Partner and Head of EMEA+APAC at PayPal Ventures. 12+ years of experience in Fintech advisory and investing. At PPV, the key focus is on Series A-B stages

Yam Ki Chan is the Vice President for Asia Pacific of Circle (NYSE: CRCL), responsible for the company’s business and strategy in the region. He leads a team responsible for partnerships and market expansion across the region. Yam Ki advises stakeholders on how stablecoins unlock economic opportunities for businesses and economies. Yam Ki also serves as the Managing Director of Circle Singapore. He oversaw the enablement of USDC in Japan, the first stablecoin recognized in the country.

Prior to Circle, Yam Ki held strategy & operations and public policy roles at Google Payments and Google Cloud, where he worked on partnership strategy, market launches, and government affairs.

Before Google, Yam Ki served as a Director at the White House National Security Council, where he coordinated U.S. economic strategy in Asia and was a member of the U.S. negotiations team for the G-20 and G-7. Before joining the National Security Council staff, Yam Ki worked in the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. Earlier in his career, Yam Ki worked in technology investment banking at Jefferies in Silicon Valley.

He earned a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Carleton College.

Colin Payne is a distinguished leader in financial innovation, currently serving as the Head of Innovation at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Chair of the Global Financial Innovation Network (GFIN) convening over 90 national regulators to build a powerful, collaborative network.
In these roles, he spearheads strategic initiatives to foster growth through responsible innovation, such as the newly launched AI Lab, Sandboxes and TechSprint Programme.
Before joining the FCA, Colin was the Senior Director at PwC, where he delivered programs across the GCC, including national payment strategies and digital asset initiatives with Central Banks in the region.
He has also held Partner and EVP positions at EY and Capgemini with an early tenure at Apple working with Steve Jobs.
With over 30 years at the forefront of technology and change, Colin has built an award-winning portfolio designing and deploying world-class innovation.
He has held honorary positions at Kings College and Middlesex University.

As Chief Economist, AP David leads the development and delivery of differentiated economic, financial, policy and market thought leadership for customers, Mastercard and public policy.

David joined Mastercard in 2020 with over 20 years of experience at Standard Chartered Bank having worked in different roles, including Asia Chief Economist, and most recently Global Chief Economist. Prior to this he was responsible for coverage of the US economy and also covered Latin America providing clients with the bank’s view on Asia in the US time zone. David also worked as a Senior FX Strategist based in London and Hong Kong. David has won numerous awards for his outstanding work including the top ranked Asia macro research team among investors in the AsiaMoney poll and the Rybczynski Economist Prize from the UK Society of Professional Economists for work on the Malaysian ringgit Barometer. David appears regularly on CNN, CNBC, BBC World, and Bloomberg for his macroeconomic insights.

David is a global citizen having worked and lived in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, New York, and now Singapore.

He holds an MSc in Finance from the University of London and a BSc in Economics from the University of Warwick.

One of India’s most successful young entrepreneurs and amongst its foremost digital experts, Dilip Modi is the Chairman of DiGiSPICE Technologies and Founder & CEO of Spice Money. Dilip is a second generation entrepreneur who has pioneered several new innovations and built a strong portfolio of businesses within the Indian mobility and technology space during his stellar career spanning over two decades.
Dilip’s journey as an entrepreneur started early on in life. He has always believed that technology will be a key enabler for achieving inclusive growth in the world and started several innovative, technology-driven businesses. Today, he is furthering the cause for financial inclusion and empowerment of rural India with Spice Money. Spice Money is a part of Spice Group and is one of India's largest rural fintech start-ups. Spice Money is progressing, at a great pace, with a mission to revolutionise the way Bharat banks by bridging the gap between the served and the under-served by providing digital and financial services to customers at their doorstep through its 1.5 million strong Adhikari (non - bank business correspondents) network.
Apart from managing his businesses successfully, he is equally aware of the responsibility of the industry for affecting a positive social impact. His leadership attributes are widely recognized by corporate India, resulting in him becoming the youngest-ever President of the Associated Chambers of Commerce (ASSOCHAM), India’s oldest chamber, in 2011–12, and the youngest Chairman of the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) in 2004–05.
In keeping with his passion to support entrepreneurship and the next wave of business leaders emerging within the country, Dilip has also assumed the role of a mentor and has even made investments in a personal capacity into several promising start-ups. These include Shuttl, AdGyde, Uolo, Curofy, etc.
Dilip has also been awarded the “Youth Icon Award” by the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry for his exemplary leadership. He is the founder of Ek Soch, a social impact initiative to support innovation and entrepreneurship in the areas of Mobility, Education and Environment.
Dilip holds a First Class Bachelor of Science Degree in Management Technology from Brunel University, London, UK. He has also done his Master’s in Business Administration from the Management School at the Imperial College, London, with a specialization in Finance.

