Keynotes
Garrick Hileman
Dr Garrick Hileman is one of the world's most-cited cryptocurrency and blockchain technology researchers, and the founder of Ambient. He is the author of the first University of Cambridge "Global Cryptocurrency Benchmarking Study" and the follow-on "Global Blockchain Benchmarking Study". He also authored the CoinDesk “State of Bitcoin” and “State of Blockchain” reports from 2013-2016 and published two major empirical stablecoins research studies in 2018-19. He created and taught the first UK class on blockchain technology at the University of Cambridge. Garrick was ranked as one of the 100 most influential economists in the UK and Ireland and he is regularly asked to share his research and perspective with government organizations and media, including the FT, BBC, CNBC, WSJ, and NPR. He was previously head of research at Blockchain.com and a visiting fellow at both the University of Cambridge and London School of Economics.
Tara is the Head of Product at Twinstake, one of the leading staking infrastructure providers for institutions. She brings extensive crypto and web3 expertise after 4 years at crypto compliance company Elliptic where she worked across product, delivery and technical crypto advisory including training financial institutions and international police forces on technical crypto and crypto crime topics. Prior to this she led product for a digital asset cold storage trading firm and a crypto securities lending platform. She has also led product development within Corporate and Institutional Digital at HSBC.
Tara Annison
Michael Petch
Michael is a seasoned global startup executive with a remarkable track record in FinTech and blockchain technology. His skills range from the technical aspects of blockchain to alternative asset management and the strategic world of fundraising and M&A. He spearheaded the launch of the world's first cryptocurrency index department in London, a groundbreaking move that paved the way for more sophisticated investment opportunities in the digital asset space. He then went on to build one of the earliest tokenized investment funds on Ethereum, a testament to his forward-thinking approach. He also played a key role in developing one of the first regulated, gold-backed stablecoins used for payments in Switzerland. During his tenure at CoinShares, he was involved in scaling assets under management from a significant $700 million to a phenomenal $7 billion and a successful IPO in 2021. Currently, Michael is actively building Argo Digital Gold, a new FinTech startup backed by the Spott Family and renowned Canadian investors.