Wall Street blockchain leaders share the conditions and methods for the widespread adoption of cryptocurrency in traditional finance.

Written by: Anna Irrera, Emily Nicolle

Translated by: Luffy, Foresight News

The cryptocurrency and blockchain sector is on the brink of significant transformation: new regulations implemented in Europe and former President Trump's supportive stance on cryptocurrency have created conditions for large financial firms to boldly position themselves.

This means that executives in traditional finance are closely evaluating the opportunities and challenges presented by this asset class. We posed a key question to top executives:

What is the most important single change that will drive the widespread adoption of blockchain and crypto assets in traditional finance? Why?

Naveen Mallela, Global Co-Head of the Blockchain Platform Kinexys at JPMorgan

"Clearer regulatory frameworks, broad industry collaboration, and solid public-private partnerships will be key elements for the scaling of digital assets in traditional finance. Our business is built on a historical foundation of innovation, just like the industries we serve, which are always evolving. By working closely with clients, regulators, traditional financial institutions, and emerging fintech companies, we can explore and build the future of finance and currency."

Mallela co-leads JPMorgan's blockchain business unit Kinexys (formerly Onyx) with Tyrone Lobban. The Kinexys digital payment tool processes over $2 billion in payments daily for banking clients.

Caroline Butler, Global Head of Digital Assets at BNY Mellon

"Blockchain and digital assets are increasingly becoming an important part of the global financial landscape, primarily due to the accelerating shift from proof of concept to commercially viable products. Looking ahead, the most important single change to accelerate the adoption of these technologies will be the integration of an interoperable, institutional-grade infrastructure to connect the blockchain ecosystem with traditional financial systems. In the next 12 to 36 months, we expect to enter an acceleration phase where digital assets will mature and become more deeply integrated into the financial ecosystem, creating opportunities for collaboration among banks, regulated financial market participants, global regulators, and legislators."

Butler leads all business and strategic initiatives related to digital assets and tokenization at BNY Mellon, including its digital asset platform. BNY Mellon provides accounting, management, and other services for most U.S. digital asset exchange-traded products and their issuers. In 2024, the bank also participated as a custodian, payment agent, and investor in the European Investment Bank's digital bond issuance and became the fund manager and custodian for BlackRock's tokenized money market fund BUIDL.

Mike O’Reilly, President of Fidelity Digital Assets

"Education, or the lack thereof, is one of the biggest drivers or barriers to crypto adoption. From the perspectives of investors, companies, and regulators, digital asset education is crucial for driving industry momentum and facilitating industry integration."

Fidelity Digital Assets provides trade execution and custody services for institutional investors in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin. As a subsidiary of Fidelity Investments, it also supports Fidelity's crypto retail and wealth management businesses, enabling investors to buy, sell, and hold crypto assets. Fidelity Digital Assets custodies the tokens behind Fidelity's crypto ETFs, including the Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) and the Ethereum Fund (FETH).

John O’Neill, Head of Digital Assets and Currency Group at HSBC

"HSBC believes that secure and reliable forms of digital currency, such as tokenized deposits, can accelerate the adoption of digital assets."

O’Neill is responsible for HSBC Holdings' strategy in digital assets, central bank digital currencies, stablecoins, and cryptocurrencies. He led the development of the digital asset platform HSBC Orion, which has been used to issue several native digital bonds, including a HK$1 billion native digital bond issued by HSBC Hong Kong in 2024.

Robert Mitchnick, Head of Digital Assets at BlackRock

"In terms of activity and adoption, public blockchains clearly outperform private blockchains. We believe it is time for banks to shift their focus from private blockchains to public blockchains. We believe this will accelerate innovation and allow more market participants to integrate into the digital asset ecosystem with banks as key service providers."

Mitchnick is responsible for driving BlackRock's digital asset strategy, which includes two ETFs focused on cryptocurrencies. The iShares Bitcoin Trust is the fastest ETF in history to surpass $50 billion in assets under management. BlackRock also manages a tokenized money market fund BUIDL on Ethereum, with assets of approximately $1 billion.

Jean-Marc Stenger, CEO of FORGE, a subsidiary of Société Générale

"The regulatory landscape in the U.S. may undergo a dramatic shift that will be favorable to digital assets. Republican lawmakers view digital assets as key to America's future economic leadership. In Europe, the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) will take effect on December 30, 2024, opening a window of opportunity for creating a unified regulatory framework for primary and secondary markets for crypto assets."

Stenger leads FORGE, Société Générale's crypto asset subsidiary, which focuses on providing clients with services for issuing and managing digital assets. The subsidiary has been active in several digital bond issuances, including a €100 million bond issuance by the European Investment Bank in 2021. In 2023, FORGE issued EURCV, the first euro-denominated stablecoin issued by a primary bank subsidiary.

John Whelan, Managing Director of Corporate and Investment Banking Digital Assets at Santander

"Traditional finance needs to seek clear regulatory permissions to use public blockchains, as true innovation stems from there. These blockchains are the open-source, open-access operating systems for financial services, with operational costs borne by third parties known as validators. This is the source of their disruptive potential."

Whelan joined Santander in 2016, leading the bank's initiatives in crypto and digital assets. His work includes projects in areas such as digital securities, digital collateral liquidity, and digital cash. He also serves on the board of the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance and blockchain company Fnality International Ltd.