Emily Parker is Senior Strategic Advisor at Coincheck Group. She is also an advisor at RWA.xyz and the China and Japan advisor at the Global Blockchain Business Council. Previously, she was CoinDesk's executive director of global strategy. Emily was a member of the Policy Planning staff at the U.S. State Department, a writer/editor at The Wall Street Journal and an editor at The New York Times. She is the co-founder of LongHash, a blockchain startup that focuses on Asian markets. She is the author of "Now I Know Who My Comrades Are: Voices From the Internet Underground" (Farrar, Straus & Giroux). The book tells the stories of Internet activists in China, Cuba and Russia. Mario Vargas Llosa, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, called it "a rigorously researched and reported account that reads like a thriller." Her book has been assigned at Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Tufts, UCSD and other schools. She has been interviewed on CNN, MSNBC, NPR, BBC and many other television and radio shows. Emily has lived in China and Japan and speaks Chinese and Japanese.

Based in Singapore, Fiona Murray is Vice President and Managing Director of APAC for Ripple, leading the company’s strategy and business operations in the Asia Pacific region.

During her tenure she has played an instrumental role in onboarding key partners and products critical to digital asset trade across the region, including building out payment rails for on/off ramping and overseeing the growth of OTC in APAC.

She drives Ripple's efforts to scale enterprise blockchain and crypto adoption in this region's fast-growing digital asset hubs, including working to secure the company's landmark Major Payments Institution (MPI) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

Fiona joined Ripple in 2018 and has led the APAC sales team since 2020. Prior to Ripple, Fiona held business development positions within large enterprises, including Oracle, Fiserv and Misys (now Finastra), helping financial institutions innovate in payments across Europe and Asia. Fiona holds a Master of Arts in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from the University of Oxford.

Hiroshi Nakaso was appointed FCT’s first Chairman at its inception in April 2019. He is known widely both locally and globally as the former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Japan (BOJ) which he served for nearly 40 years. At BOJ he was mainly responsible for crisis management of financial systems and markets, often in concert with his overseas counterparts.

In addition to his present role as Chairman of Daiwa Institute of Research (DIR), he is Chairman of the Policy Evaluation Committee of Financial Services Agency of Japan (FSA) and Chairman of the Monitoring Committee for the newly created JPY10 trillion university endowment fund. He also chaired the expert panel for the creation of “Global Financial City: Vision 2.0” for the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. In addition, he served as a member of the “Asset management-led nation subcommittee” established within the “Council of New Form of Capitalism Realization” of the Cabinet Secretariat. He was one of the ABAC (APEC Business Advisory Council) members representing Japan.

Jesper Koll
Expert Director & Global Ambassador for the Monex Group and the Japan Catalyst Fund

Jesper Koll has been researching and investing in Japan since becoming a resident in 1986. Over the past two decades, Jesper has been consistently recognized as one of the top Japan strategists/economists, having worked as Chief Strategist and Head of Research for U.S. investment banks J.P. Morgan and Merrill Lynch. He currently serves as Expert Director for the Monex Group and the Japan Catalyst Fund (Japan’s 1st retail investor based corporate engagement/activist fund). His analysis and insights have earned him a position on several Japanese government and corporate advisory committees and he is an Ambassador for FinCity Tokyo. Jesper serves on the board of directors of OIST (Okinawa Institute of Science & Technology) and Asia Society (Japan). Jesper is an economist, angel-investor, patron; and yes, a Japan Optimist.

