- Why This Summit Matters
- Panel 1: Real-World Blockchain Use Cases in Finance
- Panel 2: Blockchain’s Efficiency Gains in Financial Systems
- Panel 3: Integrating Blockchain with Legal and Regulatory Frameworks
- Panel 4: Future-Proofing Financial Institutions with Blockchain
- Key Takeaways: What We Learned
- What’s Next? Join the Movement
Held on 3 June 2025 in Canary Wharf, the London Blockchain Finance Summit brought together top voices from global banks, fintech innovators, and policy leaders to explore blockchain’s transformative impact on finance. Through engaging panels and forward-looking discussions, the summit offered practical insights on how blockchain is being applied in real-world financial systems – not as a future concept, but as today’s commercial reality.
Below is a recap of some of the major discussions from the afternoon sessions.
Real-World Applications of Blockchain in Finance
The first panel after lunch, this discussion focused on how blockchain can be successfully implemented in the financial services sector.
The panel was moderated by Madeleine Boys, Director of Programmes and Innovation at Global Digital Finance, and included David Palmer, Chief Product Officer for Vodafone; Emma Lovett, Executive Director – Markets DLT at JP Morgan; Anthony Clark-Jones, Executive Director at UBS Investment Bank; and Kushal Balluck, Senior Manager of Digital Securities and Post Trade Innovation at the Bank of England.
Clark-Jones began the discussion by highlighting that the UBS banking group set out a blockchain innovation map as far back as 2015, but it is only now that we are seeing new business models based on Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs).
He explained that this is because for the first four or five years, the conversation on DLTs only focused on technologies and operations. By comparison, it was only in the last one or two years that the commercial applications of blockchain for finance were being implemented.
He added that the key decision makers at banks are not all sitting in tech or operations roles, but rather in commercial functions. So, without those key stakeholders understanding DLTs and how they can offer benefits, it can be very difficult to get traction, Clark-Jones said.
This was echoed by Lovett, who noted that there has been a convergence on use cases which can only be done using blockchain technology. This includes everything from repo settlement to post-trade efficiencies and even using smart contracts for precise settlement times. If everyone has the same data and system, then a lot of those efficiencies come into play, she said.
Palmer said that this can be seen in Vodafone’s success in the sector as it chose not to focus on the technology but rather the business itself. He added that he was incredibly excited about DLTs going forward, with crypto market capitalisation hovering around the $3 trillion mark currently.
He added that digital wallets are set to reach 5.6 billion by 2030, while mobile phones are expected to hit 8 billion devices by 2030. When enterprises start putting these technologies together, alongside new technologies such as blockchain and AI, the whole business starts to change, he said.
Balluck capped off the session by discussing some of the work he and his team are doing on the Digital Securities Sandbox launched by the Bank of England in collaboration with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). He noted that the bank itself is not building any DLT technologies but was allowing private firms to do so, with the market showing a strong appetite for the sandbox.
Nine firms are participating in the initial phase of the sandbox, and they are now applying for the next phase, which will include live transactions. Several other firms are also interested.
The discussion then shifted to the advantages and disadvantages of permissioned versus permissionless blockchains, and how large firms are slowly recognising the benefits of public blockchains, even if it means relinquishing some control.
Blockchain’s Impact on Efficiency
This panel discussion, featuring Previn Singh, Executive in Residence of Global Digital Finance (GDF) and former Head of the Digital Assets & Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Centre of Competency at Credit Suisse; Anand Paul, Independent Expert and former Project Lead of Blockchain Securities Lending Production at Credit Suisse; Nadine Teychenne, Head of Digital Assets, Securities Services at Citi; and Michael R. Blaschke, Global Principal Enterprise Architect at Enterprise Architecture and Advisory at SAP, primarily focused on how blockchain can be used to help improve efficiencies when it comes to complex financial instruments.
Teychenne explained that at the market level, it was very clear that blockchain could make transaction lifecycles and compliance far more efficient. This includes reducing settlement times from a multi-day issue to intra-day trading.
She added that most traditional linear transaction chains have a lot of inefficiencies built into the process, which can be removed or negated by using blockchain as a shared source of real-time data. Teychenne noted that this was just the ‘tip of the iceberg’ and that there is a lot more potential for automation around things like compliance and digital identity, which has not been fully realised yet.
This was expanded upon by Paul, who explained how companies today view collateral management and how it can be greatly improved by using blockchain as the underlying management technology. This includes using the technology for everything from optimising the collateral, compliance, moving the collateral faster, and even using smart contracts to automate a lot of the collateral process.
Outside of collateral management, Paul also talked about how stablecoins can be used to address many cross-border and domestic remittance issues facing finance houses today, and how they can also be used as collateral because of how quickly they can be moved.
Blaschke gave an overview of the work he and his team are doing at SAP. This includes a big push toward stablecoins as a form of business tokens which can be used in the global economy, he said. He added that SAP was particularly excited about the efficiencies which are offered by stablecoins compared to traditional fiat currencies.
Another example he gave was a banking client in Switzerland which used blockchain to help an auditing process, which ended up being 30% more efficient compared to more traditional audit processes.