Laurence Arnold, Global Head of Innovation, Client Operations, Performance, and Reporting at AXA Investment Managers

"We believe that creating digital currencies with legal tender status is the most important change that can accelerate the process. These digital currencies can be private or public but need to have the same characteristics as legal tender to facilitate settlement and reconciliation between the two parties in a financial transaction (cash and digital assets). This means a collaborative ecosystem is needed, where participants collectively seek solutions, and market participants clearly define their roles and responsibilities, especially in addressing interoperability and liquidity issues in blockchain technology. AXA Investment Managers is actively involved in the European Central Bank's work on central bank digital currencies, which is a positive and important step in the right direction."

Arnold leads the investment management company's innovation initiatives, including its blockchain and digital asset projects, which involve participation in the European Central Bank's work on central bank currency settlement. This work includes a €3 million investment in digital sovereign bonds issued by the Republic of Slovenia on behalf of AXA France and using blockchain technology to allow Allianz to instantly subscribe to AXA Court Terme's fund shares.

Artem Korenyuk, Head of Digital Assets at Citibank

"We are encouraged by the increasing focus in the U.S. on establishing clear regulatory frameworks for digital assets. Clear and consistent rules are essential for promoting innovation, protecting investors, and facilitating the secure integration of digital assets into the broader financial ecosystem. We are optimistic that this clarity will be prioritized in the near future, paving the way for a more transparent and resilient digital asset market."

Korenyuk leads Citigroup's corporate digital assets team, which works across all business lines to develop new digital asset services and functionalities. The team collaborates closely with the bank's service business to develop Citi Token Services, a tokenized deposit application that allows some corporate clients of the bank to make payments using blockchain technology.

Jez Mohideen, CEO of Laser Digital

"The biggest barrier to institutional adoption of digital assets is the lack of industry expertise. Many still conflate cryptocurrencies, Web3, digital assets, and tokenization. While they are interconnected within the same ecosystem, each has different market propositions and unique benefits. By conducting targeted education to deepen understanding of the opportunities and advantages brought by blockchain-enabled products and services, institutions can engage more effectively, driving faster and broader adoption."

Mohideen co-founded Laser Digital, a digital asset subsidiary of Nomura Holdings, with former colleague Steve Ashley in 2022. Laser Digital has 100 employees globally and offers a range of digital asset services, including trading, asset management, and fund management. It also makes equity investments, with portfolio companies including custody firm Komainu and Crossover Markets.

Julian Sawyer, CEO of Zodia Custody

"The globally integrated traditional financial system operates based on a cross-market governance framework, such as the Travel Rule. However, the digital asset industry lacks such a framework and has long focused on regulatory frameworks specific to certain markets rather than global governance. Traditional financial institutions will not hastily venture into the digital asset space until they can ensure compliance with existing complex operational requirements. This means that global governance—a broader standard and structural system jointly agreed upon by stakeholders, including governments, industry trade groups, and industry working groups—will ultimately drive institutional adoption of digital assets."

Sawyer is the head of Zodia Custody Ltd, which is owned by Standard Chartered Bank and supported by SBI Holdings, Emirates NBD, Northern Trust, and National Australia Bank. Its clients include Invesco and ETF issuers 21Shares and Bitwise.

Jorgen Ouaknine, Head of Innovation and Digital Assets at Euroclear

"In short: standardization. Standardization has been a key factor in the successful scaling of nearly every major technological and financial innovation throughout history. From the Industrial Revolution to the digital age, the establishment of universal standards has enabled interoperability, increased efficiency, and driven mass adoption. This applies equally to the integration of digital assets and traditional finance."

Ouaknine leads the group's post-trade innovation and digital asset efforts, including recent initiatives to enhance market liquidity using distributed ledger technology, such as bond issuance, and to make collateral more liquid and efficient. The group is involved in several industry-wide blockchain initiatives, such as the Monetary Authority of Singapore's "Guardian Project," and operates a platform that issues traditional securities using blockchain.

Nadine Chakar, Global Head of Digital Assets at DTCC

"It's simple: we can no longer experiment in silos; we need to start collaborating across the industry to fully unlock the potential of blockchain in financial services. While we have clearly demonstrated the benefits of this technology, it is now time to work together to deploy tokenization technology in practical applications on the ledger. In this process, we need to ensure we are moving towards a common goal: building efficient digital market infrastructure and standards. Collaboration is a core element in helping us realize the potential of digital assets."

Chakar joined DTCC in 2023 following its acquisition of blockchain startup Securrency and has been leading the company's efforts to provide blockchain technology and services for post-trade processing of tokenized assets. In 2024, DTCC partnered with WisdomTree to offer real-world assets in token form on a mobile application called WisdomTree Prime and launched a sandbox to facilitate greater industry collaboration in the development of blockchain market infrastructure.

Sandy Kaul, Head of Digital Assets and Industry Consulting Services at Franklin Templeton

"The most important single change is already becoming apparent: U.S. regulators are changing direction and seeking to actively support the adoption of public blockchains, positioning our company at the forefront of new capital markets. This can eliminate existing barriers that hinder the integration of the traditional ecosystem with the crypto ecosystem and create new solutions to old problems, including digital identity, new approaches to KYC/AML, and liquidity in markets and collateral."

Kaul oversees the industry consulting services team at Franklin Templeton, assessing the direction of innovation within the company. This work involves gathering expertise in new technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain to help drive Franklin Templeton's strategic initiatives, including digital asset infrastructure and the Benji token product line.

Hyder Jaffrey, Head of Principal Investments and Strategic Investments at UBS Group

"Clarifying how digital assets are handled and compliance standards is key."

Since 2015, Jaffrey has been at the forefront of UBS Group's efforts to transform wholesale and institutional financial business models through digital assets and blockchain technology. He represents UBS Group in various market initiatives, including digital bond issuance, the Fnality global payment system, digital repos, and digital margin trading.

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