Trust becomes next big test for digital assets

The digital asset market is entering a more demanding phase, one in which technology alone is no longer enough. After years in which crypto was often discussed through the lens of speculation, volatility and disruption, the conversation is now moving towards something more serious, regulation, institutional confidence, real use cases and the ability of companies to prove that they can be trusted. That was the thread running through the Digital Assets and the Future of Finance Summit 2026, presented by ECOMMBX this week at City of Dreams Mediterranean in Limassol, where regulators, bankers, fintech executives, legal experts and technology providers discussed how digital assets are moving from the edges of finance into a more regulated and practical environment. The summit’s wider agenda reflected the speed at which the sector is changing, covering everything from MiCA, DORA, the Digital Euro and CBDCs to tokenised real-world assets, stablecoins, institutional portfolios, digital payments and the use of blockchain infrastructure in mainstream finance. The tone was set by Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) chairman George Theocharides, who said financial markets are going through “a period of structural transformation”, with digitalisation and innovation changing the way they operate. Digital assets, he noted, are becoming increasingly integrated into the financial system, while institutional participation is accelerating through regulated products such as ETFs and ETPs. For Theocharides, the introduction of MiCA marks a decisive step in that process. He described it as “the first comprehensive European regulatory framework for crypto-assets”, saying it enhances legal certainty, investor protection and supervisory convergence across the European Union. However, his message was not that regulation has arrived and the market can now move on. It was that regulation and innovation have to move together. Tokenisation, he said, creates significant prospects for capital markets, offering greater efficiency, transparency and the possibility of fractional ownership, although challenges remain in infrastructure, custody and legal certainty. That balance, between opportunity and discipline, shaped much of the discussion. Theocharides said “innovation and regulation must evolve in parallel”, adding that the aim of supervisors is to protect investor confidence, ensure market integrity and create the conditions for sustainable financial innovation. Only in this way, he said, can the industry build “a more resilient and future-oriented financial system”. The same point was made by Harrys Michaelides, General Manager of ECOMMBX Investment, who opened the summit by saying the debate has moved well beyond crypto as a specialised investment category. What is now being discussed, he said, is “the foundations of what many are now calling the next generation of financial services”, where digital infrastructure, tokenisation and new forms of capital are changing the way markets operate. Michaelides also placed Cyprus within that wider shift, saying the island has evolved into one of the more serious European jurisdictions for the sector, with a mature ecosystem of investment firms, e-money institutions, payment service providers and digital asset businesses. Its position between Europe, the Middle East and Africa, he added, gives Cyprus a natural role as a bridge at a time when financial infrastructure is being redesigned. However, the word that kept returning throughout the summit was not technology. It was trust. In the panel on whether digital assets can become a trusted part of the regulated financial system, moderated by Gregory Dellas, Group Chief Compliance and Risk Officer of ECOMMBX and Honorary Chair of the ACAMS Cyprus Chapter, speakers said the market has moved past the old question of whether digital assets are here to stay. The harder question now is whether they can become a reliable part of regulated finance through effective supervision, strong corporate governance, proper risk management and transparency. George Apostolides, Deputy CCO and AMLCO of Eurobank Ltd, said banks have changed their approach in recent years, particularly after MiCA and the relevant guidance from the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC). Cooperation with digital asset service providers, he explained, now depends on strong governance and control systems, not only for the banks themselves but also for foreign correspondent banks that need confidence before supporting such activity. For Alexis Michael, Executive Director for Cyprus, Malta and Greece of Copla, MiCA has changed the level of the discussion because the market now has a common point of reference. But a licence, he stressed, is not the end of the process. It is only the first step, with the real challenge lying in the continuous demonstration that an organisation applies in practice the procedures, controls and policies required by the regulatory framework. That point was echoed by Kyriaki Dimitriou, Head of Fincrime Compliance at Revolut Digital Assets Europe Ltd, who said compliance and legality are necessary, but not enough on their own to create trust. One of the market’s biggest weaknesses, she said, remains the lack of adequate digital literacy among supervisory authorities, financial institutions and compliance professionals. Without a substantial understanding of risk, she argued, new technologies cannot be properly assessed or supervised. Faisal Islam, president of Binderr Core, approached the same issue from the technology side, saying the most efficient processes are not necessarily the most time-consuming. Organisations that know their products, their customers and the market requirements, he said, can combine speed with strong controls by using modern RegTech solutions. Properly designed compliance, in that sense, becomes a competitive advantage rather than a brake on growth. The legal foundations of the next phase were explored by Demetra Kalogirou, former president of CySEC and Financial Advisor at DKA Financial Consultants Ltd, during a discussion on Cyprus as an innovation gateway for financial services. Kalogirou said the biggest change Cyprus experienced after the 2013 financial crisis was the restoration of trust, adding that “long-term success can only be built on trust, good governance and effective supervision”. She pointed to CySEC’s investment in supervisory tools, technology and specialised units as part of that effort, allowing the regulator to identify risks earlier and exercise more targeted supervision. She also noted that Cyprus moved early in digital assets, with the creation of CySEC’s Innovation Hub in 2018 and the registry of crypto-asset service providers in 2021. These steps, she said, helped prepare the market for the implementation of MiCA, while investment in training, continuous certification and the creation of the new Institute of Boards of Directors and Corporate Governance were also important in strengthening the quality of company administrations. On tokenised securities, however, Kalogirou said the next major hurdle is legal certainty. Existing European rules