In this panel from Merge Buenos Aires hosted by BCR's Aaron Stanley, industry leaders from Banco Santander, GK8 by Galaxy, Manteca, and BlockDaemon discuss the accelerating institutional adoption of digital assets and blockchain technology.

- Coty de Monteverde, Global Blockchain CTO at Banco Santander

- Kaushal Sheth, Head of US Sales at BlockDaemon

- Federico Goldberg, CEO at Manteca

- May Michelson, Director of Global Sales at GK8 by Galaxy

Key Takeaways:

- The crypto market is experiencing a paradigm shift from retail to institutional leadership, driven by regulatory clarity in the US and Europe.

- Banks are primarily focused on bitcoin, stablecoins, and tokenization as their entry points into digital assetsF

- Financial institutions require significantly higher security standards for crypto custody, with an emphasis on risk management and regulatory compliance

Chapter Timestamps

0:00 - Introduction and Panel Overview

2:35 - The Shift from Retail to Institutional Crypto

7:12 - Regulatory Changes Driving Bank Adoption

12:45 - European Market: MiCA Implementation Effects

17:30 - Latin American Adoption: Customer-Driven Approach

22:18 - Security Standards for Financial Institutions

28:54 - Custody Solutions: Hot vs. Cold Wallets

34:10 - Santander's Blockchain Journey

38:25 - Key Focus Areas: Bitcoin, Stablecoins, Tokenization

43:15 - Implementation Best Practices for Banks

48:40 - Future Outlook and Closing Remarks

-------------------------------------------------------------------Binance is the largest platform for trading of digital assets. With over 250 million users around the world, the exchange offers over 350 trading pairs, best-in-class products and services for investors, and advanced tools for institutions players.

Binance currently holds over US$ 160 billion in user assets under custody and reached a cumulative historical trading volume of $100 trillion in 2024, showcasing the trust placed in it by users worldwide.

With user-focus at the core of its DNA, Binance continuously invests to increase usability, bring new features and deepen security.Liquidity matters. Security is non-negotiable.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Join Binance Now⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

----------------------------------------------------------------

🚀 Sign up for the 🇧🇷⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Brazil Crypto Report⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ newsletter for analysis, interviews and market intelligences

Lucas Danicek is the founder of Nexa Finance and has over 15 years of experience managing portfolios for some of Brazil’s wealthiest individuals and families. Throughout that journey, he identified a critical pain point in traditional investment models: the lack of personalization and accessibility for alternative investments.

Nexa Finance's solution uses blockchain and AI to create personalized investment products that can be directly tailored to the specific preferences and risk profile of an individual investor.

You can connect with Lucas on Linkedin

-----------------------------------------------------------------Binance is the largest platform for trading of digital assets. With over 250 million users around the world, the exchange offers over 350 trading pairs, best-in-class products and services for investors, and advanced tools for institutions players.Binance currently holds over US$ 160 billion in user assets under custody and reached a cumulative historical trading volume of $100 trillion in 2024, showcasing the trust placed in it by users worldwide.

With user-focus at the core of its DNA, Binance continuously invests to increase usability, bring new features and deepen security.

Liquidity matters. Security is non-negotiable.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Join Binance Now

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠----------------------------------------------------------------🚀 Sign up for the 🇧🇷⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Brazil Crypto Report⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ newsletter for analysis, interviews and market intelligences

In this special episode from Merge Buenos Aires, Bruno Grossi, Head of Emerging Technologies and Digital Assets at Banco Inter, discusses how Brazil's first digital bank is leveraging blockchain technology and participating in the groundbreaking Drex CBDC project.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Binance is the largest platform for trading of digital assets. With over 250 million users around the world, the exchange offers over 350 trading pairs, best-in-class products and services for investors, and advanced tools for institutions players.

Binance currently holds over US$ 160 billion in user assets under custody and reached a cumulative historical trading volume of $100 trillion in 2024, showcasing the trust placed in it by users worldwide.

With user-focus at the core of its DNA, Binance continuously invests to increase usability, bring new features and deepen security.

Liquidity matters. Security is non-negotiable.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Join Binance Now⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

----------------------------------------------------------------

🚀 Sign up for the 🇧🇷⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Brazil Crypto Report⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ newsletter for analysis, interviews and market intelligences

Arnold Lee is the co-founder and CEO of Sphere Labs, which is one of the most exciting stablecoin infrastructure plays at the moment. We talk about how Sphere has found product market fit for cross-border stablecoin payments in emerging markets, with billions of dollars being transacted annually on its rails.

You can connect with Arnold on Linkedin

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Binance is the largest platform for trading of digital assets. With over 250 million users around the world, the exchange offers over 350 trading pairs, best-in-class products and services for investors, and advanced tools for institutions players.

Binance currently holds over US$ 160 billion in user assets under custody and reached a cumulative historical trading volume of $100 trillion in 2024, showcasing the trust placed in it by users worldwide.

With user-focus at the core of its DNA, Binance continuously invests to increase usability, bring new features and deepen security.

Liquidity matters. Security is non-negotiable.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Join Binance Now⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

----------------------------------------------------------------

🚀 Sign up for the 🇧🇷⁠⁠⁠⁠Brazil Crypto Report⁠⁠⁠⁠ newsletter for analysis, interviews and market intelligences

Today's episode is a crossover with João Pedro Malar, host of Exame's Future of Money podcast - which is one of the leading crypto podcasts in Brazil

In this Portuguese language discussion, João and I discuss my perspectives on the Brazil and Latam crypto market having covered it for three years via my Brazil Crypto Report newsletter and podcast.

