After years of consultation, Britain is putting in place the foundations of a comprehensive digital-asset regime.
But regulation is not the same as a market. Institutional adoption remains cautious, banks remain wary and growth capital is difficult to secure, while international rivals compete aggressively for businesses and talent.
At this exclusive Oxford Union-style debate, leading voices from policy, finance, investment and technology will ask whether the UK is genuinely ready to realise its ambitions, or whether we are mistaking a regulatory framework for competitive advantage.
Are the remaining barriers regulatory, or do they reflect deeper challenges around capital, culture, demand and Britain’s ability to scale technology businesses?
Alun is a business consultant advising a range of international companies. A former UK Cabinet member and Member of Parliament for 14 years, he served three Prime Ministers as Secretary of State for Wales, government whip, and minister. He was also a member of the UK Board of Trade.
As a backbencher, Alun held leadership roles in several All-Party Parliamentary Groups, including Blockchain, Energy Security, Crypto and Digital Assets, and Qatar.
Robby Yung
Robby is CEO of investments at Animoca Brands – a leader in institutional and consumer digital asset creation, investing, and tokenisation services, and he is also the CEO of the Sandbox, the leading interactive consumer entertainment platform of Web3.
Tom Rhodes
Tom is Chief Legal Officer at Agant, a GBP stablecoin issuer. A financial regulatory lawyer, Tom has built experience across City law firms and in-house roles within the fintech banking sector.
Emma Lovett
Emma is the Credit Lead for the Markets Distributed Ledger Technology team at J.P. Morgan. She is actively working on developing capabilities to drive the evolution of Digital Assets using Blockchain technology within the Credit Markets where it complements existing frameworks and supports clients’ needs.
Laura Navaratnam
Laura is a digital assets policy expert, and serves as the UK Policy Lead for Crypto Council For Innovation (CCI). CCI is the premier global alliance for advancing innovation, which believes in leading with a global view, advocating for inclusive regulation, and developing evidence-based insights to support government and business leaders.
Sabih Behzad
Sabih serves as the Head of Digital Assets at Deutsche Bank. In this role, he oversees strategy and execution and seeks to develop and accelerate use cases within the bank. Key areas of focus include custody, tokenisation of assets and money.
Matt Green
Matt is Chair of the Digital Assets Group at TechUK. He is a highly experienced specialist litigator in complex and multi‑jurisdictional disputes involving blockchain technology and digital assets. From conducting house raids, to tracing funds stolen by North Korean hackers, to obtaining vital on-chain evidence for use in a murder case, Matt has recovered millions of pounds worth of digital assets for clients.
Join policymakers, investors, founders, financial-services leaders and technologists for a lively examination of Britain’s global ambitions.
Hear both sides of the motion, question the speakers and cast your vote before continuing the conversation over drinks and canapés at the Churchill War Rooms.