Paul and Teychenne capped the conversation by discussing how back-office teams no longer have to outsource many functions, such as settlement trades, when using blockchain. This also adds enormous cost savings and efficiency for finance houses.
Strategies for Blockchain Integration in Financial Services
London Blockchain Conference’s Conference Director Alex Stein moderated a panel featuring Ciarán McGonagle, Chief Legal and Product Officer at Tokenovate; Sonia Chawla, Head of Legal Investment Transactions at Schroder; Thomas Giacomo, Head of the Payments Division at the Teranode Group; and Riccardo Donega, DLT and Digital Assets Innovation at Banca Sella, focusing on why developing standards and aligning with regulations was key for blockchain adoption in the finance sector.
McGonagle began the panel discussion by explaining that a key part of Tokenovate’s business model is aligning with standards, in particular the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) master agreement.
While Tokenovate might deal in a niche area, he explained that any company which uses blockchain in its business will need to understand and follow key legal concepts, whether that be the right to a tokenised asset or the enforceability of a smart contract.
Chawla noted that Schroders has dealt with tokenisation several times in past (specifically the tokenisation of bonds), and each time it was more work than expected as the group had to spend more time understanding the underlying technology and documentation. In each case, the firm also had to deal with multiple regulators, which made compliance more difficult. Despite this, Chawla said the group was not deterred and that Schroders will continue to look into tokenisation opportunities going forward.
Giacomo gave an overview of a KYC solution he developed for banks in Switzerland. The basic idea behind the platform was to use blockchain for Know-Your-Customer (KYC) and allow a customer who has been onboarded at one bank to open an account with a different bank without going through the whole KYC process again.
By comparison, Giacomo noted that the blockchain component was not very complicated. It was also not particularly difficult to follow international standards such as KYC and AML, as this was more of a technical issue. However, what was difficult was getting all the banks around the same table, he joked. Once implemented, the solution saw significant savings for the banks of between CHF200,000 – CHF700,000. They also saw time savings from an efficiency point of view, he said.
Donega then talked about his experience in setting up a successful DLT project at a regional Italian bank and how partnering with the right partners and fintechs can make all the difference. He discussed how it is often the case that fintechs push forward innovation in the industry, and that this innovation is later adopted by the big banking companies, who take advantage of it.
Chawla expanded on this conversation by detailing how Schroders typically deals with standards and regulatory issues. This includes having open conversations with regulators and even competitors as the whole industry aims to work towards certainty.
Giacomo capped the panel by noting that blockchain is still missing its ‘ChatGPT’ moment – a single killer application which makes a big splash and sees mass adoption.
Future-Proofing Financial Institutions with Blockchain
The final panel of the day, moderated by Adriana Enna, Executive in Residence at Global Digital Finance, and featuring Sabih Behzad, Head of Digital Assets & Currencies Transformation at Deutsche Bank; Ray Dillet, Head of Financial Institutions at Bitwise Asset Management; and Brett Johnson, Head of Sales at Rekord AG, discussed how financial institutions can future-proof themselves with blockchain.
Johnson noted that the industry is facing something of an inflexion point. While it feels like this has long been the case for the Web3 industry, he noted that AI development started even before blockchain.
Johnson said that the biggest change, which has led to more adoption in the last 12-18 months, has been government friendliness, with the US administration showing clear support, while jurisdictions like the EU have set out clear rules.
Government friendliness is probably the biggest change. US administration and possible crypto friendliness in future UK governments. Dillet added that this has extended to the private sector, where he noted that senior-level executives are starting to properly grapple with the technology and its taxonomy. He joked that it was not long ago that Bitcoin was being conflated with money laundering. However, Dillet also noted that digital assets are not some form of ‘immaculate conception’ and are the result of decades of advances in cryptography and online banking.
Expanding on this, Behzad noted that there is a natural inertia at large organisations which makes the adoption of brand-new technology difficult. Despite this, he believes ‘this time is different’ in that the blockchain-based solutions are trying to solve problems and can save banks millions of pounds.
He noted that there are real problems which exist in traditional finance, such as collateral management, which banks are already using blockchain to help make it more efficient and save on costs.
Johnson concluded by noting that no banks want to be the first to introduce a technology – because of the risks involved. He added it was easier for retail groups to take the risks first and then integrate what works later down the line. We are seeing this now, he said.
Afternoon Summary
- Real-world applications of blockchain in finance are now being implemented, with banks shifting focus from just technology to commercial use cases like repo settlement and post-trade efficiencies.
- Blockchain improves efficiency by reducing settlement times, enabling automation in compliance and digital identity, and streamlining processes like collateral management and auditing.
- Developing standards and aligning with regulations is essential for blockchain adoption, with legal clarity around tokenised assets and smart contracts playing a key role.
- Government friendliness and clear regulation have driven blockchain adoption in the past 12–18 months, with support from both public and private sectors helping to legitimise digital assets.
- Financial institutions are future-proofing with blockchain by solving real problems like collateral management and achieving cost savings, though many wait for proven retail success before adopting.
Be Part of What’s Next
Watch all panels from the London Blockchain Finance Summit on demand here.
The future of blockchain in finance is being written now – and you can be a part of it. Register today for the London Blockchain Conference on 22–23 October 2025 and network with global leaders shaping tomorrow’s financial systems.
