The Future of Finance Digital Asset Custody Event 2024

Event Concluded – View Photos Here

What do asset managers and asset owners need to know about digital asset custody and custodians?

Date: December 4th 2024

Venue: The Aon Centre, The Leadenhall Building, 122 Leadenhall Street, London EC3V 4AN

1 Day Event: 9.15am to 7.30pm

This Future of Finance one day Digital Asset Custody Event will explore issues of pressing concern to Asset owners and their consultants; and from them to asset and wealth managers, bank (and non-bank) digital asset custodians global custodian banks, sub-custodian banks.

Audience: Pension Funds; Foundations and Endowments; Insurers; Pension Consultants; Custody Banks; Sub-Custodian Banks; Digital Asset Custodians; Asset Managers; and Wealth Managers

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Keynote Address

Lord Chris Holmes of Richmond MBE

Member of the UK House of Lords

Confirmed Speakers

Kara Kennedy Head of Digital Products at JP Morgan Securities Services	Monica Gogna Head of Financial Institutions Law at EY	Anoosh Arevshatian Group Chief Risk Officer at Zodia
Keith O’Callaghan Head of Structuring	Donald Brouwer VP Business Development	Nadine Teychenne Head of Digital Assets, Securities Services
James Pollock EMEA Sales Director at Digital Asset	Adam Groom Head of Revenue and Exchanges EMEA	Jürgen Hofbauer Global head of Strategic Partnerships
Philip Rage Director of Strategic Initiatives	Laurent Kssis Board Member & Strategic Advisor to the Issuance program	Qian Jiang Director, Digital Assets Strategy
Anya Nova Director of Sales Europe	Glenn Morgan Global Digital Assets Lead	John Siena Associate General Counsel
Yvonne Deane Harte Director of Secondary Markets & Post Trade policy	Dr Robert Barnes Co-CEO & Board Member	Angie Walker Global Head of Banking and Capital Markets
Thomas Pikett Director, Digital Assets Product Manager	Amarjit (Jeet) Singh EMEIA Blockchain Leader at EY

Moderators

Dominic Hobson Editorial Director and Co-Founder

Monica Summerville Head of Capital Markets Technology Research

Ed Pugh Development Director – Fintech and Digital Assets

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Agenda

09.15 to 10.00 – Registration Opens with coffee and biscuits

10.00 – Opening Address Future of Finance and Aon

10.15 to 10.30 – Keynote Address by Lord Chris Holmes

10.30 to 11.30: What happens when your asset managers start to invest in assets your custodian knows nothing about?

1st Panel

1. The whole point of blockchain used to be to get rid of intermediaries such as custodians. Why are we instead talking about “digital asset custodians”?

2. Safekeeping cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether requires traditional custodians to master entirely new skills. How well are they doing?

3. Early candidates for tokenisation include many asset classes not held in central securities depositories – such as private equity funds, real estate, commodities and syndicated loans – that traditional custodians have long struggled to service. What have traditional custodians learned from previous experience?

4. How does safekeeping a security token differ from safekeeping a security?

5, What new types of technology do digital asset custodians have to master?

6. How much responsibility do global custodian banks feel to lead clients rather than follow them on digital assets?

Confirmed Speakers

Zodia – Anoosh Arevshatian Chief Risk Officer

SWIFT – Qian Jiang Director Digital Assets Strategy

BPX – Dr Robert Barnes Co-CEO and Board Member

Archax – Keith O’Callaghan Head of Structuring

Chainlink Labs – Angie Walker Global Head of Banking and Capital Markets

Moderated by Dominic Hobson, Editorial Director and Co-Founder at Future of Finance

11.30 to 12.30: What do regulators have to say about your custody arrangements?

2nd Panel

1. AML, CFT and sanctions screening checks were the first regulatory obligations to be laid on digital asset intermediaries when in 2019 the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) “Travel Rule” required them to disclose customers’ personally identifiable information in cryptocurrency and Stablecoin transactions. What effects have the obligations had on the practice of digital asset custodians?

2. What is the UK approach to regulation of digital asset custody?

3. What is the US approach to regulation of digital asset custody?

4. What is the EU approach to regulation of digital asset custody?

5. What is distinctive about the German approach to regulation of digital asset custody?

6. What is the balance sheet impact – according to BIS capital adequacy rules – of safekeeping different types of digital assets?