already cover much of the area through the framework for transferable securities, investment funds and the DLT pilot regime. But, as she put it, “the main gap today is not technology or supervision, but legal certainty”. Investors, she said, must have assurance that ownership recorded through distributed ledger technology is fully recognised and protected under national law. Resolving that issue, she argued, will be essential if Cyprus is to play a leading role in the next phase of tokenised securities. Artificial intelligence added another layer to the debate. Chief Scientist Demetris Skourides said AI should not be treated simply as a new technology, but as “a new form of capabilities, productivity, competitiveness and risk”. When implemented with proper governance, he said, AI “can be a national competitive advantage”. Cyprus’ National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence, he explained, has been designed with a human-centric approach, aiming to improve the experience of citizens and customers while also increasing productivity. Skourides said this matters particularly for Cyprus because the economy is built largely on services, with the strategy giving priority to five key sectors, led by financial and legal services. In finance, he noted, intelligence has always been central, but trust is even more important. “Without trust, money does not move, investments do not take place and institutions do not stand the test of time,” he said. Cyprus, he added, now stands at the intersection of financial activity, artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure, regulation, research and innovation. Countries that use this moment well, he said, will not simply manage the challenges but turn them into opportunities to strengthen future competitiveness. AI, he noted, is already being used in banks, customer service centres, wealthtech and fintech solutions, showing that the transition to the next era of financial services is already under way. The state of the wider market was discussed in a separate panel moderated by Vicky Christofidou, AMLCO and Alternate Chief Compliance and Risk Officer of ECOMMBX, who said the financial ecosystem is facing a historic convergence, with both the concept of money and the infrastructure supporting it being redefined. Digital forms of money, she noted, now allow value to move in real time, while institutional adoption and the maturation of the European regulatory framework are helping digital assets gradually enter everyday economic activity. Francesco Ranieri Fabracci, Head of Tokenization Expansion at Tether, said the market is now moving into the institutional adoption phase of tokenisation, with more traditional financial organisations looking to bring products such as stocks, bonds and money market funds onto blockchain infrastructure. Although the market is not yet fully mainstream, he said it is at a pivotal stage. He also pointed to the United Arab Emirates as one of the markets moving quickly, particularly in real estate tokenisation. At the same time, he warned that tokenised assets need real investment returns and sufficient liquidity if they are to have lasting value. Ouriel Ohayon, CEO and Co-Founder of Zengo and eToro, said tokenisation is no longer limited to digital currencies. He pointed to prediction markets and access to private investments as examples of how blockchain technology can open new types of investment products to a wider audience. Oleg Morgunov, Head of Growth and Partnerships Europe at TradingView, focused on investor behaviour, saying access to markets is becoming more direct and transparent through digital platforms. As participation widens, he said, the quality of information and analytical tools becomes increasingly important for investment decisions. Grigoris Sarlidis, Partner at A.G. Erotocritou LLC, said the market has moved beyond experimentation. Clients, he noted, are no longer asking whether they should enter the digital asset space, but how they can do so in a mature and regulated environment. Regulation, he added, has helped move the sector away from speculation and towards more stable foundations. For Louis Hawila, VP Capital Markets Europe at Crypto.com, wider institutional adoption still depends on trust, clear operating rules and a stable legal framework. He also said artificial intelligence is becoming part of daily operations, including compliance, and predicted that in the coming years every employee could have a personal AI agent, improving productivity and reducing operating costs. Mikaela Kantor, Chief Legal Officer at Teroxx Global Group, said regulation can act as a catalyst for market development by strengthening investor protection, creating common standards and increasing public trust. However, she warned that balance is essential, as excessive regulation can restrict innovation instead of supporting it. The link between digital assets and the real economy was explored in another panel on banks, electronic money institutions, payment institutions and digital assets, moderated by Vahid Basset, Strategic Operations Junior Director at ECOMMBX. There, speakers said blockchain technologies are already being used in cross-border payments, trade transactions and everyday financial services, creating space for cooperation between banks, payment institutions and digital asset businesses. Sergei Ivanov, CEO and Founder of alma, said blockchain is already proving its value in cross-border payments, where stablecoin transactions can be completed almost instantly and at very low cost, unlike traditional bank transfers that remain slower and more expensive. Panayiotis Theodosiou, Chief Operations Officer of Moneygate, said the customer is now driving the transition. Businesses and consumers want faster, cheaper and fully digital services, forcing the financial sector to adapt, while regulation follows by strengthening transparency and trust. Andreas Tserkezos, AMLCO and MLRO of SEPAGA E.M.I Ltd, said the relationship between banks, payment institutions and digital asset businesses has changed significantly. The discussion, he said, now focuses on risk management, transaction monitoring and regulatory obligations. MiCA has helped create more trust by allowing firms to be assessed according to their real risk profile, rather than being judged simply because they operate in the crypto space. Francisco Cordoba Otalora, Marie Curie Researcher in Asset Tokenization at the University of Nicosia, said stablecoin adoption in markets such as Latin America and Africa often came before regulation because users needed faster and cheaper ways to move money. In those cases, innovation came first, while regulation followed to help the market move to the next stage. Across the summit, the conclusion was clear. MiCA has created the foundations for a more mature digital asset market, but the next phase will depend on what companies do with those foundations. Rules may open the door, but they do not build trust on their own. That will depend on consistency, stronger governance, better supervision, clearer legal protections and the ability of firms to show, every day, that digital assets can operate safely inside the financial system.