Lawrence is Executive Co-Chair and Guarantor of GDF. He is a globally recognised digital finance advocate, advisor, and investment manager, over a career spanning more than 25 years. He is the principal of Elipses, an advisory and investment firm focused on digital disruption in the finance sector. He is the former CEO of Innovation Finance, a not-for-profit FinTech members association, which helped establish the UK as the premier FinTech Hub globally.

Simon is a Co-Chair and Guarantor of GDF. Previously, Simon was a Head of Blockchain R+D for Barclays and is now a Co-Founder of 11:FS, a challenger consultancy. Simon has a career history spanning payments, transaction banking and delivery of digital financial services. Today, Simon is relied on by Tier 1 financial institutions, regulators and policymakers for insights into Digital and Blockchain.

Sandra is a Board Member of GDF.  She is a long-standing crypto advocate. Sandra led CME CF Bitcoin pricing indices and Bitcoin Futures initiatives and was a founding member of Linux-Hyperledger, Enterprise Ethereum Alliance & PTDL. Sandra serves on the NYS Digital Currency Taskforce and EU Blockchain Observatory & Forum. She previously worked at Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank and went to London Business School and Yale. Sandra is CEO, Global Blockchain Business Council, holding philanthropic directorships and investing in emerging tech start-ups focusing on social impact.

Jeff is a Board Member of GDF. He is a Principal of Bandman Advisors, an advisory practice helping clients meet strategic innovation and regulatory challenges focusing on blockchain, FinTech and RegTech. He was formerly a senior official at the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission. As FinTech Advisor to Chairman Giancarlo, he was Founding Director and architect of LabCFTC. He also established and led the CFTC’s blockchain and virtual currency working group. He leads the regulatory engagement for GDF.

Abdul Haseeb is a Board Member and Treasurer of GDF. He is a Co-Founder and Principal of Elipses, an advisory and investment firm focused on digital disruption in the finance sector and Chairman of Yielders, an Islamic FinTech marketplace for alternative asset classes. He is the former CFO of Innovate Finance, a not-for-profit FinTech members association, which helped establish the UK as the premier FinTech Hub globally. He is a qualified management accountant and has an MBA (with distinction) from Imperial College Business School. Abdul Haseeb was selected as a top 100 BAME leader in UK Tech 2018.

Emma is the Head of Community and Membership for GDF. Previously, Emma held strategic marketing positions at Citibank, Barclays and Fidelity, heading up events teams and ensuring marketing activities were in alignment with business objectives. At Citi, Emma worked on projects to promote and showcase digital money.  Emma has also worked for The Emerging Markets Investors Alliance, a non-profit organisation, that enables investors to support good governance, promote sustainable development, and improve investment performance in the companies in which they invest.

Melissa is an Events Manager at GDF.  With over 20 years of experience operating in 20 countries, Melissa held positions at Citi, Taylor Wessing & EY. She managed event teams to deliver successful, on-budget events inline with business goals and objectives. At Citi, she led events for the CEO Executive Committee & International Advisory Board.  Most recently, Melissa has been lecturing in Event Management in the Australian tertiary education sector.

Anastasia is Programme Manager at GDF, where she develops and delivers programmes around key themes and members’ priorities, as well as supporting existing memberships and community growth.

Previously Anastasia led the programme for Blockchain Live, where she worked closely with virtual asset service providers and financial institutions to promote balanced discussions on developments within crypto and blockchain.

John is Head of Regulatory Affairs – US at GDF.  He is also co-Founder and CEO of FS Vector, where he provides a wide range of regulatory and compliance solutions for financial services, fintech and cryptocurrency firms. He was most recently General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of Circle Internet Financial, Inc., a global crypto finance company that is seeking to help change the global economy.

John previously served as Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for Boston Private Financial Holdings, Inc., a publicly traded bank holding company. He was also Assistant General Counsel for Investors Bank & Trust Company and Chief Regulatory Counsel and Research Director for The Financial Services Roundtable where he was responsible for all regulatory affairs and assisted with legislative efforts for the trade association.

John has served as Chairman of the In-House Counsel Subcommittee of the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Banking Law Committee and is currently an Adjunct Professor of Boston University School of Law. Mr. Beccia has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Providence College, a J.D. from Roger Williams University School of Law, and a LLM in Banking and Financial Law from Boston University School of Law.

Lavan is the Head of Regulatory Affairs – EMEA at GDF. He is a Director at Thasa Consulting, an emerging technology advisory firm specialising in cryptoassets and Blockchain.

