. With regulatory clarity increasing, tokenization infrastructures maturing, and corporate demand for real-time programmable liquidity rising, stablecoins are shifting rapidly from experimental to essential—and financial institutions must determine their strategic path forward.

The other significant challenge: TradFi technology stacks were not designed for on-chain operations, 24/7 liquidity, tokenized liabilities, or smart contract execution. A financial institution that wants to issue, support, or integrate stablecoins must build capabilities across five major infrastructure layers, each with subcomponents and strategic decisions.
This session brings together TradFi and crypto leaders to explore what it truly takes for a financial institution to operate on-chain. The panel will examine strategic decision-making around issuing versus partnering, the technical and operational infrastructure required to support regulated stablecoins, and how to safely integrate stablecoins into core banking, treasury, payments, and capital markets workflows.

The panel will also focus on liquidity models, interoperability between public and permissioned chains, risk and compliance frameworks, and the emerging business models that will shape competitive advantage. Panelists will share insights on how to sequence a stablecoin roadmap, where early value emerges for clients, and how to organize internally for execution across technology, risk, legal and treasury functions. Key points of the discussion will include:

• The strategic rationale and business case for stablecoins in 2026, 2027 and beyond.
• The bank infrastructure stack needed to issue, distribute, and manage stablecoins.
• Operating models and governance practices that meet bank-grade regulatory, risk, and compliance requirements.
• Practical lessons from early adopters, including liquidity design, chain selection, and integration with tokenized assets and payments rails.
• How to build an on-chain presence that enhances competitiveness, strengthens client offerings, and unlocks new revenue and settlement models.

Rewiring Finance: Modernizing Market Infrastructure for an On-Chain Future

Global financial markets are undergoing a foundational transformation. Legacy systems built decades ago are being challenged by new technologies—from distributed ledgers and real-time settlement rails to AI-powered risk management and tokenized assets. Market participants, regulators, and infrastructure providers now face a shared imperative: how to modernize safely, efficiently, and collaboratively.

This one-on-one interview will explore how market infrastructure is evolving, and what modernization really means for liquidity, efficiency, and resiliency, including:

• Integrating modern infrastructure—DLT, cloud, and digital assets—into existing market systems.
• Balancing innovation with regulatory and operational risk management.
• The future of settlement, clearing, and custody in a tokenized economy.
• Public-private collaboration: how institutions and regulators can shape the new financial rails.
• The business case for modernization: efficiency gains, transparency, and access.

For TradFi leaders, meaningful participation in digital assets and on-chain finance depends on the infrastructure decisions they make long before products are launched. This working group focuses on the foundational capabilities—governance, custody, ledger architecture, risk, compliance, and operating models—that must be put in place to support real value, real clients, and real regulatory scrutiny. Rather than debating technologies or market hype, participants will pressure-test how today’s infrastructure choices lock in future control, scalability, and accountability, and identify what must be built now to position their institutions as credible, long-term stakeholders in on-chain financial markets. Discussion points include:

• Defining digital asset infrastructure and setting a common baseline to avoid misalignment.
• Infrastructure vs. products vs. pilots.
• Digital assets as financial infrastructure, not an innovation sandbox.
• Governance for 24/7, irreversible, code-based markets.
• Decision ownership across business, risk, compliance, and technology.
• Mapping infrastructure components to regulatory expectations.
• Custody, safeguarding, AML/KYC, and reporting requirements.
• Key management models and control frameworks to ensure custody is the anchor point.
• On-chain vs. off-chain ledgers and synchronization.
• Permissioned vs. public blockchain considerations.
• Data consistency, reconciliation, and source of truth.
• Interoperability across chains and legacy systems.
• Identity, access, and compliance by design to underpin trust.
• Risk management in real time.
• Ownership across technology, operations, risk, and business.
• New roles and skill sets required.
• Breaking silos between digital asset teams and core functions.

Digital assets are moving rapidly from the fringes of speculation into the mainstream of wealth management, reshaping portfolios, operating models and client expectations. As institutional adoption accelerates and tokenization, regulated products, and new custody models emerge, executive leaders in wealth management face critical decisions about how digital assets—from ETFs and tokenized funds to blockchain-enabled infrastructure—fit into portfolio construction to enhance client engagement.

