How to (and not to) Regulate Crypto
The Desmarais Global Finance Research Centre (DGFRC) of the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University is presenting a conference series that brings together thought leaders and decision makers from academia, public policy and the business world with the goal to promote thought exchange, dialogue, and the exploration of solutions to global challenges in finance and economics.
The topic for the 2023 Desmarais Global Finance Lecture is “How to (and not to) Regulate Crypto”. The conference, organized in partnership with the Global Interdependence Center, will feature an academic keynote address by Christine Parlour, Professor and Sylvan C. Coleman Chair of Finance and Accounting at the University of California at Berkeley.
The keynote speaker will be joined by Ananya Kumar, Associate Director at The Atlantic Council, Nobuyasu Sugimoto, Deputy Division Chief, Financial Supervision and Regulation Division, IMF, Miguel Diaz, Head of the BIS Innovation Hub Toronto, Franca Ciambella, Senior Consultant at the Global Law Alliance, Pascale Toupin, Director, Oversight of Intermediaries at the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), Elizabeth Côté, Director, Digital Innovation Impact Hub at Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Canada (OSFI), Laurent Féral-Pierssens, Managing Partner at BlockZero Advisors, Shaun Martinak, Research/Portfolio Manager, Coinbase Asset Management and David Adler, Partner, McCarter & English, LLP, who will participate in different presentation and panel sessions. Professors Kathy Yuan (London School of Economics) and Katya Malinova (McMaster) will present their recent academic work on the topic. The full agenda, along with the complete list of speakers, is below.
Lecture Details
Date: Friday, September 29, 2023 (all day)
Location: The Donald E. Armstrong Building, Desautels Faculty of Management, Room 370, McGill University, 3420 Rue McTavish, Montréal, QC H3A 0E2, Canada
Agenda and Speakers
September 29, 2023
Tentative Program
8:30: Registration and Coffee
9:00: Welcoming Remarks
- Yolande E. Chan, Dean of the Desautels Faculty of Management
- Kathleen Stephansen, GIC Chair Emeritus
9:15: Opening Presentations
- “The State of Crypto Regulations Around The World” Ananya Kumar, Associate Director, The Atlantic Council
- “Systemic Risk and Financial Stability in the Age of Crypto”
Nobuyasu Sugimoto, Deputy Division Chief, Financial Supervision and Regulation Division, IMF
10:00: Coffee Break
10:15: Paper Session 1: “On the Fragility of DeFi Lending”
- Presenter: Kathy Yuan, Professor of Finance, London School of Economics
- Discussant: Thomas Rivera, Assistant Professor of Finance, McGill University
- Moderator: Katrin Tinn, Assistant Professor of Finance, McGill University
11:00: Paper Session 2: “Learning from DeFi: Would Automated Market Makers Improve Equity Trading?”
- Presenter: Katya Malinova, Associate Professor and Mackenzie Investments Chair in Evidence-Based Investment Management, McMaster University
- Discussant: Alfred Lehar, Associate Professor of Finance, University of Calgary
- Moderator: Katrin Tinn, Assistant Professor of Finance, McGill University
11:45: Lunch at the McGill Faculty Club
13:00: Keynote Address: “The Future of Tokenization”
- Christine Parlour, Professor and Sylvan C. Coleman Chair of Finance and Accounting, University of California at Berkeley
13:45: Coffee Break
14:00: Panel Session: Approaches in Canada & Beyond
- Laurent Féral-Pierssens, Managing Partner, BlockZero Advisors
- Pascale Toupin, Director, Oversight of Intermediaries, Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF)
- Elizabeth Côté, Director, Digital Innovation Impact Hub at Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Canada (OSFI)
- David Adler, Partner, McCarter & English, LLP
- Moderator: Kathleen Stephansen, GIC Chair Emeritus
14:45: Coffee Break
15.00: Panel Session: Global Perspectives on Regulating Crypto
- Nobuyasu Sugimoto, Deputy Division Chief, Financial Supervision and Regulation Division, IMF
- Franca Ciambella, Senior Consultant, Global Law Alliance
- Miguel Diaz, Director, BIS Innovation Hub Toronto
- Shaun Martinak, Research/Portfolio Manager, Coinbase Asset Management
- Moderator: Ananya Kumar, Associate Director, The Atlantic Council
15:45: Closing Remarks
- David Schumacher, Associate Professor of Finance and Director of the DGFRC, McGill University
- Peter Guay, PWL Capital
Conference Venue: The Donald E. Armstrong Building, Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill University, 3420 Rue McTavish, Montréal, QC H3A 0E2, Canada
Organizers
We are proud to announce that our event has been awarded a Platinum Sustainable Event certification by the McGill Sustainable Events program run by the McGill Office of Sustainability.