Kathy is the former Vice Chair of Goldman Sachs Japan and Chief Japan Equity Strategist. Her groundbreaking ʻWomenomicsʼ research spurred the Japanese government to promote gender diversity, and she has advised corporations on governance and diversity best practices. She has an MA from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and an AB from Harvard.

Kazuya Ikeda was appointed Senior Managing Executive Officer, Head of Transaction Business Division and Deputy Head of Global Business Unit SMFG/SMBC in April 2025. In May 2025, he was appointed Chairman, SMBC (China) Limited (SMBCCN). In October 2025, he was appointed Head of AI Transformation.

He joined Sakura Bank (currently SMBC) in 1993 and has been with the bank ever since. He has spent about one third of his career overseas, including eight years in Singapore. Prior to his current appointment, he held various leadership roles within the bank, including Joint General Manager, Planning Department, International Banking Unit, Tokyo (2016-2019), General Manager, Planning Department, Asia Pacific Division, Singapore (2019-2022). He was appointed Executive Officer of SMFG/SMBC in 2021, non-executive director of SMBC Bank International plc in 2022 and Managing Executive Officer in 2023.

He holds a BSc from Kyoto University (1993) and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business (2003).

Keiji Matsunaga joined SMFG in 1998. After working in wholesale banking business planning, management planning, and other departments in Japan and overseas, he became head of SMBC’s Asia Innovation Centre in Singapore in 2021, working to use digital technology to create business for clients in the APAC region and upgrade internal infrastructure. In 2024, he took up his current position as General Manager of the Digital Strategy Department, where he is in charge of digital strategic planning and management for the SMBC Group and operation of its corporate venture capital fund (SMBC Asia Rising Fund). A graduate from the University of Tokyo, he also earned an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University.

Kenneth heads the FinTech and Innovation Group at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The Group is responsible for development strategies for technology and innovation, to strengthen competitiveness, manage risks and enhance the efficiency of the financial sector.

Kenneth’s recent prior experience focused on digital transformation, enterprise GenAI and data governance. He previously headed the Enterprise Knowledge Department at MAS. Besides formulating data and knowledge strategies and governance policies, the department also pursues data transformation by architecting and developing platforms and applications that improve outcomes for financial supervision, central banking and other use cases.

Kenneth also has experience in regulatory policy, having previously headed MAS’ Prudential Policy Department. The department develops capital and liquidity standards, including MAS’ approach on the implementation of Basel III as well as contributions to international policy forums. Prior to this, Kenneth headed the international financial relations and financial stability surveillance functions in MAS, and served in MAS’ reserves management and enforcement functions.

Kenneth holds a BA in Economics and MA in International Relations from the University of Chicago. He enjoys experimenting with technology at work, and as a pastime.

Laura is currently a Director, Investment (Blockchain), Temasek which focuses on venture building and investment opportunities in the space.
She is a Board Director of Temasek’s venture studio, Menyala, supporting the development and growth of startups; and a Board Observer of Partior, a joint venture with JP Morgan and DBS to setup a multi-currency payments network to enhance cross-border clearing and settlements. Laura is also part of the founding venture teams of various start-ups initiated by Temasek including Affinidi, a start-up that uses decentralised technologies to develop data and self-sovereign identity solutions.
Before joining the Blockchain team, Laura spent over a decade originating and evaluating investment across various sectors at Temasek. Her expertise spans B2B, B2B2C and B2C industries such as Consumer Tech, Industrials, Specialty Chemicals, Offshore Marine, Transportation and Logistics
Prior to joining Temasek in 2007, Laura had worked at Ernst & Young, followed by General Electric (“GE”) in various finance roles pertaining to GE’s Financial Management Program and CAS Programs, which spanned several geographies including GE Money US, GE Aircraft Japan, GE Plastics China, Singapore, and GE Oil and Gas Malaysia.
Laura is a Fellow of the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (FCCA) and holds a BA(Hons) in Accounting and Finance from Sheffield Hallam University, UK. Additionally, she serves on the Advisory Committee of Elevandi (now rebranded GFTN). Laura has also been recognized as a Singapore 100 Women in Tech (SG100WIT) 2023 honoree and a 2022 Fintech65 Leader.

