Geopolitics Meets Digital Finance: Top Crypto Takeaways From the World Economic Forum

One of the biggest takeaways from this year's WEF conference in Davos is that banks and businesses are all warming up to the idea of a crypto-centric future. The two star technologies that took much of the spotlight were stablecoins and tokenization. These are are far from new, but they seem to be just now finding their feet thanks to big financial market players. Even central bank governors are starting to sing the praises of tokenization, even if their comments aren’t completely enthusiastic on all fronts.

Regulation (or lack thereof) was also a common point of interest among a number of talks and presentations. The theme was clear: the industry needs clear regulation. Without it, growth will either be stunted, or it will move to friendlier shores.

While there is still clearly a line separating the crypto believers and the skeptics, the number of influential leaders on the believer side is growing quickly.

Crypto Companies Seek More Regulation

Several prominent crypto companies had their leaders at Davos, and a common theme emerged amongst all of them. That being, they were all asking for clear regulations on crypto assets in the countries they operate in or want to expand into.

During the WEF in Davos, Binance Co-CEO Richard Teng commented on the company’s commitment to regulatory compliance globally, “On the regulatory front, we are the most regulated exchange globally. Not only have we secured 21 local licences, we have now become the first global exchange to have secured a global license from the ADGM. This is significant as we are the first global crypto platform to have done so. It means that we adhere to the gold standard on risk management, governance and compliance prescribed by the ADGM across the entire spectrum of our activities from end to end. ADGM is a well respected global regulator with strong connections, both east and west. So with our regulatory footprint and commitment, we will continue to focus on global expansion.” This framework is being leveraged globally as the gold standard in how exchanges will need to reorganize into a traditional TradFi stack of exchange, clearing house and broker to attract institutional and sovereign funds.

The US seems to be leading the way currently, with the US President's promise to make the United States the crypto capital of the world during his WEF speech. The EU may be coming in a close second place with its MiCA or Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation framework that was put into effect at the end of 2024. MiCA covers issues like consumer protections, licensing of crypto companies. While MiCA definitely offers clarity, it may come with costly compliance burdens that could dissuade some companies from calling the EU home.

While some governments like the EU and USA are taking proactive approaches to crypto regulation, many others are still turning a blind eye to it. Unfortunately, this gray area approach is leaving some companies with no choice but to move elsewhere.

Tokenization Brings Progress, but Stablecoins Risk Sovereignty?

In a group panel on the prospects of tokenization, Bank of France governor François Villeroy de Galhau had some surprisingly positive and hope filled things to say about tokenization of assets and processes in the future. Specifically, de Galhau predicted that tokenization may “bring progress in global finance delivery” of numerous services like payments while also possibly “diminishing the cost of financial transactions”.

When speaking of stablecoins, however, de Galhau took a more cautious tone. He warned that widespread stablecoin use could lead to a loss of financial sovereignty, with less wealthy nations being at the highest risk. He emphasized that this risk would be cause for concern especially if the only stablecoins in wide use were private tokens issued only by private American companies.

Even with this suggestion of stablecoin risks, de Galhau seemed far more optimistic on crypto than he appeared to be concerned about it. He also touched on the European Central Bank’s plans to launch a digital euro CBDC that he suggested should be focused on bank-to-bank or wholesale use cases. Retail use of the digital euro is currently planned to happen eventually by the ECB and thus could compete with other Euro-denominated stablecoins.

In the same WEF panel with de Galhau was Bill Winters, Group Chief Executive at Standard Chartered who shared some serious optimism about the future of tokenization. On the subject, he said: “I have no doubt… that eventually all things will settle in digital, digitized form.” He expressed concern on lack of regulatory clarity, but reiterated his apparent optimism by saying that while banks will be influenced by regulation, it “doesn’t change the direction of travel.” In other words, the big banks are moving towards tokenization whether the regulators are keeping up with them or not.

Source: https://www.techaheadcorp.com/blog/how-tokenized-securities-transforming-finance/

Also on the panel was Euroclear CEO Valérie Urbain who shared insight into an active small-scale test to tokenize 300 billion euro in commercial paper. The goal of the test being to determine how best Europe can expand the initiative to be even broader.

Davos Summary

What emerged from Davos is not a sense of inevitability, but one of alignment. The conversation around crypto has shifted away from whether these technologies belong in the global financial system, and toward how they will be integrated, governed, and scaled responsibly. Stablecoins and tokenization are no longer framed as speculative innovations, but as practical tools capable of improving settlement efficiency, liquidity, and access across borders.

At the same time, the emphasis on regulatory clarity underscores a broader geopolitical reality: capital, talent, and innovation will gravitate toward jurisdictions that provide clear rules and credible oversight. The stakes are no longer abstract. Decisions made by policymakers today will directly influence where financial infrastructure is built tomorrow.

Davos made one thing clear. Crypto’s future will not be decided by ideology alone, but by execution, governance, and trust. As more institutions, regulators, and global leaders engage seriously with digital assets, the divide between skeptics and believers is narrowing and the next phase of digital finance is beginning to take shape in real time.