Institutional Leaders at Davos Signal Blockchain’s Growing Role in Global Financial Systems
Davos, Switzerland, January 29th, 2026, Chainwire
The 4th Edition of the Institutional Investor Gathering, an exclusive, invitation-only forum hosted by Sagar Barvaliya, Blockchain Founders Capital (BFC), has gathered global leaders from politics, finance, and the digital asset ecosystem to discuss a question that increasingly defines the future of markets: how blockchain, tokenization, and regulation are converging to reshape the global financial system.
Sagar Barvaliya, Host and General Partner at Blockchain Founders Capital, said: “One of the clearest signals from Davos is that the speculation-driven phase of crypto is maturing. What comes next looks far more like traditional finance—disciplined capital, conservative risk frameworks, and real use cases. As tokenization advances, digital assets won’t feel experimental anymore; they’ll simply become part of how global markets function.”
Antony Scaramucci argued that, beneath the noise of U.S. politics, meaningful progress is being made. “Despite some reality TV drama that is always part of a Trump presidency, this administration has been way better than the Biden administration,” he said, pointing specifically to the importance of passing the Clarity Act. According to Scaramucci, enabling yield-bearing stablecoins is critical for U.S. competitiveness, even as banks lobby against them to protect margins. “Like Uber—something nobody wanted initially—yield-bearing stablecoins are simply better instruments. If the U.S. doesn’t move, China will.”
Understanding such structural shifts requires the ability to translate complexity—something Matt Hougan traced back to philosophy. “Philosophy is basically the exercise of reading incomprehensible text and translating it into plain English,” he said. “That’s exactly what we do in crypto.” Hougan argued that philosophical training—drilling down to first principles—helps investors identify long-term opportunities in an industry often obscured by jargon and speculation.
From theory, the discussion turned to real-world implementation. David Burt, Premier of Bermuda, reflected on how early regulatory conviction can create lasting impact. He recalled Davos 2019, when Bermuda first laid out its roadmap for a digital asset regulatory framework. “Today,” Burt noted, “Bermuda is home to some of the largest and most influential digital asset finance companies in the world,” including Coinbase, Circle, and Kraken—evidence that regulatory clarity attracts serious builders.
Ownership and incentives emerged as a recurring theme throughout the day. Yat Siu, Chairman of Animoca Brands, described tokenization as inevitable. “The world will be tokenized—everything will be tokenized,” he said, positioning Bitcoin as “digital gold” and altcoins as the frontier economy of the internet. Drawing parallels to the early days of the web, Siu warned that picking winners will remain difficult—but essential. He also shared Animoca’s own volatile journey, from unicorn valuation to a €40 million low after delisting in Australia, and back to multi-billion-dollar valuations more recently. “When you don’t own your digital assets,” he cautioned, “you’re at the mercy of platforms that get to decide whether you exist or not.”
Siu also highlighted a cultural gap holding Europe back. “When I grew up in Austria, I never learned anything about money,” he said. “That’s one of Europe’s biggest problems. In places like Hong Kong, people talk openly about money from an early age—and they’re not afraid of it.”
These themes came together in the panel discussion “The Institutional Stack: Tokenisation, Liquidity & On-Chain Settlement,” moderated by Clara Tao of the Filecoin Foundation. Panelists explored how institutions are navigating a rapidly evolving technological landscape.
Christoph Hock described the moment as a rare convergence of disruptive forces. “We are in a massive disruptive environment,” he said, citing blockchain, AI, and quantum technology. Hock noted that digital asset companies are now achieving valuations that rival—or exceed—those of traditional financial institutions, signaling that the transformation is already underway.
Still, adoption remains uneven. Philipp Zentner argued that much of the industry is still stuck in experimentation. “We’re living in a proof-of-concept phase,” he said. “Banks aren’t truly interested in open technology—they prefer to lock clients into proprietary platforms.”
Yet progress is visible. Jan Sell highlighted how far the conversation has moved. “The fact that banks are even considering launching stablecoins is already a big step,” he said, pointing to Qivalis, a bank consortium issuing a stablecoin. “These banks are serious.”
Regulation, however, remains the pacing factor. John Medel warned of uncertainty in the U.S. political process. “There’s concern that the U.S. Senate won’t get Clarity through—and that a future administration could reverse course,” he said. At the same time, he acknowledged an emerging consensus: “Technology will always move faster than regulation.”
Notably, Hock added that regulators are increasingly accepting public blockchains—an important signal for institutional adoption.
Taken together, the conversations in Davos painted a clear picture: digital assets are no longer a fringe experiment. They are a philosophical challenge, a regulatory test, and an institutional reality unfolding in real time. The only open question is which jurisdictions—and which institutions—will move fast enough to shape what comes next.
About Blockchain Founders Capital
Blockchain Founders Capital is a Germany-based early-stage venture capital fund focused on backing mission-driven founders building at the intersection of Web2, Web3, and digital finance. The fund has made 22 investments to date and operates on an equal partnership model, aligning long-term interests between founders and investors. BFC invests primarily across the United States and Europe.
For more information, users can visit www.bfc.vc