Mr. Shibata is currently in charge of FINOLAB community operation since 2019. In his former position at The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, he was leading R&D initiatives in emerging technology and online/mobile financial services as Head of Global Innovation Team. He also held positions in corporate planning, accounting, corporate finance, and retail customer services at the bank. He is one of the founders of FINOVATORS, a mentor group consists of FinTech experts. He also became an external board member at new digital bank, UI Bank, when it acquired a banking license in 2021. For his undergraduate course, he studied Economics at the University of Tokyo, with a year at Harvard University. And for his graduate course, he studied at the University of Oxford to obtain Master of Science in Development Economics.

Mark T. Uyeda was sworn into office as a Commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on June 30, 2022. He was sworn in for a second term as Commissioner on December 28, 2023.

Commissioner Uyeda has most recently detailed at the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. He also served on detail at the U.S. Department of Treasury and the U.S. Department of Labor. Commissioner Uyeda has been with the SEC since 2006, serving as Senior Advisor to Chairman Jay Clayton, Counsel to Commissioners Michael Piwowar and Paul Atkins, and in additional leadership roles with the Division of Investment Management.

Before the SEC, Commissioner Uyeda was Chief Advisor to the California Corporations Commissioner. Earlier in his career, he worked as a securities attorney in the private sector.

Commissioner Uyeda earned his bachelor's degree from Georgetown University and his J.D. from Duke University. He is the first Asian-Pacific American to serve as a Commissioner at the SEC.

Mr. Masao SHIMAZAKI joined the Ministry of Finance in 1995. At the JFSA, he has held several key positions, including: Director of the Banking Business Division II (responsible for supervising regional banks), Director of the Corporate Accounting and Disclosure Division, Director of the Financial Markets Division (in charge of financial market regulation), and Director of the Resources Management Division (overseeing human resources). He assumed his current role in July 2025. His responsibilities include promoting fintech and supervising the fintech sector, including funds transfer services and crypto asset exchange businesses.

Namatame joined Tokio Marine Holdings in 2018 and was appointed Managing Executive Officer and Group Chief Digital Officer in 2021, and promoted to Senior Managing Executive Officer in 2024. Prior to Tokio Marine, he was Managing Director, and the member of the board at BlackRock Japan. Before that he had a number of senior executive positions at Visa Worldwide Japan, Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank. He started his career at Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan. In addition to his career positions, he assumed the non-executive director at Mercari, Inc. and an advisor to Japan's Financial Services Agency. He graduated from University of Tokyo and earned MBA from Harvard Business School. 

Masashi Watanabe is a Managing Director, Deputy Head of Digital Strategy Division and Head of Digital Asset in MUFG Bank, leading the Digital Asset Business Development team based in Tokyo, Japan.

He has been involved in the bank’s business development for more than 25 years, including Transaction Banking, IT & Payments and Digitalization area, having worked abroad in London and Bangkok.

Prior to his current role, he took part in developing a payment platform utilizing blockchain technology in Tokyo.

I joined the Bank of Japan in 2010 and worked in the Research and Statistics Department, the Financial System and Bank Examination Department and the London office. Since 2021, I have been at the Payment and Settlement Department, where I am involved in projects examining how emerging technologies such as blockchains and AI could be applied to future payment systems. Received a master degree of applied economics from University of Michigan and a bachelor of economics from Hitotsubashi University.

