2023 Agenda Coming soon
Fordham Law Blockchain Regulatory Symposium Logo.
2022 Agenda

Registration and Breakfast

8:00 am - 8:45 am

Registration, breakfast and coffee.

Welcome Remarks

8:45 am - 9:00 am

Matthew Diller, Dean and Paul Fuller Professor of Law, Fordham University School of Law Donna Redel, Joyce Lai and Greg Xethalis

Panel

Registration and Breakfast

9:00 am - 9:50 am

The digital asset regulatory landscape has evolved slowly and many players are still awaiting regulatory certainty. This session will focus on the key issues facing the industry and if we are moving in the right direction. The panel will highlight issues that will be addressed throughout the day.

Moderator:
  • Lee Schneider, General Counsel, Ava Labs
Panelists:
  • Andrew Hinkes, Partner, K&L Gates, Adjunct Professor, NYU Stern School of Business
  • Jai Massari, Chief Legal Officer, Lightspark
  • Steve Wink, Partner, Latham & Watkins
Fireside Chat

Graham Steele

9:55 am - 10:25 am

Graham Steele, Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions, U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Moderated by Donna Redel, Adjunct Professor, Blockchain-Digital Assets, Fordham University School of Law

Panel

Twisting on the Base Layer: The Regulatory Impacts of Block and Consensus Formation

10:30 am - 11:20 am

In August, OFAC placed a smart contract mixer on the SDN list and in September Ethereum moved to proof of stake. These events have made Q3 one of the most impactful in focusing attention on how blocks are ordered and consensus formed. This panel will look at the role of "Base Layer Participants" and some of the important issues that arise in the regulatory treatment of block and consensus formation.

Moderator:
  • Patrick Murck, President and Chief Legal Officer, Transparent Systems
Panelists:
  • Liat Shetret, Director of Global Policy and Regulation, Elliptic
  • Lucas Bruder, Co-Founder and CEO, Jito Labs
  • Greg Xethalis, General Counsel, Multicoin Capital
  • Rodrigo Seira, Crypto Counsel, Paradigm
Panel

The Waltz Between the Industry and Government

11:25 am - 12:15 pm

The industry is crying foul because it views recent agency activity as regulation by enforcement. This panel will look at what is the proper way to define rules and legislation in a democratic society? How have industry and regulators addressed the question of notice, feedback, and the importance of having a system that has both rules and the opportunity for innovation?

Moderator:
  • Samson Enzer, Counsel, Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP
Panelists:
  • Alison Levine, Office of the Director, Division of Enforcement, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
  • Jason Gottlieb, Partner, Morrison Cohen LLP
  • Joe Hall, Partner, Davis Polk & Wardwell
  • Kayvan Sadeghi, Partner, Jenner & Block
  • Scott Hartman, Chief, Securities and Commodities Fraud Taskforce, U.S. Attorney's Office, S.D.N.Y.

Lunch

12:15 am - 1:15 am

Lunch

Panel

The Future of Exchanges and Institutional Involvement in Digital Assets

1:25 Pm - 2:15 pm

What types of exchanges and platforms exist in the current landscape? What does web3 platform look like? In this panel, we will discuss topics including omnibus accounts, bankruptcy, custody, insurance, lending and AML. We will also examine how institutions (TradeFi and Web3) participate in CeFi and DeFi ecosystems.

Moderator:
  • Jennifer Morton, Partner, Shearman & Sterling
Panelists:
  • Christine Parker Trent, Vice President, Deputy General Counsel Regulatory, Coinbase
  • Ryne Miller, General Counsel, FTX US
  • Sujit Raman, General Counsel, TRM Labs
  • Talis Seja, Chief Legal Officer, Fidelity Digital Assets
Panel

Bankruptcy, Commercial and Consumer Protection Laws Find Their Spotlight

2:15 pm - 3:05 pm

International AML, securities and derivatives law have dominated crypto law; however, Bankruptcy law has always been in the background, and the introduction of ULC UCC update should be top of mind for all legal practitioners. In addition, consumer protections are likely to play a role where securities and commodities laws are unclear.

Moderator:
  • Annemarie Tierney, Principal, Liquid Advisors, Inc.
Panelists:
  • Brandon Hammer, Counsel, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
  • Carla Reyes, Assistant Professor of Law, SMU Dedman School of Law
  • Lewis Cohen, Partner, DLXLaw
  • Sara Coelho, Partner, Shearman & Sterling
Lightning Talk

Crypto Across the Pond: Understanding MiCA and other European Efforts to Regulate

3:10 pm - 3:25 pm

The discussion of crypto regulation and policy efforts is dominated by a focus on the US government, particularly when convening US attorneys. But as with data privacy, EU members and the United Kingdom have been working diligently to develop their own approach to crypto regulation. This lightning talk will provide some information on the key efforts and discuss the pros and cons of the approaches taken.

Speakers:
  • Rebecca Rettig, General Counsel, The Aave Companies
  • Matthieu Gueissaz, Blockchain Valley Ventures
Panel

Of Alphabet Soup and Interagency Cooperation

3:10 pm - 3:25 pm

This panel seeks to provide a behind the scenes look at how regulatory agencies are striving for harmonization. Present and past regulators and policy makers will examine how agencies work together, with a moderators view of representing the industry before federal and state actors.

Moderators:
  • Lilya Tessler, Partner, Sidley Austin LLP
Panelists:
  • Allison Behuniak, Staff on the House Financial Services Committee for Rep. McHenry
  • Coy Garrison, Partner, Steptoe & Johnson
  • Greg Lisa, Chief Legal Officer, Element Finance
  • Jason Somensatto, FinTech Policy Specialist, Office of Chairman Rostin Behnam, CFTC
Panel

DAOs and Sufficient Decentralization

4:25 pm - 5:15 pm

At the crux of blockchain technology is the promise for the removal of trusted third parties and centralized administrators for Layer 1 protocols and the applications facilitated by them. While this can be manifested in code, the code of law is slower to adapt. This panel will look at DAOs as a potential new organizational, capital raising, governance and corporate form. It will also consider the importance of decentralization to regulatory assessment, and the difficulty in ascertaining what sufficient decentralization looks like.

Moderators:
  • David Adlerstein, Counsel, Wachtell, Lipton
Panelists:
  • Alexandra Scheibe, Partner, McDermott Will & Emery LLP
  • Marc Boiron, Chief Legal Officer, Polygon Companies
  • Miles Jennings, General Counsel and Head of Decentralization, a16z Crypto
  • Olta Andoni, Deputy General Counsel, Ava Labs
Panel

NFTs: Licensing, Royalties and Regulatory Novelties

5:15 pm - 6:05 pm

NFTs aren't just 8-bit JPEGs. They are a medium that can be deployed in a variety of ways and for many different commercial and contractual reasons. This panel will examine the emergent topics in developing web3 licenses, applying NFT tech to music and other rights, and the potential regulatory implications.

Moderators:
  • Stuart Levi, Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Panelists:
  • Adam Sternbach, General Counsel, Tessera
  • Joyce Lai, Founder and General Counsel, Charisma Social
  • Mark Radcliffe, Partner, DLA Piper
  • Nick Pullman, Head of Legal, Royal

Closing remarks & Networking Reception

6:05 pm - 7:00 pm

Networking Reception