The generational wealth transfer currently underway and the greater expectations of digitally savvy Millennials and Gen Z investors are further accelerating the strategic opportunity with digital assets, but TradFi executives need to be clear in what they aim to achieve with them as part of wealth portfolio construction.

Panelists will explore the evolving role of digital assets in wealth management, from client demand and portfolio construction to governance, risk management, and infrastructure readiness. Discussion points will include:

• First, why digital assets now: Client demand, institutional legitimacy and competitive pressure.
• Digital assets as an asset class vs. enabling infrastructure.
• Impact of generational wealth transfer and digital-native investors.
• Consequences of inaction over the next 3–5 years.
• Differing needs of UHNW, HNW, mass affluent, and private banking clients.
• Risk tolerance, time horizon, and investment sophistication.
• Education requirements to support informed consent.
• Managing expectations around volatility and drawdowns.
• Defining the purpose: diversification, growth, inflation hedge, innovation exposure.
• Core vs. satellite allocations.
• Correlation behavior across market cycles.
• Position sizing and rebalancing discipline.

Regulatory clarity alone will not secure a bank’s position in on-chain finance. The real differentiator is treasury execution. As stablecoins and tokenized assets reshape liquidity, settlement, and balance sheet strategy, institutions must decide whether to lead or be disintermediated. In this Lightning Talk, AlphaPoint CPO Joaquín Ayuso de Paul will present the business case for integrating institutional grade stablecoin infrastructure into treasury operations to capture real time liquidity, unlock new revenue models, and compete effectively in a tokenized financial system. Discussion points include:

• The strategic rationale for embedding stablecoins into bank treasury operations.
• Stablecoins as programmable balance sheet instruments rather than simple payment mechanisms.
• Aligning tokenization strategies, including deposits and RWAs, with treasury infrastructure.
• Managing liquidity and risk in 24/7 settlement environments.
• Governance, controls, and policy enforcement required for institutional stablecoin operations
• Modernizing legacy treasury systems to support atomic settlement and on chain asset flows.
• Competitive risks and revenue implications of delaying treasury transformation.

Tokenization is redefining how financial assets are issued, traded, and managed — unlocking new levels of liquidity, transparency, and efficiency. As institutional adoption accelerates, the lines between traditional finance and blockchain-native systems are blurring. This panel brings together leaders from banking, asset management, and digital infrastructure to explore how tokenized securities are reshaping capital markets. We’ll discuss how traditional institutions can participate safely and profitably in on-chain finance, from regulatory frameworks and custody solutions to product design and investor access. The panel will offer a practical understanding of where tokenization fits within institutional strategy, what pilots are showing real results, and what’s next for asset managers navigating the digital transformation of capital markets. Key topics include:

• The evolution of tokenized funds, bonds, and alternative assets.
• Legal and regulatory frameworks for tokenized securities.
• Integration of blockchain infrastructure into existing asset management workflows.
• Opportunities for yield, liquidity, and operational efficiency.
• Collaboration models between asset managers, custodians, and DeFi platforms.

While TradFi and crypto leaders seek regulatory “clarity,” that alone isn’t enough, particularly for financial institutions. As tokenization, on-chain settlement, and programmable finance move from pilots to production, the crucial factor for TradFi leaders will be their execution capability: operating models, talent authority, cultural readiness, and strategic clarity that allow them to establish durable, profitable positions in the native conditions of on-chain finance over the next three years.