Lavan was formerly an Advisor at the European Parliament and advised on a number of files including; FinTech, Virtual Currencies and Distributed Ledger Technologies. He was also the rapporteur on the European Crowdfunding Service Providers Regulation and the Comprehensive European Industrial Policy on Artificial Intelligence and Robotics.

In September 2017, Lavan helped establish the European Parliament All-Party Innovation group to promote discussions on matters concerning emerging technology and what policy responses the Parliament should be promoting.

Tom Peers is a Community and Programmes Analyst at GDF.

He is a recent graduate of Southampton Solent with a 2:1 in Business Management, where he obtained valuable knowledge in the field of cryptocurrencies with his dissertation on “What is the future of Cryptocurrencies alongside current Fiat currencies in developed and developing countries?” He has a keen interest in the role of cryptocurrencies in financial inclusion.

Coinbase is a digital wallet provider and exchange.

Diginex creates distributed ledger technology solutions that make digital assets more accessible, business processes more efficient, and societies more secure.

DLA Piper is a global law firm with lawyers located in more than 40 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, positioning us to help clients with their legal needs around the world.

EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities.

EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients.

Hogan Lovells is an international law firm co-headquartered in London and Washington, D.C. Hogan Lovells has around 2,800 lawyers working in more than 40 offices in the United States, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia.

Huobi is a leading global cryptoassets financial service provider. Upholding the idea of “empowering financial services and liberating global wealth”as our mission and “putting users first” as our concept, Huobi is committed to providing secure, professional, credible and quality services for our users.  Huobi Worldwide Limited is the holding company of Huobi Japan Inc., one of the 18 licensed exchanges in Japan.  Huobi Worldwide is also the holding company of Huobi MENA, which has obtained an OTC license from DMCC. 

R3 is an enterprise blockchain software firm working with a broad ecosystem of more than 200 members and partners across multiple industries from both the private and public sectors to develop on Corda, our open-source blockchain platform, and Corda Enterprise, a commercial version for enterprise usage.

SDX delivers a fully integrated issuance, trading, settlement and custody infrastructure for digital assets.

The SIX Digital Exchange (“SDX”) will enjoy the same standard of oversight and regulation by FINMA, as SIX. We will bring security and reliability to the financial ecosystem of tomorrow.

Members of the exchange, usually licensed financial institutions, will not only be able to trade on public marketplaces, but also privately between themselves.

Malcolm is Chair of the GDF Advisory Council. He is also Chief Compliance Officer at 100x Group based in Hong Kong, where he manages regulatory compliance in the jurisdictions in which the firm operates. Prior to this, he was Chief Compliance Officer at Diginex, a digital assets financial services company and Revolut, a leading FinTech unicorn. In his earlier career, Malcolm held several senior leadership roles within Thomson Reuters’s anti-financial crime business. Malcolm speaks at international conferences and events on a variety of regulatory topics related to finance and technology. He is an Associate Fellow of the Royal United Services Institute’s Centre for Financial Crime Studies in London.

Bryony is the secretariat of the GDF Advisory Council. She is also Partner at international law firm DLA Piper, has 15 years’ experience in the financial markets sector and has spent time working in-house at a major European bank as well as in private practice. Bryony has lived and worked in London and the Cayman Islands.

She has been working with clients in the Fintech space with increasing concentration since 2016 and has a breadth of experience, including advising on electronic and DLT based trading and lending platforms, crowdfunding structures and token based fundraising activities. She has particular expertise with financing aspects of offshore fund and issuer structures. In addition, Bryony is advising a number of businesses, including blockchain technology companies, sponsors, issuers, exchanges and other corporate clients in relation to crypto asset issuance, ownership and trading, digital assets, e-money and digital payments, stablecoin products, security tokens, tokenised securities and derivatives and associated finance and regulatory matters.

Archax is a new, institutional-grade exchange for trading asset-backed tokens (digital securities, security tokens, etc.) based in London. Founded by experts from the financial markets and backed by an accomplished advisory board, Archax offers a credible bridge between the blockchain world and the traditional investment space.

Bandman Advisors is a consulting practice focused on innovation and regulation in financial services, with special expertise in cryptoassets, blockchain, FinTech & RegTech.

BEQUANT is a Cryptocurrency Exchange & offers Prime Brokerage Services. BEQUANT allow traders to invest in numerous crypto asset classes with one of the most reliable providers on the market.

BEQUANT’s core product is partnered with Multi-exchange and offers access to real liquidity. The platform’s core matching engine is a pre-eminent technology; offering traders a wide range of features including real-time clearing and cutting-edge order matching algorithms. The technology appeals to market-makers, quantitative desks and active traders looking to connect via industry standard FIX or robust APIs.

