ToDeFi conference explores digital finance, crypto policy
Banca d'Italia will host the ToDeFi - Torino Decentralized Finance Conference 2026, Rome Edition, on June 24-25, 2026. The two-day event will cover tokenized assets, investor behavior, DeFi protocols, and crypto's impact on monetary policy.
Tokenization and market infrastructures
The ToDeFi conference, hosted by Banca d'Italia, begins with welcoming remarks from Mr. Stefano Siviero, Director General for Payments and Market Infrastructures.
The first session, 'Tokenizing Traditional Assets: Markets and Infrastructures,' explores finance beyond traditional intermediaries, digital bonds as alternative market infrastructure, and the digitalization of money market funds.
Key speakers include Valerie Laturnus (Durham University), Shufan Ma (KTH Royal Institute of Technology), and Lorenzo Schönleber (Collegio Carlo Alberto; University of Turin), with discussions from Natalia Rostova (EDHEC) and Benoît Nguyen (ECB).
A keynote speech by Fahad Saleh is also featured.
The second session delves into 'Investor Behaviour, Regulation, and Compliance in Digital Finance,' covering demand for safety in the crypto ecosystem and the regulatory implications of financial asset tokenization, with presentations from Tammaro Terracciano (IESE Business School) and Alessandra Sanelli (Banca d'Italia).
DeFi protocols and macro implications
The second day of the ToDeFi conference, hosted at Banca d'Italia's Conference Centre, delves into the technical and macro-financial aspects of decentralized finance.
Session 3, 'DeFi Protocols: Design, Opacity, and Credit,' features research on decentralized exchanges for stablecoins by Natalia Rostova (EDHEC), a case study on Hyperliquid by Marco Dell'Erba (University of Zurich), and the market quality of decentralized payment systems by Ryan Riordan (LMU Munich).
The final session, 'Crypto and Monetary Policy: Macro Transmission and Systemic Shocks,' explores monetary policy transmission to stablecoin rates by Benoît Nguyen (ECB) and the broader impact of crypto shocks, presented by Marco Pinchetti (Banque de France).
The event concludes with remarks by Marcello Pericoli (Banca d'Italia).
Bridging traditional and decentralized
The ToDeFi conference underscores the growing imperative for central banks and academia to engage with decentralized finance.
It highlights the critical need for robust regulatory frameworks and a deeper understanding of crypto's systemic implications for financial stability.
For policymakers and researchers, this event serves as a crucial platform to foster dialogue between traditional finance and the emerging digital asset space.