DAS to spotlight institutional era of crypto

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You’ve probably heard about Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit by now. Well, it kicks off tomorrow.

It seems to be a good time for a conference, given the mix of optimism and uncertainty — in crypto and the broader economy. That hopeful-volatile blend should spur more interesting discussion.

So we have some dichotomies to work through. Like BlackRock adding bitcoin exposure to its alternatives-focused model portfolios as bitcoin ETFs have endured $5 billion of net outflows in recent weeks. 

Or a president who wants to build “the crypto capital of the world” while simultaneously implementing policies that are sending the stock market (and BTC price) lower. Not to mention the whole Trump memecoin launch that made eyes roll around the industry. 

Bo Hines, Executive Director of the White House’s Presidents Council of Advisers on Digital Assets, can hopefully share insight when he hits the DAS stage tomorrow. US Rep. Tom Emmer will speak 24 hours later on what it’ll take to get crypto legislation across the finish line this year. 

The institutional presence at DAS will be ample. A step like walking back the SEC’s SAB 121 is already set to pave the way for banks and brokers to custody spot crypto — and legislation (on stablecoins and market structure) is apparently on its way. 

Command + F the event agenda…type in “inst” and you’ll get plenty of hits:

LMAX Group CEO David Mercer is set to sort through headwinds and tailwinds in the new era for institutional crypto. Eric Peters, who leads Coinbase Asset Management and One River Asset Management, will detail which institutions are actually buying this cycle. 

Bloomberg Intelligence’s James Seyffart will guide a discussion on the next wave of institutional crypto products. Franklin Templeton’s Sandy Kaul and Visa’s Catherine Gu are headliners on the “Institutionalization of Crypto” session.

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has called tokenization “the next generation for markets.” The panel I’m moderating Thursday is likely to feature a debate on which assets are worth bringing onchain, and broader TradFi adoption there.

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