Naoto Shimoda is a General Manager in the Digital Strategy Department at SMFG and SMBC, where he leads group-wide initiatives on digital assets. He is passionate about modernizing money and finance using new technologies, including blockchain and AI.
Prior to his current role, Naoto accumulated over 30 years of policy-making experience at the Bank of Japan (BoJ) and the Ministry of Finance (MoF). He held a range of senior leadership positions, including Deputy Director General of the Payments Department, Director of the International Department, Head of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision Division, and Chief Representative at the Hong Kong office with APAC coverage at the BoJ, as well as Director for International Financial Affairs at the MoF. He also served as a member of various international fora, such as the CPMI, the G7 Digital Payments Experts Group (co-Chair in 2023), the Financial Innovation Network of the FSB, and the BIS-Central Banks CBDC Coalition.
Naoto holds a degree in Law from Hitotsubashi University and studied Computer Science at Harvard University.

Neil serves as the Group Deputy Chairman and Board Director at the Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN). He is also Vice Chairman, Asia Pacific for Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) Group. Until recently, he was Partner and Head of Asia and Australia at Tikehau Capital. He previously held the position of CEO, Asia at National Australia Bank.

Neil is a Council Member of the Singapore Business Federation and the Singapore Institute of Directors and serves as an Advisory Board Member of the James Cook University, Singapore, and the Singapore Fintech Association. He also serves as a Senior Adviser to the Atlantic Council in Washington DC. and is a Fellow of the Singapore Institute of Directors as well as the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He is also the Chairman of the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

He served as a Nominated Member of Parliament in Singapore from 2023 to 2025. He has also served on the Governing Council of the Association of Banks in Singapore and as Chief Executive Officer of Pegasus Asia, a company listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange.

Nobuya Kawasaki is Chief Executive for Asia Pacific of MUFG Bank, responsible for overseeing the safety and soundness of the bank’s operations across 18 markets in the region, as well as business promotion led by the Global Corporates, Japanese Corporates and Commercial Banking business groups.

A banker with close to three decades of M&A and corporate finance experience, he was involved with MUFG’s strategic investments in Asia, specifically with the Security Bank in the Philippines in 2016 and Indonesia’s Bank Danamon in 2017.

Prior to his current appointment, Mr. Kawasaki was Deputy Group Head of the Global Commercial Banking Business Group, where he was responsible for promoting collaborations among MUFG and its invested financial institutions, especially in Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines and in Indonesia. In addition, he led some of the bank’s other inorganic strategic investments in the fintech sector that included True Money in Thailand and GCash in the Philippines.

Noritaka Okabe began his entrepreneurial journey in 2001 while studying at Hitotsubashi University, founding his first company and serving as Representative Director and Director/CTO. In 2017, he co-founded Real World Games Inc., where he held key positions including Director/CTO and CFO before continuing as a Director. In 2019, Okabe established Japan Cryptoasset Market, Inc. (now JPYC Inc.) and became its Representative Director.

Since 2021, Okabe has led the issuance of the yen-denominated prepaid token “JPYC Prepaid.” That same year, he was appointed Visiting Professor at the Professional University of Information and Management for Innovation (iU) and Director of the Blockchain Collaborative Consortium (BCCC). In July 2023, he became Chair of the BCCC’s “Blockchain Adoption Promotion Committee,” and since June 2025, he has also served as a Director of the Japan Cryptoasset Business Association (JCBA).

Joined Salomon Brothers in 1987, moved to Goldman Sachs in 1990, became a partner at the age of 30 in 1994, and founded Special Situation Group. In 1999, founded Monex, Inc. in partnership with Sony, and established Monex Group, Inc. in 2004.
Monex Group operates a wide range of businesses, including Monex Securities and TradeStation, which are retail online brokerage firms in Japan and the U.S., as well as Japan Catalyst, which specializes in engagement investment where he is Chairman and CIO. Additionally, the group provides Web3 support services, full-genome-related services, and human resource development businesses.
Monex Group also has Coincheck Group, listed on the NASDAQ in the U.S., as a subsidiary, under which Coincheck, one of Japan's largest digital asset exchanges, operates.
Served as an external board member of the Tokyo Stock Exchange for five years and has participated in government committees related to governance reform, actively contributing to the improvement and reform of Japan’s capital markets.
An outside director of Mastercard in the U.S. and a former Vice Chair of Human Rights Watch.

