Until recently central banks have been running their retail CBDC projects along separate tracks. There is now a trend towards merging the tracks, as more central banks look to wholesale CBDC-backed tokenized deposits, and maybe even stablecoins, to achieve their digital retail payment-focused objectives. This session will start by recapping recent developments in the retail CBDC space. It will then explore how the lines between retail and wholesale CB+DC are blurring, and assess potential future central bank-backed digital currency configurations.

 

After years of pilots, sandboxes, and proofs of concept, digital currencies are entering a more mature phase. This panel discusses what it means to move from experimentation to real-world infrastructure—covering adoption hurdles, regulatory clarity, interoperability, and trust. Speakers debate which models are scaling, which are stalling, and what “success” actually looks like.

Central bank digital currencies are progressing globally from research to pilots and early deployments, driven by the need to keep public money relevant in a digital economy. While approaches differ across jurisdictions, common themes are emerging around retail and wholesale use cases, cross-border efficiency, and the importance of interoperability. The focus has now shifted from whether to issue a CBDC to how it can be designed safely, effectively, and in the public interest.

This session offers an update on the Digital Euro, highlighting recent developments in policy and design, insights from testing and consultations, and the implications for Europe’s future payment ecosystem.

This speech examines how the United States’ innovation-led approach under GENIUS contrasts with Europe’s comprehensive regulatory model through MiCA—and why these differences matter far beyond the Atlantic. By tracing how these two frameworks influence market structure, compliance strategies, and capital flows, the talk highlights their downstream impact on Asia, where policymakers and industry leaders are adapting, aligning, or deliberately charting alternative paths. The result is a clearer picture of how regulatory choices in the US and Europe are reshaping the global digital currency landscape.

This speech outlines how wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC) can improve interbank settlements by increasing efficiency, speed, and transparency. It highlights key applications such as cross-border payments and securities settlement, while also addressing challenges around interoperability, governance, and security.

As digital currencies move toward mass adoption, the ability to transact without continuous connectivity becomes critical. This talk explores how offline payments work, why they matter for resilience, inclusion, and privacy, and the technological and regulatory challenges involved in making them secure and scalable.

The practical implications of U.S. (GENIUS) and EU (MiCA) regulation, including their potential to shape a global standard, the impact on non-U.S. and non-EU companies, and how organizations can structure operations to remain compliant across jurisdictions.

This session examines tokenization as a component of financial market infrastructure, with emphasis on operational realities rather than theory. It discusses how tokenized assets affect settlement, liquidity, and market structure, alongside practical considerations such as interoperability, governance, and regulatory alignment. The goal is to provide a concise, experience-based perspective on the implications of tokenization for the evolution of digital financial markets.

How digital currencies (CBDCs, stablecoins, tokenized deposits) move from pilots into scalable, secure, enterprise-grade infrastructure.

With only a small number of central banks (among them, however, the ECB) having launched a CBDC and adoption lagging behind early expectations, the discussion looks beyond the headlines to examine what “success” really means. Panelists will explore whether slow uptake reflects flawed design, unrealistic timelines, or deliberate central bank caution—and whether CBDCs should be judged by short-term adoption metrics or their longer-term role in the evolution of money and payments.

This panel examines how emerging forms of digital money can integrate with existing payment infrastructure. Panelists will discuss the technical and regulatory hurdles of interoperability with legacy rails, and the practical approaches needed to enable seamless, compliant value transfer at scale.

Initiatives like mBridge and similar multi-jurisdiction efforts continue to explore how different CBDCs can interact seamlessly for international payments. What is the current status, what are the challenges, and the way forward?

This panel examines how operations through stablecoins represent a fundamental shift in how businesses manage their finances, for example:

• The impact on real-time global settlements
• Optimizing automated liquidity management
• Smart contract-enabled treasury

How direct settlement paths eliminate intermediary banks and reduce complexity

As digital currencies reshape global finance, regulation sits at the center of both opportunity and tension. This panel explores how smart regulatory frameworks can enable trust, scale, and innovation—while poorly designed rules risk slowing technological progress and excluding emerging players.

A far more subtle yet consequential contest is unfolding beneath the surface. This is not a battle over the assets themselves, but over the infrastructure that enables their movement. It is, in essence, a contest of rails versus layers.