The panel discussion will focus on what must change inside traditional financial firms to compete with native on-chain players and fast-moving incumbents, including:

• What changes once regulatory “permission” is no longer the bottleneck?
• Which firms are still hiding behind regulatory uncertainty as an excuse for inaction?
• How much regulatory clarity is enough to move real capital on-chain?
• Why quarterly roadmaps fail in 24/7, real-time markets.
• What has to break (processes, controls, approvals) to ship on-chain products.
• Can TradFi genuinely iterate in public — and should it?
• Why crypto expertise without decision-making power doesn’t execute.
• Where TradFi org charts quietly kill on-chain momentum.
• What governance models actually work for on-chain business lines.
• Why “digital asset divisions” often become organizational dead ends.
• How treasury, risk, compliance, and ops must change for atomic settlement.
• When permissioned chains help — and when they slow you down.
• How on-chain transparency changes risk management and reputation.
• Why do you exist on-chain? Issuer, liquidity provider, infrastructure, risk wrapper—pick one.
• Why “tokenization strategy” is not a business model.
• How native players are defining the rules faster than incumbents.
• What will be considered a failed digital asset strategy in hindsight?

Stablecoins are core infrastructure for payments, liquidity and digital commerce. For community banks, the question isn’t whether stablecoins will matter. It’s how they can participate in shaping the ecosystem rather than watch value migrate to fintechs, Big Tech, and big banks.

The panel will examine how community and mid-tier banks can approach stablecoin strategy with discipline and ambition, identifying practical use cases, evaluating issuance vs. partnership models, managing regulatory and liquidity considerations, and translating on-chain capabilities into tangible community impact. From faster cross-border settlement to treasury efficiency and small-business enablement, we will explore where execution can drive revenue, deposit stickiness, and long-term competitiveness.

The discussion is focused on action—what to build, what to partner for, and how to avoid being disintermediated in the next phase of payments innovation. Talking points will include:

o Issuer, distributor, or infrastructure partner: choosing the right role.

o Deposit implications, liquidity management, and balance sheet strategy.

o Stablecoins vs. traditional payments rails: revenue cannibalization or expansion?

o Compliance, risk, and governance frameworks for community institutions.

o Use cases that matter locally: SMB payments, remittances, municipal flows.

o Core integration and operational execution: what it really takes to launch.

Digital-asset lending and borrowing platforms are redefining how liquidity moves across financial markets. Once the domain of crypto natives, these platforms now sit at the intersection of traditional finance and decentralized infrastructure, enabling new models for collateral management, credit intermediation, and yield generation.

As institutional players explore tokenized collateral, stablecoin liquidity, and on-chain credit protocols, the opportunity—and the regulatory complexity—is expanding fast. The panel brings together experts from banking, asset management, and crypto to unpack the evolution of digital-asset lending. Panelists will provide a clear understanding of where digital-asset lending fits within modern credit markets and how traditional institutions can participate responsibly in this emerging ecosystem. Key discussion points include:

• The current state of crypto lending and its convergence with traditional credit markets.
• Risk management, collateralization, and transparency in on-chain lending.
• The role of stablecoins and tokenized assets in institutional liquidity strategies.
• Regulatory and compliance challenges for digital asset credit products.
• Building interoperability between on-chain and off-chain lending platforms.

The Battle for the Deposit Franchise: Will Stablecoins or Tokenized Deposits Dictate the Future of Banking?

As digital money moves from experimentation to execution, traditional financial institutions face a critical strategic decision: pursue a stablecoin strategy, tokenized bank deposits, or attempt both? Each path carries profound implications for balance sheets, regulation, payments infrastructure, customer relationships and long-term competitiveness.

Citi’s Artem Korenyuk, Managing Director, Digital Assets, shares his perspective on whether stablecoins or tokenized deposits represent the most viable—and defensible—path forward for TradFi. The conversation will examine where real economic value is being created, how regulators and supervisors are shaping outcomes, and what decisions bank executives must make in the next 12–24 months to remain relevant in a tokenized financial system. The discussion will include a dive into:

• Are stablecoins and tokenized deposits truly alternatives—or stepping stones toward the same end state?
• Stablecoins vs. tokenized deposits: core differences on issuer model, customer trust and brand risk, control vs. reach, and Interoperability.

• Regulatory and balance sheet implications—and which path aligns more naturally with the current regulatory perimeter and which is more future-proof if regulation shifts?
• Creating value: payments, treasury, and liquidity use cases.
• Operating model and technology trade-offs.
• Developing an ecosystem strategy—go it alone or join a network?
• Nonbank stablecoin adoption in emerging markets.
• The risk of deposits migrating off bank balance sheets.