Tek Yew has more than 30 years of consulting experience and is a subject matter expert in multiple aspects of financial services, including working with central banks and regulators across Asia and the Middle East.
He is now an Adjunct Professor and Advisor to the National University of Singapore's Asian Institute of Digital Finance, a collaboration between the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the NUS. Additionally, he also serves as a senior advisor to Boston Consulting Group as well as the ASEAN Bankers’ Association.
Prior to this, he was Vice Chairman of Oliver Wyman Singapore and had held senior positions in KPMG, Hewlett Packard Consulting & Integration and PwC Consulting East Asia.

Rahul Advani is the Global Co-Head of Policy at Ripple.

Based in Singapore, Rahul oversees Ripple’s engagement and advocacy with regulators and policymakers in the APAC and EMEA regions, working with Ripple's regional policy teams to support and develop regulation that promotes responsible innovation in digital assets and blockchain technology.

Prior to joining Ripple, Rahul spent over 12 years in financial services, most recently as the Head of Public Policy, Asia Pacific at the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. Prior to that, Rahul worked with Bloomberg L.P. in their offices in Mumbai, Singapore, and Hong Kong in multiple roles across valuations, business development, and sales for both exchange-traded and OTC derivative products.

Rahul is the Chair of the Blockchain Association of Singapore Stablecoin and CBDC Subcommittee, and an Ambassador for the Global Blockchain Business Council (GBBC). He is also Co-Chair of the GBBC Digital Money & Wallets Working Group.

He holds a Master in Public Policy from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore.

Mr Ravi Menon has a portfolio of work in sustainability, innovation, and inclusion.

Mr Menon is Singapore’s first Ambassador for Climate Action and Senior Adviser to the National Climate Change Secretariat at the Prime Minister’s Office. He plays a leading role in Singapore’s efforts to foster collective action internationally and transition planning locally towards a low-carbon future. He is also Chairman of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) Asia-Pacific Advisory Board and a member of the GFANZ Principals Group.

Mr Menon is Chairman of the Global Finance & Technology Network, which harnesses technology and fosters innovation for more efficient, resilient, and inclusive financial ecosystems globally. He is also a Trustee of the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Chairman of its Innovation and Enterprise Committee.

Mr Menon is Chairman of ImpactSG, a philanthropy which aims to grow a community of purposeful givers in Singapore and Asia. He is also a Board Member of The Majurity Trust, a charity which deploys cause-based funds for social needs; and a Trustee of the Singapore Indian Development Association, a community self-help group.

Prior to his current roles, Mr Menon served for 36 years in the Singapore Public Service.

As Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (2011-23), Mr Menon oversaw monetary and macroprudential policies, reformed the financial regulatory framework, and developed Singapore as a green finance centre and a global FinTech hub. On the international front, he served as Chairman of the Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for Greening the Financial System and Chairman of the Financial Stability Board Standing Committee on Standards Implementation.

As Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Trade & Industry (2007-11), Mr Menon helped to steer the economy during the global financial crisis. As Deputy Secretary at the Ministry of Finance (2003-07), he oversaw fiscal policy and government reserves.

Mr Menon is a recipient of the Meritorious Service Medal from the Singapore Government, the Distinguished Alumni Award from NUS, and the Distinguished Leadership and Service Award from the Institute of International Finance in Washington.

Mr Menon holds a Master's in Public Administration from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Social Science (Honours) in Economics from NUS.

Ravshan Kadirov, started his career at Citibank, with an extensive track record of more than 18 years in various areas of commercial and corporate banking, such as financial risk management, corporate finance, international capital markets and treasury.

Throughout his career as the Chief Financial Officer he successfully led the strategy and innovation driven capacity building programs, as well as planning and execution of transformation of large private and state owned banks in areas of financial management, corporate governance, compliance, treasury and risk management.

