As banks explore using public blockchains for tokenised deposits, stablecoins, and digital assets, new challenges arise: decentralised governance, protocol changes, and the absence of a clear accountable counterparty. This session will convene blockchain protocol developers and institutional partners to examine how banks can gain confidence in settlement, design contingency plans for governance risk, and build operational resilience on decentralised infrastructure. The conversation will focus on continuity, migration, and trust; moving beyond regulation to practical mitigation strategies that enable safe adoption at scale.
Topics for discussion include:
- How can banks safely participate, integrate and manage risks in an environment where governance is decentralised and counterparties diffuse?
- How can banks trust settlement on public blockchains? How do providers integrate continuity and legal enforceability into their offerings to banks? What safeguards can banks deploy to mitigate the residual risks of forks, reorgs, or protocol changes?
- Mitigating governance and protocol risk: what happens if a public chain becomes unusable? If decentralised governance takes a direction banks cannot accept, what mitigation options should they have? What roles can banks, providers of infrastructure and safeguards play in providing these mitigation pathways?
This session is Part 1 of a 2-part series on Public Blockchains in Banking. Read more about Part 2 of the discussion here.
Insights Forum
Roundtable Room 3, Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Level 4
