Decrypting the Future of Finance – Takeaways from the Digital Assets Forum 2025

Though Trump’s tariff talk put a temporary dampener on the market capitalisation of the entire cryptocurrency market, nothing could have dampened the electric buzz on a Monday morning on Bishopsgate Street in London for the Digital Assets Forum 2025. It was a meeting of the minds between TradFi and DeFi, both eagerly anticipating the insights from esteemed speakers that would shape their next big move in the digital assets space.

The Trump administration has made a series of calculated moves which could open the floodgates to global institutional investment in an asset class once considered a taboo in the tech industry. Much of the conversation centred around what could happen in the years ahead.

America is Open for Business

Donald Trump’s presidency is shaping up to be a watershed moment for the crypto space. David Sacks, who has historically advocated for Bitcoin, was appointed as AI and Crypto Czar and Paul Atkins, veteran Washington attorney and crypto-friendly lawyer, heads up the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). During Trump’s first few days of office, he signed executive orders to develop a digital asset stockpile, create a sovereign wealth fund, and form the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets, which requires those involved to submit recommendations to further advance blockchain technology and to promote the adoption and growth of digital assets. These initiatives were all put into place in the wake of the unexpected launch of Trump’s own meme coin, $TRUMP, on the Solana blockchain, which stunned the entire industry.

Institutional Itch

If the lure of the Bitcoin and Ethereum Exchange Traded Funds and the stocks of MicroStrategy (“MSTR”) and Marathon Digital Holdings (“MARA”) were not enough, the series of events mentioned above unleashed a torrent of global institutional interest in the industry, converging at the Digital Assets Forum in London. Most, if not all, of the panellists acknowledged the growing demand from financial institutions, like banks and pension funds, to allocate capital into this industry. However, there needs to be a real incentive that will compel these financial institutions to inject a new wave of capital into the crypto markets without exposing themselves to execution and reputational risk.

The progress within the global regulatory landscape has certainly helped provide some comfort for institutions, and this includes the development of international standards like ISO24165, a standard formula to define a universal identifier for digital tokens. It is too early to judge the success of the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation Act (“MiCA”) that has come into force in the EU. The UK may benefit from a second-mover advantage, by imminently adopting a version of the MiCA that is streamlined, proportionate, and fit for purpose, before it gets left behind by other jurisdictions who are hungry for a piece of the digital assets market.

Intentional Offerings

Some financial institutions have already taken the leap, and are offering digital asset or blockchain services, while navigating the existing tech infrastructure and regulation. Emma Lovett, the Executive Director, Markets DLT at JP Morgan, highlighted that JP Morgan offers digital decks services on a permissible blockchain for bonds, tokenised money market funds and digitised money market products. JP Morgan offers these services as it understands that different clients want different services. On the other hand, Standard Chartered are focused on public blockchains because the clients they service are comfortable with such platforms. Waqar Chaudry, the Head of Digital Assets at Standard Chartered, explained that they sit in the middle of the ecosystem, connecting crypto services to financial services markets and vice versa. It is by offering products that their clients are comfortable with what institutions will build to encourage trust in the crypto markets.

Asset Tokenisation

However, there is great room to improve and expand on the current offerings. One potential catalyst for the injection of new capital is the tokenisation of assets and the integration of blockchain technology into traditional markets. Asset tokenisation is the process of transforming an underlying real-world asset into a digital unit that can be managed without a central intermediary, through blockchain technology. This encourages fractional ownership, where investors can own small units of the overall underlying asset (like a piece of real estate) all at low costs. It has been recorded that there have been exponential annual increases in the monetary value of assets tokenised on chain to date as more companies and funds experiment with blockchain technology. Additionally, with the new US administration, token founders and teams will not have to skirt around the wording and purpose of their tokens to avoid being under the SEC’s purview and be caught under its definition of a “security”. As such, new tokens designed will be a familiar product for equity investors in the traditional finance world. It is for these reasons that some experts in the digital assets space predict that asset tokenisation will have its ChatGPT moment later this year.

Stablecoin Supreme

Although there was debate surrounding whether asset tokenisation would be the biggest catalyst for the injection of new capital, there was a growing consensus at the Digital Assets Forum that stablecoins are being increasingly heralded as the bridge between traditional finance and the crypto space. Unlike the volatility of crypto tokens, stablecoins bring a dose of stability to the digital currency arena, while functioning as a store of value, a medium of exchange and a unit of account. Stablecoin issuer Tether reported a profit of $13 billion USD last year. A company with around 100 employees matching the profit of Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs ($14.3bn USD net income) is going to raise more than eyebrows amongst the traditional fund managers of the world.

The Bretton Woods moment for Bitcoin?

As anticipated, most conversations at the Digital Assets Forum shifted to the bigger picture and the place of Bitcoin on the balance sheets of nation states, following Trump’s decision to create a digital asset stockpile and sovereign wealth fund. Anthony Scaramucci noted that newly appointed Crypto Czar, David Sacks, is trying to slow this process down as he intends to ensure bipartisan support for this policy. Delays are anticipated as Democrats are not nearly as bullish as Republicans when it comes to digital assets. The US leading the adoption of Bitcoin would mark a critical turning point, with Scaramucci surmising that “it would be some sort of decentralised Bretton Woods treaty”. If more nation states start adding Bitcoin to their balance sheets as a reserve currency, this could spark an arms race where countries race to adopt, hold and regulate Bitcoin before others do; ensuring their place in the new financial order, while those who refuse to adapt could stand to lose out or be left behind.

Conclusion

It seems that the pendulum has well and truly swung in favour of adoption and innovation. With other jurisdictions ushering in the era of digital asset technology with vigour, the UK needs to take note and prevent a brain drain of top entrepreneurs and technology companies. Coinbase receiving regulatory approval to offer cryptocurrency services in the UK might just be the spark that lights that fire. It is now the time for the UK to take significant strides towards creating a framework and infrastructure that will give institutional investors the comfort they need to inject new capital into the crypto market and make the UK a lucrative crypto asset hub.

If you have any queries about digital assets, please do not hesitate to get in touch by telephone on 0207 052 3545 or by email info@kaurmaxwell.com

This article is for general information only. Its content is not a statement of the law on any subject and does not constitute advice.

Please contact KaurMaxwell for advice before taking any action in reliance on it.