Richard Gabbert is Chief of Staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Crypto Task Force. From January 2018 to January 2025, he was counsel to Commissioner Hester Peirce. Prior to joining the Commissioner’s office, he was a Senior Special Counsel in the Office of Derivatives Policy in the Division of Trading and Markets at the SEC, where he focused on the implementation of derivatives market reforms required by Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act. He has been involved extensively in several Title VII rulemakings, including rules further defining “security-based swap dealer” and “major security-based swap participant” and rules addressing the cross-border regulation of derivatives markets. Richard participated in the Mansfield Fellowship Program from 2016 to 2017, during which he worked at the Financial Services Agency and the Bank of Japan, among other organizations.

Richard Teng is an experienced executive with over three decades of financial services and regulatory experience. As the Co-CEO of Binance, he works closely with various stakeholders including regulators, policymakers, industry players and users to further the growth of Binance in a compliant and sustainable manner. Prior to this role, Richard held various senior leadership positions within the company since joining in August 2021.

Before joining Binance, Richard was CEO of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority at Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), where he showcased his capabilities as one of the world’s foremost innovative regulators. Richard’s vast experience also includes being the Chief Regulatory Officer of the Singapore Exchange (SGX) and the Director of Corporate Finance in the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Richard received his Masters in Applied Finance from the University of Western Australia.

Ryosuke is an Executive Officer in charge of overseas business for SBI Holdings, Inc.. He brings experience and expertise in private and public equity investments, digital media, financial service business, and entrepreneurship.

From 2015 to 2024, Ryosuke was the CEO and Managing Director of SBI Ven Capital Pte. Ltd., where he set regional investment strategies, launched new venture capital funds, and managed investments in Southeast Asia, South Asia, and EMEA, primarily across tech platforms, fintech, and digital asset sectors.

Ryosuke joined SBI Group in 2009 as the founding Managing Director of Wall Street Journal Japan, and moved to SBI Holdings in 2012. He started his career in advertising agency and moved onto a hedge fund before joining SBI Group.

Ryosuke holds an MBA from INSEAD and a Bachelor of Law from the University of Tokyo.

Ryosuke contributes to regulatory discussions on at international forums such as the G20, G7, FSB, and IMF, serving as Director for International Policy at the JFSA since July 2025. He also leads international AML/CFT Policy on Crypto-assets and stablecoins as Co-Chair of the FATF Virtual Asset Task Force.
Previously, he spent three years as Chief FinTech Officer, leading work on fintech and innovation policy. Earlier in his career, he held various roles in supervisory and policy planning bureau. From 2019 to 2021, he was a Senior Fellow at Georgetown University’s Cyber SMART Research Center, focusing on regulatory frameworks for decentralized finance. He holds a Master’s degree in Finance from London Business School.

Sandeep Malhotra is an avid business technologist with more than 25 years of global experience delivering strategic technology and business solutions at Mastercard. In his current position as head of Core Payments, he oversees the development and management of all consumer products in the Asia Pacific region. These span debit, credit, prepaid, payments gateway and processing to acceptance, account-to-account flows, digital platforms and everything in between.

Sandeep’s long career with Mastercard has included stints in the U.S., Europe and Asia, where he has held a variety of roles with increasing commercial and leadership responsibilities. These have included working across tech, product, software development and solutions engineering, and contributing to countless enhancements to Mastercard's core payments network.

Based in Singapore since 2019, today he is a regular speaker at high profile business and industry forums, and an experienced media commentator on topics ranging from digital commerce, to open banking, digital currencies, the future of money, payments and more.

Sopnendu Mohanty is the Co-founder and Group CEO of the Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN), a global advisory and investment firm. At GFTN, he leads innovative strategies that drive development and transformation in the financial sector through four operating arms: Forums, Advisory, Platform, and Capital.

He served at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) as its first Chief Fintech Officer for nearly a decade, establishing Singapore on the global map as a leading center for innovation in the financial sector and a dynamic hub for fintech development. He continues to advise MAS on technology and innovation.

