Agenda

• How are banks and digital asset managers effectively collaborating to integrate traditional financial systems with the emerging digital asset ecosystem.
• How can banks innovate their services to better empower digital asset managers and institutional investors, particularly in key areas like custody, settlement, and liquidity solutions?
• What role will regulatory clarity play in defining the future landscape of banking services for digital assets, and how can both sectors proactively prepare for evolving compliance obligations? 

• Post-Election Impact: Examining the initial implications of Trump’s presidency on the digital asset ecosystem, including regulatory developments, shifts in investor sentiment, and the evolving engagement of institutional players.
• Geopolitical Drivers: How are moves by Russia and China, reshaping institutional approaches to crypto investments?
• Regional Trends: Analysing the emergence of jurisdictions like the Middle East and the European Union under MiCA as pioneers in fostering digital asset innovation, and their growing influence in establishing global leadership.
• Inflation and Monetary Policy: Investigating how dynamic inflationary pressures and central bank policies on interest rates are steering institutional allocations toward Bitcoin and other digital assets as secure hedges against economic uncertainty.

• What role do prime brokers play in providing liquidity and market access for large-scale transactions?
• Ways digital asset managers can navigate fee structures and technological challenges to maximize efficiency while maintaining service quality
• How do they address pricing and execution challenges in volatile markets?

• Counterparty Risk: What are the most effective strategies for mitigating counterparty risk in a fragmented and volatile digital asset market?
• Regulatory and Operational Considerations: Key regulatory and operational factors that institutions must consider when navigating custody requirements across diverse jurisdictions, and how can they achieve compliance while maintaining operational efficiency?
• Is the growth of custodial services outpacing traditional finance by utilising advancements like tri-party settlement mechanisms and portfolio integration tools? What opportunities do these innovations create for greater institutional adoption of digital assets?
• What does the future of custody and counterparty risk management look like in a fully institutionalised digital asset market? 

• What are the core components that institutional allocators evaluate when deploying capital to digital asset managers?
• How can digital asset managers align their strategies with the evolving demands of allocators, particularly in terms of risk-adjusted returns, transparency, and compliance?
• How are fund managers innovating their strategies to attract further allocator interest?

• What defines a high-impact strategy in digital assets, and how can managers strategically implement them to drive alpha and navigate risk with precision? 
• Market-Neutral Strategies: How are funds using market-neutral and multi-strategy approaches to generate consistent alpha?  
• Venture Capital Opportunities: The opportunities and challenges in unlocking the potential of early-stage projects and tokenized private credit as the future of investment innovation?  
• What role do staking, yield farming, and liquidity provision play in long-term portfolio strategies? 
• Which sectors (DeFi, GameFi, Layer 2, AI) are presenting the most compelling alpha opportunities in the current market environment? 
• What is one actionable insight that investors can implement today to better position their digital asset portfolios? 

Roundtable A: Capital Raising for Emerging Funds 

• The primary challenges emerging funds face when presenting their investment opportunities to institutional allocators.
• How can funds effectively address concerns related to risk management, track record, and scalability to build credibility and attract institutional capital?
• The primary challenges emerging funds face when presenting their investment opportunities to institutional allocators. How can funds effectively address concerns related to risk management, track record, and scalability to build credibility and attract institutional capital?
• Best practices new managers can adopt for regulatory-compliant marketing campaigns.
• The role success stories play in shaping investor confidence for early-stage funds.  

Speakers:

• Charles Adams, Investor Relations, Nickel Digital Asset Management
• Richard Swain, Director ‑ Investment Management, Bentley Reid Digital Assets Fund

Roundtable B: Scaling Custody Solutions

• How can firms evaluate custodial service providers effectively in a fastmoving market.
• What are the most transformative innovations driving the integration of traditional finance with crypto-native custody systems? How are these advancements overcoming existing barriers and reshaping the future of secure asset management in the digital era?
• As digital asset management expands globally, how can firms effectively navigate the complexities of jurisdictional differences in crossborder custody management?
• What strategies ensure compliance, reduce legal risks, and sustain efficiency across regions. 

Speakers:

• Luke Cuthill, Director Partnership Strategy, Fidelity Digital Assets
• Andrew Lace, Director of Global Markets, Galaxy Digital 

Roundtable C: Tokenization and Real-World Asset Integration 

• Adoption trends among institutions and traditional finance players.
• What are the regulatory challenges of scaling tokenized RWAs across different jurisdictions?
• How can tokenized assets integrate into traditional portfolios to provide diversification and yield?