7. From a regulatory perspective, are we close to a digital asset “global custody” industry?

Confirmed Speakers:

EY – Monica Gogna Head of Financial Institutions Law Group

BBH – John Siena Associate General Counsel

ReedSmith – Romin Dabir Partner, Financial Services Regulatory

UK Finance – Yvonne Deane Harte Director of Secondary Markets and Post Trade Policy

Moderated by Dominic Hobson, Editorial Director and Co-Founder at Future of Finance

12.30 to 13.45 Lunch and Networking

13.45 to 14.45 Who is offering to custody what for whom?

3rd Panel

1. How should digital asset custodians be categorised?

2. Is it possible to say which custodians are securing the biggest market share by volume and value in each digital asset class?

3. Is it safe to leave assets in custody with a cryptocurrency or digital asset exchange?

4. Which digital assets are specialist, non-bank custodians willing to safekeep?

5. Under what circumstances does self-custody make sense?

6. Isn’t an independent, third-party custodian always safer?

7. Are traditional global custodian banks providing a comprehensive, scalable service?

8. Digital asset custody technology vendors: is DIY an option?

9. Are digital asset custody and traditional custody converging on a single model?

10. Traditional custodians offer cash management, securities lending and foreign exchange as well as safekeeping. Are there digital asset equivalents of these ancillary services?

11. What do you think the digital asset custody industry will look like in 2030?

Confirmed Speakers:

Digital Asset – James Pollock EMEA Sales Director

JP Morgan Securities Services – Kara Kennedy Head of Digital Product

Taurus – Juergen Hofbauer Global Head of Strategic Partnerships

Copper – Adam Groom Head of Revenue, EMEA and Exchanges

Clearstream – Thilo Derenbach – Head of Sales and Business Development Digital Securities Services

Moderated by Monica Summerville, Head of Capital Markets Technology Research at Celent

14.45 to 15.45 What should you look for in a digital asset custodian?

4th Panel

1. Can digital asset custodians be divided into tiers?

2. What makes a digital asset custodian secure against cyber-attacks?

3. What is the right balance to strike between technology and process?

4. What is the value of a strong balance sheet?

5. Are digital asset custody risks insurable?

6. Which licences and accreditations are meaningful?

7. How many components of a digital asset custody service are standard and how many must be customer-specific?

8. Can the asset servicing functions of custodian banks be replaced by smart contracts?

9. What risks does a specialist digital asset custodian represent?

10. Does your custodian need to be a bank?

11. Has anyone devised a due diligence questionnaire and process for screening and selecting a digital asset custodian?

Confirmed Speakers:

Aon – Glenn Morgan Global Digital Assets Lead

Galaxy International – Anya Nova Director of Sales Europe – GK8 Custody

Citi – Nadine Teychenne Head Digital Assets, Securities Services

DFNS – Donald Brouwer VP Business Development (Central and Northern Europe, APAC)

BNY – Thomas Pikett Director, Digital Assets Product Manager

Moderated by Dominic Hobson, Editorial Director and Co-Founder at Future of Finance

15.45 to 16.30 – Coffee Break and Networking

16.30 to 17.30: Digital asset custody: What can possibly go wrong?

5th Panel

1. “Not your keys; not your assets.” Is this true of all digital assets?

2. How does the risk/reward ratio of digital assets compare with the risk/reward ratio of traditional assets?

3. How do the risks vary between the different types of digital asset?

4. Is a digital asset custodian more risky or less risky than a traditional custodian?

5. Which matters more: technical competence or financial strength?

6. Can digital asset custodians insulate clients from the risks created by the lack of interoperability between digital asset markets?

7. What connectivity to DeFi applications (Dapps) do digital asset custodians offer?

8. What are the benefits of the “prime brokerage” services offered by digital asset custodians?

9. Do you think the blockchain dream of unintermediated, peer-to-peer transactions will ever be fulfilled or will custodians always be needed?

Confirmed Speakers:

Issuance Swiss – Laurent Kssis Board Member & Strategic Advisor

Soter Insure – Philip Rage Director of Strategic Initiatives

EY – Amarjit Singh EMEIA Blockchain Leader

ReedSmith – Tariq Zafar Rasheed Partner

Moderated by: Ed Pugh – Development Director, Fintech and Digital Assets at Aon

18.15 to 20.00 – Networking Drinks and Canapés

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Contact Information

Wendy Gallagher

Co-Founder Future of Finance

wendy.gallagher@futureoffinance.biz

Mobile 07725 160903