He currently serves on several boards, including the board of A*STAR, Singapore’s leading public sector agency dedicated to advancing scientific discovery and technological innovation. Before his leadership role in the public sector, he spent nearly two decades at Citigroup. He is credited with developing many public goods, including the notable PayNow, Singapore’s digital public infrastructure for payments. He conceptualized the globally well-known Singapore Fintech Festival and its global network of forums; today, the GFTN forum is the world’s largest convenor of tech, policymakers, and the financial sector community. Mr. Mohanty has co-authored several patented works in digital finance and received numerous industry accolades. He advises governments and various institutions on policies and implementation strategies for innovation, infrastructure, and ecosystem development in the financial sector.

Tatsuya Saito
Progmat, Inc. Founder and CEO
Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation Adviser
Japan Security Token Association Director

Joined Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation in 2010 and established the Center of FinTech Office in 2016.
As a "serial entrepreneur", he has been involved in the development and implementation of several digital platforms including "Progmat", and the launch of the Digital Asset Co-Creation Consortium.
In 2022, he announced the formation of an independent company for the digital asset infrastructure business with investments from several financial institutions, exchanges, and software companies, and he has been CEO since the company's founding in October 2023. He has 8 patents registered.

Tomohiko Kondo joined SBI Holdings, Inc. as a new graduate in 2007, overseeing the SBI Group’s information systems. After working in the Group’s electronic payment business, he moved to SBI Liquidity Market Co., Ltd., where he served as an Executive Officer in charge of systems for the foreign exchange business. In 2019, he was appointed Executive Officer of SBI VC Trade Co., Ltd., becoming fully engaged in the crypto asset and Web3-related businesses.
Since 2023, he has served as President and CEO, leading the expansion of staking services centered on crypto asset trading. In March 2025, he spearheaded the launch of Japan’s first domestically licensed stablecoin trading service. He also concurrently holds executive positions at multiple crypto asset and Web3-related companies within the SBI Group.

Appointed on 22 July 2025, MIYOSHI Toshiyuki represents the Financial Services Agency (FSA) at the Financial Stability Board and International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). He also serves as Chair of the Executive Committee of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS), Chair of the IFRS Foundation Monitoring Board and Vice Chair of the Corporate Governance Committee, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In previous positions at the FSA, he worked on supervision of Japan's major banks and insurers and cross-sectoral supervisory policies and was member of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. He also has working experience at Japan's Ministry of Finance on government debt management and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the international monetary system. He holds a BA in law from the University of Tokyo and an MPhil in Politics from the University of Oxford.

Yuki joined the Japan’s largest internet portal ,Yahoo Japan Corporation, in 2013, where she was involved in business development for the media and advertising sectors. She later experienced in launching a new business venture in collaboration with an overseas unicorn company.

In 2018, Yuki founded N.Avenue Inc., a Web3 information service under the Yahoo Japan umbrella, and became its CEO. She later led the company to become independent, overseeing the official Japanese version of CoinDesk (rebranded to NADA NEWS recently) , the world’s largest Web3 media platform, and managing N.Avenue Club, Japan's largest Web3 business community for enterprises.

Additionally, Yuki serves as a director of the Blockchain Promotion Association (BCCC) and is an organizer of Japan Blockchain Week, contributing significantly to the growth and adoption of blockchain technology in Japan.

Yuta Takanashi is Director for International Digital Strategy at the Financial Services Agency (FSA) of Japan. He leads supervisory and policy work on crypto‑assets and stablecoins and contributes to the FSA’s engagement in the G20’s cross‑border payments initiatives.

From 2021 to December 2025, he served in the Secretariat of the Financial Stability Board (FSB), where he led international work on financial innovation, including crypto‑assets, artificial intelligence, tokenization, and quantum computing. During his tenure, he also supported the FSB Chair and Secretary‑General in coordinating the FSB’s participation in the G20 and G7.

He holds an M.B.A. from Stanford University and a Bachelor of Science from the Institute of Science Tokyo (formerly Tokyo Institute of Technology).