You can find the Future of Money version of this episode here

You can connect with Joao on Linkedin

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Binance is the largest platform for trading of digital assets. With over 250 million users around the world, the exchange offers over 350 trading pairs, best-in-class products and services for investors, and advanced tools for institutions players.

Binance currently holds over US$ 160 billion in user assets under custody and reached a cumulative historical trading volume of $100 trillion in 2024, showcasing the trust placed in it by users worldwide.

With user-focus at the core of its DNA, Binance continuously invests to increase usability, bring new features and deepen security.

Liquidity matters. Security is non-negotiable.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Join Binance Now⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

----------------------------------------------------------------

🚀 Sign up for the 🇧🇷⁠⁠⁠Brazil Crypto Report⁠⁠⁠ newsletter for analysis, interviews and market intelligences

Andre Portilho is Head of Digital Assets at BTG Pactual, Latin America's largest investment bank. He joins host Aaron Stanley to dissect crypto's wild 2025 ride, from bitcoin's both Trump-slowdown to Ethereum's identity crisis to Solana's memecoin stress test.

While crypto markets recalibrate after Trump-era euphoria, Portilho reveals why Brazil is a global leader when it comes to integrating crypto and the Tradfi banking sector.

You can connect with Andre on Linkedin

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Binance is the largest platform for trading of digital assets. With over 250 million users around the world, the exchange offers over 350 trading pairs, best-in-class products and services for investors, and advanced tools for institutions players.

Binance currently holds over US$ 160 billion in user assets under custody and reached a cumulative historical trading volume of $100 trillion in 2024, showcasing the trust placed in it by users worldwide.

With user-focus at the core of its DNA, Binance continuously invests to increase usability, bring new features and deepen security.

Liquidity matters. Security is non-negotiable.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Join Binance Now⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

----------------------------------------------------------------

🚀 Sign up for the 🇧🇷⁠⁠Brazil Crypto Report⁠⁠ newsletter for analysis, interviews and market intelligence

Paula Pascual is CEO and founder of Merge Madrid and Merge Buenos Aires and a former banker at Santander. She joins host Aaron Stanley to share her vision for uniting Europe and Latin America through Web3 events and media.

The Merge Buenos Aires conference will take place March 25-26 in the Argentine capital at a time when crypto adoption is escalating in the region. By bringing regulators, traditional finance, and local crypto communities together, Merge BA will facilitate these important cross-continental dialogues on the industry's most pressing questions.

Brazil Crypto Report is excited to support Merge as a media partner! You can learn more on their site You can connect with Paula on Linkedin

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Binance is the largest platform for trading of digital assets. With over 250 million users around the world, the exchange offers over 350 trading pairs, best-in-class products and services for investors, and advanced tools for institutions players.

Binance currently holds over US$ 160 billion in user assets under custody and reached a cumulative historical trading volume of $100 trillion in 2024, showcasing the trust placed in it by users worldwide.

With user-focus at the core of its DNA, Binance continuously invests to increase usability, bring new features and deepen security.

Liquidity matters. Security is non-negotiable.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Join Binance Now⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

----------------------------------------------------------------

🚀 Sign up for the 🇧🇷⁠Brazil Crypto Report⁠ newsletter for analysis, interviews and market intelligence

Phase 1 of Brazil's ambitious Drex CBDC pilot is in the books. The project has proven successful thus far, but privacy and scalability challenges remain - prompting the Central Bank to conclude that a "major adaptation" is required for Drex to become a core piece of Brazil's financial infrastructure.

In this episode, Marcos Viriato of Parfin, Leandro Pereira of Nuclea, Ricardo Paixão of CRIA (and the Brazilian Congress), join host Aaron Stanley to explore the findings of an extensive new report published by the bank to conclude Phase 1.

They provide an insider perspective on the road ahead for Drex as Brazil continues its push towards a tokenized financial system.

00:03 - Introduction and market expectations

03:06 - DREX project explanation and objectives

05:36 - Analysis of the Central Bank's technical report

09:26 - The privacy challenge explained

13:56 - The Drex Trilemma

17:25 - Scalability considerations

22:24 - Discussion of Hyperledger Besu infrastructure

27:47 - Sponsor break

29:20 - Second phase pilot and resource constraints

36:14 - Current use cases and integration challenges

48:00 - Market outlook and tokenization beyond DREX

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Binance is the largest platform for trading of digital assets. With over 250 million users around the world, the exchange offers over 350 trading pairs, best-in-class products and services for investors, and advanced tools for institutions players.

Binance currently holds over US$ 160 billion in user assets under custody and reached a cumulative historical trading volume of $100 trillion in 2024, showcasing the trust placed in it by users worldwide.

With user-focus at the core of its DNA, Binance continuously invests to increase usability, bring new features and deepen security.

Liquidity matters. Security is non-negotiable.⁠⁠⁠⁠ Join Binance Now⁠⁠⁠⁠

----------------------------------------------------------------

🚀 Sign up for the 🇧🇷Brazil Crypto Report newsletter for analysis, interviews and market intelligence