As digital assets move from the fringe into institutional portfolios and market infrastructure, custody has emerged as the critical control point in the value chain. For traditional financial institutions, digital asset custody is no longer a niche offering—it is the foundation that determines who owns client relationships, who controls risk, and who participates in the next phase of tokenized markets.

This panel will explore the biggest opportunities and unresolved issues facing TradFi executives as they evaluate digital asset custody strategies. Panelists will discuss how custody underpins trading, settlement, tokenization, and payments; where banks have a natural advantage—and where they face new forms of operational and regulatory risk; and what decisions leadership teams must make in the next 12–24 months to preserve relevance and optionality. The conversation will focus on strategic choices, governance, economics, and execution realities, equipping executives with a framework to assess whether—and how—to engage, including:

• Custody as the gateway service for all digital asset activity.
• Custody as a defensive strategy vs. an offensive strategic growth play.
• Native crypto assets vs. tokenized securities and funds.
• Role of custody in stablecoins, tokenized deposits and real-world assets.
• Public vs. permissioned blockchain custody models.
• Which assets justify investment today vs. later.
• Institutional trust vs. crypto-native custodians.
• Defining “institution-grade” custody in a digital context.
• Regulatory, legal and accounting considerations.

As the financial industry explores the next wave of innovation, tokenization of real-world assets (RWA) has emerged as one of the most promising—yet misunderstood—frontiers. From bonds and real estate to trade finance and private credit, tokenization offers the potential for greater liquidity, transparency, and efficiency. But despite its promise, widespread adoption remains limited by regulatory uncertainty, technical integration challenges, and market readiness.

This panel discussion will explore the real benefits and the practical obstacles of tokenization, giving TradFi on-chain newcomers a grounded understanding of where the value truly lies, what barriers must be addressed, and how TradFi institutions can strategically engage in this evolving landscape. Among the topics to be addressed:

• Efficiency and accessibility: How tokenization can streamline issuance, settlement, and secondary trading of traditionally illiquid assets.
• Risk and regulation: Key legal, compliance, and custody considerations slowing institutional adoption.
• Interoperability and standards: The importance of common frameworks to ensure scalability and cross-platform asset mobility.
• Distribution: why access to institutional channels ultimately determines product viability
• The importance of data analytics in providing clarity on the market
• Path to adoption: What institutional infrastructure, governance models, and partnerships are needed to move from pilots to production.

Regulation is no longer a backdrop to digital asset strategy—it defines the playing field. For TradFi leaders, understanding the current regulatory state of play in the United States is fundamental to charting strategy around stablecoins, tokenization, custody, decentralized finance (DeFi), and on-chain settlement. This panel will cut through noise to provide clarity on where U.S. policy has moved, where it is heading, and what that means for institutional strategy, risk management, and competitive positioning.

Panelists will explore the most consequential U.S. regulatory developments of 2025—from landmark stablecoin legislation to evolving jurisdictional debates between the SEC and CFTC and the approval of some crypto companies into federally chartered national banks—what’s likely for 2026, and how TradFi can engage proactively with policy, shape outcomes, and manage risks while embracing the opportunities presented by on-chain finance. The session will emphasize the practical implications, including:

• Regulation is shaping who can issue, hold, clear, and settle digital assets, and how TradFi participates.
• Clearer rules enable or constrain strategic choices around custody, tokenization, and payments.
• What stablecoin regulation means for bank vs. non-bank issuance strategy.
• How reserve, audit, AML, and consumer protection requirements will change market entry calculus.
• How TradFi should view SEC vs. CFTC oversight for different asset types.
• The potential for coordinated frameworks in 2026 as regulators align jurisdictions.
• How organizations can prepare for overlapping or shifting regulatory regimes across SEC, CFTC, banking regulators, and Congress.
• Policy impacts on innovation and market structure.
• Compliance risk expectations in an on-chain era.
• What regulatory development will most reshape digital-asset strategy in the next year for TradFi leaders.