The business is helmed by George Zarya, an industry expert in cryptocurrency and institutional investment. He is establishing BEQUANT as a leader in cryptocurrency compliance and help build the reputation and reliability of the asset for investors and businesses alike.

BEQUANT applies the highest compliance standard for cryptocurrency trading and is actively at the forefront of developing regulatory legislation in the sector.

The BEQUANT team of FCA compliant brokers and blockchain specialists has been in the business since 2012. They ensure personalised face-to-face professional service for clients.

Based in London, BEQUANT is also established in Malta, a country renowned for its cryptocurrency regulation.

Coinbase is a digital wallet provider and exchange.

ConsenSys is solving real-world problems with Ethereum blockchain solutions for organizations of all sizes, from the local community to the global enterprise.

CryptoCompare is a major global cryptocurrency market data provider offering retail and institutional investors real-time, high-quality and reliable market and pricing data, bridging the gap between the crypto asset and traditional financial markets.

Diginex creates distributed ledger technology solutions that make digital assets more accessible, business processes more efficient, and societies more secure.

DLA Piper is a global law firm with lawyers located in more than 40 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, positioning us to help clients with their legal needs around the world.

11:FS is challenging the status quo and delivering the next generation of digitally native financial services.

Elipses is a digital structured finance firm. We advocate for, ethical finance and digital assets, we advise start-up and momentum firms, institutions, governments and regulators, and we build digital ventures, customised investments and digital ecosystems. 

EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities.

EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients.

Hogan Lovells is an international law firm co-headquartered in London and Washington, D.C. Hogan Lovells has around 2,800 lawyers working in more than 40 offices in the United States, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia.

Huobi is a leading global cryptoassets financial service provider. Upholding the idea of “empowering financial services and liberating global wealth”as our mission and “putting users first” as our concept, Huobi is committed to providing secure, professional, credible and quality services for our users.  Huobi Worldwide Limited is the holding company of Huobi Japan Inc., one of the 18 licensed exchanges in Japan.  Huobi Worldwide is also the holding company of Huobi MENA, which has obtained an OTC license from DMCC. 

The ING Group is a Dutch multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Amsterdam. Its primary businesses are retail banking, direct banking, commercial banking, investment banking, wholesale banking, private banking, asset management, and insurance services.

With total assets of US$1.1 trillion, it is one of the biggest banks in the world. It consistently ranks among the top 30 largest banks globally. It is also among the top 10 in the list of largest European companies by revenue.

The ING Group ranks also among top five blockchain banks with a focus on digital assets (both native and asset backed).

Messari is a data services company for the cryptocurrencies and digital assets space providing users with clean data and clear insights.

METACO is a leading provider of financial technology for banks. Established in 2014 by blockchain and quantitative finance expert, Adrien Treccani, and renowned bitcoin developer, Nicolas Dorier, METACO made its breakthrough in 2018 with the launch of SILO, the digital asset management solution for banks. With SILO, METACO is the leading provider of the digital asset self-custody infrastructure for financial institutions. METACO is backed by institutional shareholders such as Avaloq, Swisscom, SICPA and DiePost. SILO is the digital asset management solution trusted by global market infrastructure providers and banks including Avaloq, Swisscom, Deutsche Börse, Gazprombank and Sygnum.

R3 is an enterprise blockchain software firm working with a broad ecosystem of more than 200 members and partners across multiple industries from both the private and public sectors to develop on Corda, our open-source blockchain platform, and Corda Enterprise, a commercial version for enterprise usage.

SDX delivers a fully integrated issuance, trading, settlement and custody infrastructure for digital assets.

The SIX Digital Exchange (“SDX”) will enjoy the same standard of oversight and regulation by FINMA, as SIX. We will bring security and reliability to the financial ecosystem of tomorrow.

Members of the exchange, usually licensed financial institutions, will not only be able to trade on public marketplaces, but also privately between themselves.

ShapeShift is a revolutionary part of the cryptocurrency ecosystem. It is how a digital marketplace should work. The platform gives you the power to quickly swap between assets in a seamless, safe, and secure environment.

ShapeShift is a web and API platform created in August of 2014 to provide instant Bitcoin and altcoin conversion with the maximum level of consumer protection and efficiency.

Solidus offers tailored ML-powered surveillance solutions to combat digital asset market manipulation

An international law firm, Steptoe advises on a range of issues related to blockchain and cryptocurrency technology.