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.

Banking on the Institutional Digital-Asset Trading Build

The former “build it” guy at J.P. Morgan and Barclays, who spent years building and selling products in options and credit derivatives, commodities, and sales and trading, is now building a platform for institutional trading of digital assets, drawing on all the lessons he learned in traditional markets—but created to power the digital-asset economy.

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.

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.

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?