In this American Banker exclusive, we surveyed leaders across U.S. banks and credit unions to reveal how institutions are actually evaluating on-chain technology and digital assets—beyond the hype and pilot announcements. The research uncovers where adoption stands today, what value banks expect in the next 12–24 months versus the next 3–5 years, and which use cases are emerging as real priorities across consumer, small business and commercial segments. We also examine how organizations are structuring ownership of digital-asset strategy, what’s accelerating decision-making internally, and what’s still holding institutions back—from regulatory uncertainty and risk concerns to the growing pressure of competitors moving first. The result is a clear benchmark of where the market is leaning, why certain “lanes” are gaining momentum, and how financial institutions are positioning now for what could become the next foundational layer of money movement.

As digital assets, tokenized deposits, and on-chain financial infrastructure move closer to the regulated banking system, a new control layer is emerging: agentic artificial intelligence. Unlike traditional automation or static smart contracts, agentic AI systems can interpret intent, evaluate conditions, and take action autonomously within defined guardrails.

For banks, this evolution raises fundamental questions about execution, risk, governance, and accountability. Who—or what—makes decisions in an always-on, programmable financial environment? How can autonomy be introduced without sacrificing control, compliance, or trust? And where does agentic AI become a competitive advantage versus a systemic risk? If finance is becoming programmable and always-on, the real question isn’t whether banks will use agentic AI—it’s whether they’ll control it, or be forced to react to it.

This panel discussion will explore how agentic AI could reshape on-chain finance and digital asset operations, from liquidity and treasury management to compliance, custody, and market structure—and what bank leaders must do now to prepare. The in-depth conversation will include:

• Why rule-based automation is insufficient at institutional scale.
• How agentic AI introduces decision-making, not just execution.
• Where autonomy adds value—and where it becomes dangerous.
• Who is accountable when an autonomous agent acts?
• Human-in-the-loop vs. policy-in-the-loop models.
• Designing kill-switches, escalation paths, and auditability.
• Real-time liquidity, settlement, and reconciliation with programmable money.
• Why tokenization without orchestration breaks at scale.
• Continuous, real-time compliance vs. post-transaction controls.
• Embedding AML, sanctions, and policy enforcement on-chain.
• Model risk, explainability, and regulatory defensibility.
• Coordinating liquidity across DEXs, CEXs, and tokenized markets.
• The role of banks as stabilizers in on-chain markets.
• Policy-driven smart wallets and automated approvals.
• Secure key management with agent-assisted controls.
• Making self-custody viable for regulated institutions.
• Emergent behavior between interacting agents.
• Concentration risk if agents rely on similar models or signals.
• Where to experiment safely (sandboxes, pilots, limited scope).
• How to engage regulators early and credibly.

Cross-border payments are undergoing their most significant transformation in decades, driven by stablecoins, tokenized deposits, real-time payment rails, and regulatory shifts across major jurisdictions. For banks, stablecoins are no longer a theoretical innovation—they are becoming a strategic question of infrastructure, liquidity, compliance, and customer ownership.

This executive panel will debate what a “winning” cross-border model looks like in 2026 vs. 2030, and how stablecoins and on-chain settlement models are reshaping cross-border payments economics, market structure, and competitive dynamics. Panelists will explore whether banks should issue, integrate, partner, or compete with stablecoin providers—and how to modernize cross-border strategies to balance speed, cost, control, and regulatory accountability in a rapidly evolving global payments landscape.

Cross-border payments will be real-time, programmable, and global by default. The strategic question for banks is not whether stablecoins will be part of that future—but whether banks will define the rails, or simply ride on them. Discussion points will include:

• Why correspondent banking and SWIFT alone are no longer competitive
• Cost, speed, transparency, and liquidity challenges in legacy models
• How stablecoins and tokenized cash change settlement economics
• Issuing bank-backed stablecoins vs. tokenized deposits vs. integration strategies
• Balance sheet, funding, and liquidity implications
• Customer trust and regulatory treatment differences
• Fintechs, Big Tech, and crypto-native firms in global payments