• Legacy versus next-generation payment rail implementations
• Distribution of value from anticipated efficiency gains
• Evolving roles for existing (and potentially exiting) intermediary participants

Hands-on mapping of regulated payments requirements into system architecture: identity, screening, monitoring, recordkeeping, and audit trails.

This speech explores how tokenized deposits are evolving into practical, deployable banking products. It highlights what sets them apart—being a direct bank liability, enabling settlement finality, integrating with core banking systems, and interoperating with existing payment and settlement rails.

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This speech explores how fraud is evolving in digital currency and modern payment systems, and how detection methods must adapt in response. It will highlight emerging threat vectors, real-time monitoring techniques, and the role of data, analytics, and collaboration in protecting users while preserving speed and innovation in digital payments.

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This speech focuses on how rapid technological development is accelerating digital currency adoption. It highlights how more powerful computing hardware, faster transaction processing, advanced networks, and scalable infrastructure have made digital currencies more efficient, reliable, and accessible. The synopsis also touches on how improvements in system performance, security, and integration reduce friction for users and institutions alike, positioning technological progress as the key driver behind the mainstream adoption of digital currency.

As digital currencies and tokenized assets evolve, seamless integration with existing payment infrastructure is critical. This session explores how Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) systems can interoperate with blockchain networks to enable atomic settlement, programmability, and cross-platform efficiency. It highlights key design models and emerging use cases shaping the future of digital money.

This speech examines the core considerations for a national blockchain and digital assets strategy, focusing on balancing innovation with regulation. It highlights the need for clear policy, risk management, and collaboration to support economic growth, security, and global competitiveness.

The real challenge in digital currency design is not choosing between privacy and financial integrity, but building systems that support both. This session examines practical models—tiered identity, selective disclosure, and risk-based controls—that protect users while preserving the tools needed for enforcement and oversight.

This presentation will explore why collaboration is needed to ensure consistency in legislation, how regulatory gaps can be prevented, and how stablecoins fit into systemic payment systems. Also the risks related to these new financial products will be assessed.

This speech outlines how digital currencies are reshaping global finance. The speech examines advances in blockchain scalability, interoperability, and security, while addressing regulatory frameworks and the balance between innovation and consumer protection. It highlights emerging use cases—from cross-border payments to programmable money—and concludes with a forward-looking view on how digital currencies could foster financial inclusion and redefine trust in the digital economy.

This fireside chat offers a concise, candid look at how regulators view the rise of digital currencies. The discussion will cover regulatory priorities, risk management, and evolving policy frameworks, while examining how regulators balance innovation with financial stability, consumer protection, and market integrity.

This fireside chat discusses what “final” means across jurisdictions and infrastructures—and how to design for dispute handling and irrevocability where required.

This fireside chat discusses what “final” means across jurisdictions and infrastructures—and how to design for dispute handling and irrevocability where required.

This panel explores how 24/7 settlement transforms traditional risk management for banks and payment service providers. Panelists will discuss the implications for intraday liquidity, collateral and prefunding models, credit exposure, and the operational controls required to support always-on payment environments.

This panel will examine how Stablecoins, Tokenized Deposits, and CBDC will change the payments landscape. Composability is a defining characteristic of tokenized money. In blockchain-based and tokenized financial systems, composability refers to the ability of a financial asset, once represented as a digital token on a programmable platform, to be seamlessly combined, integrated, or interoperated with other tokens, applications, and smart contracts. This modular design enables financial components to be assembled and reassembled in numerous configurations, creating flexible, scalable, and innovative financial products—much like building blocks for finance. So Lego for finance that can be assembled in multiple combinations.

• How will this change the treasury / financial operations?
• What new systems, administration and control should be in place to manage?

What about the supervisions and regulatory regulations?

This panel explores the next phase of digital money, examining how CBDCs may move from pilots to scalable public infrastructure, how stablecoins could mature through regulation and institutional adoption, and how tokenized deposits may modernize bank money on-chain. Panelists will discuss where these models may compete, converge, or complement one another across payments, settlement, and capital markets. Attendees will gain a forward-looking view of what the digital currency landscape could look like over the next decade and what it means for financial institutions, policymakers, and market participants.