Speakers:

• Marc Faubeau, Founder and CEO, Tredit
• Jordan Walker, Growth, Capital Formation, and Business Development, Re7 Capital

Roundtable D: Building Resilient Risk Frameworks 

• Strategies for funds to develop a robust framework that effectively manages volatility and mitigates geopolitical risks.
• Tools that are best for stress testing portfolios in a 24/7 digital asset market.
• How can digital asset managers adapt risk frameworks from TradFi to fit crypto’s unique dynamics?
• The role AI and machine learning play in enhancing risk management capabilities. 

Speakers:

• Samed Bouaynaya, Portfollio Manager, Altana Wealth
• Jean-Marc Bonnefous, Managing Partner & Founder, Tellurian Capital Management LLP

Roundtable A: Operational Due Diligence

• What are allocators looking for in terms of ODD frameworks from emerging and established funds?
• How can funds demonstrate operational resilience to attract institutional investors?
• What technologies or tools streamline ODD processes while maintaining regulatory compliance?
• The critical ODD gaps digital asset funds should address in their operations. 

Speakers:

• Admire Chatiza, Managing Director & Head of ODD, Numeus
• Holly Bosmans, Operational Due Diligence Analyst, Albourne Partners 

Roundtable B: Turning Challenges into Progress: Infrastructure and Liquidity in Digital Asset Investment

• What are the most pressing infrastructure gaps in the digital asset ecosystem, and how do these impact fund operations and performance?
• How can managers navigate challenges related to liquidity, scalability, and interoperability in digital asset platforms?
• What are the trade-offs between adopting proprietary vs. third-party infrastructure solutions?
• How can smaller funds compete with larger players in accessing premium service providers and infrastructure?
• The importance of industry-wide standards: How can standardized protocols improve service provider reliability and compatibility? 

Speakers:

• Tom Higgins, CEO & Founder, Gold-i
• Nathan Sage, CEO, Sage Capital Management

Roundtable C: TradFi Meets Crypto

• Strategies that have been successful in onboarding traditional finance players into the crypto ecosystem.
• How do institutional capacity advantages of TradFi compare with crypto-native firms?
• Lessons TradFi firms have learned in adapting their models for digital assets?
• The rise of DeFi and how it is reshaping institutional interest and TradFi’s involvement in the space? 

Speakers:

• Frank Holle, CEO & Partner, Holland Park Digital Assets
• Jon Campagna, Managing Partner / Co-Founder, Nexyst Digital

Roundtable D: Advancing Derivatives Markets 

• How are products like Bitcoin ETFs and options transforming liquidity in digital asset markets?
• Lessons that can be drawn from the development of traditional finance's derivatives markets and that could be applied to support the rapid expansion of the crypto derivatives sector.
• How can digital asset managers effectively ensure fair pricing mechanisms and maintain robust liquidity in the increasingly complex derivatives trading landscape?
• The leading challenges in scaling regulated derivatives markets globally. What strategies can be employed to overcome these challenges while fostering broader institutional adoption? 

Speakers:

• Alex Norris, Head of Quant, Silver 8
• Ayesha Kiani, Chief Operating Officer, MNNC Group 
   

• How has the landscape changed in response to regulatory pressures and increasing institutional participation.
• Insights into safeguarding digital assets, mitigating counterparty risk, and ensuring operational resilience.
• Trading Integration: Exploring best practices and new innovations for seamlessly connecting custody with institutional trading workflows. 

• The shift toward institutionalisation of digital assets, regulatory updates, and TradFi integration.
• How does the UK’s regulatory framework measure up against the European Union’s MiCA, U.S. policies, and the rapidly evolving regulations in the Middle East?
• What steps should firms take to prepare for MiCA’s implementation and regulatory challenges? - Lessons that can be drawn from these diverse approaches to foster innovation while ensuring robust regulatory oversight?
• TradFi Integration: The key challenges and opportunities for hedge funds integrating digital assets, and how can they navigate this space to drive growth while upholding risk management standards?
• Institutional Barriers: How do regulatory uncertainties impact institutional confidence in digital assets, and what steps can be taken to foster a more favourable investment environment? 

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For more than a decade, Hedgeweek has been recognising excellence in the fields of fund performance and service provision.

Applying this experience and expertise to cryptocurrency hedge funds, we have built one of the industry’s most influential digital asset awards programmes – our winners selected by a mixture of allocator board, peer surveys, editorial expertise, and data analysis.

Each event is an opportunity for celebration, networking and, most importantly, recognition, attended by an exclusive list of 100+ C-suite leaders from the manager, allocator, and service provider communities.

At a time of great change and challenge for digital asset market participants, it’s important to acknowledge the firms delivering value in this increasingly influential part of the industry.