[Conference Review] SmartCon 2025 Day 1

Attending the first day (Nov 4) of SmartCon 2025 hosted by Chainlink, I observed the dominant theme was the importance of standardizing blockchain practices as a foundation for integrating blockchain into mainstream finance.

TL;DR

• US Government support has actively advanced digital finance.
• International regulatory harmony is essential for mass adoption.
• Harmonizing legacy financial systems with digital finance (on-chain) is necessary to ensure liquidity and reduce operational fragmentation.
• Ongoing cooperation between market participants and regulators is vital.

Representative Bryan Steil remarked in the opening comment, “Certainty will enable you. The innovators and developers, and entrepreneurs to build here in the United States and secure U.S. leadership in digital assets.” This encapsulates how the US government has played and will continue to play in fostering leadership in digital finance sector. Chainlink stands as a prime example of the ‘innovators.’ On SmartCon 2025, the firm announced the launch of Chainlink Runtime Environment (CRE), marking a major step forward in setting technical and institutional standards for evolving onchain finance ecosystem. (You can listen to Co-founder Sergey Nazarov’s keynote here: Creating a Cryptographically-Guaranteed Financial System | Sergey Nazarov Keynote at SmartCon 2025)

[US Leadership and Government Support in Digital Finance]

The US government has moved beyond mere projections to real, concrete steps to capture leadership in digital finance. This includes legislative approvals such as the GENIUS Act, active work by the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset has been working on, pro-digital asset SEC chair providing policy support.

Regulatory change is being globally tracked. The comparative table from Citi Report (Stablecoins 2030; Stablecoins 2030) details key differences of stablecoin in approaches across markets. Notably, recent developments such as Hong Kong’s pause on stablecoin adoption. (Chinese tech giants pause stablecoin plans after Beijing steps in)

Citi, Stablecoins 2030

[The Need for International Regulatory Harmony]

While the US pursues leadership in digital assets, global regulatory harmonization is essential for mass adoption. The competitive advantage of stablecoins and digital assets in cross-border payments hinges on a coherent, orchestrated regulatory framework across jurisdictions. Coordinated standards would accelerate integration into mainstream financial systems and facilitate global transactions.

[Integrating Legacy Financial Systems and Digital Finance]

Established financial institutions (FIs) increasingly operate both legacy financial systems and digital platforms. Harmonizing these environments is necessary to ensure liquidity, minimize operational fragmentation, and support efficient transitions into blockchain-enabled finance.

[Democratizing Access Through Tokenization]

The success of ETFs is instructive: global investors gained access to foreign and emerging market assets, democratizing investment opportunities. Similarly, tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) holds promise for broadening investor access, cutting costs, and expanding financial inclusion.

For mass adoption of tokenized assets, several critical elements must align:

• Standardization fosters interoperability and compliance.
• Digital identity and verifiable credentials support anti-money laundering (AML) efforts while protecting personal data.
• Transparent, relevant, timely data sharing optimizes investor experience and compliance.

[Policy Clarity and Industry-Regulator Collaboration]

FIs will be more willing to engage in the digital finance sector (on-chain) once compliance and security risks are proven to be well controlled. Demonstrated use cases and proven business models following regulatory clarity, such as clear tax treatment of digital assets, will gradually drive broader industry adoption.

Therefore, ongoing cooperation between market participants and regulators is vital. Providing education and transparency around products, business models, and market dynamics can help shape effective, market-aligned regulations.

[Additional Observations]

• Mass adoption of perpetual futures is anticipated to begin in foreign exchange markets, expand to commodities, and later, equities.
• For individual investors, simplifying terminology and avoiding confusing blockchain-specific jargon in analysis is necessary to support broader participation.