We thank our sponsors
Past conferences
10th HEC - McGill Winter Finance Workshop 2023
Sponsored by the Desmarais Global Finance Research Centre
In collaboration with the University of Luxembourg
Date: March 26 - 28, 2023
Location: Ischgl, Austria
Academic papers in all areas of finance, including interdisciplinary work in law and finance, sustainability, and new financial technologies were presented. The number of participants was limited to ensure an informal atmosphere conducive to open and lively discussions.
Recent editions of the workshop included participants from Boston College, Boston University, Carnegie Mellon, Chicago Booth, Columbia Business School, Houston, LBS, Maryland, MIT, Northwestern, Minnesota, Toronto, UBC, UC Davis, UCLA, UCSD, USC, Washington University, Wharton, and Yale.
Organizers:
- Patrick Augustin (McGill University)
- Piotr Orłowski, HEC Montréal
- Roberto Steri, University of Luxembourg
Desmarais Global Finance Lecture: September 28, 2022
The Desmarais Global Finance Research Centre (DGFRC) of the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University initiated a new conference series that brought together thought leaders and decision makers from academia, public policy and the business world with the goal to promote thought exchange, dialogue, and the exploration of solutions to global challenges in finance and economics.
The theme for the inaugural Desmarais Global Finance Lecture which took place on September 28, 2022 was “Central Bank Digital Currencies and Alternative Payment Systems”. The event, organized in partnership with the Global Interdependence Center, featured an academic keynote speech by Darrell Duffie, Adams Distinguished Professor of Management and Professor of Finance at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University.
He was joined by Miguel Diaz, the Head of BIS Innovation Hub Toronto, Paul Chilcott, Advisor to the Governor, Bank of Canada, Jim Cunha, Executive Vice President of Secure Payments and FinTech at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Adrian Docherty, Head of Bank Advisory, BNP Paribas, Glenn Goucher, Executive Advisor, Tetra Trust Company, along with other experts in central bank digital currency and payment systems. The conference day included presentations and panel discussions.
Organizers:
Agenda & Recordings
Welcoming Remarks
- Yolande E. Chan, Dean of the Desautels Faculty of Management
- William Kennedy, CFA, Board Chair of GIC and CEO and Chief Investment Officer, RiskBridge Advisors LLC
Morning Keynote: “CBDCs from a Functional Perspective”
- Miguel Diaz, Head, BIS Innovation Hub, Toronto
Academic Session: “Will Central Bank Digital Currency Disintermediate Banks?”
- Presentation by Yufeng Wu, Associate Professor of Finance, Shebik Faculty Fellow, Gies College of Business, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Discussant: Alfred Lehar, Associate Professor of Finance, Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary
Academic Session: “Best Before? Expiring Central Bank Digital Currency and Loss Recovery”
- Presentation by Maarten van Oordt, Associate Professor, School of Business and Economics, Finance, VU Amsterdam.
Discussant: Katrin Tinn, Assistant Professor of Finance, Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill University
Keynote “CBDCs and Other Ways to Upgrade Our Payment Systems”
- Darrell Duffie, Adams Distinguished Professor of Management and Professor of Finance at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University
Keynote – Panel Discussion
- Darrell Duffie, Adams Distinguished Professor of Management and Professor of Finance at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University
- Miguel Diaz, Head, BIS Innovation Hub Toronto
- Paul Chilcott, Advisor to the Governor, Bank of Canada
- Moderator: Brian Gelfand, Senior Advisor, Digital Assets and Financial Market Infrastructure Lead, E&Y
Outlook & Perspectives: Panel Discussion
- Jim Cunha, Executive Vice President of Secure Payments and FinTech at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
- Adrian Docherty, Head of Bank Advisory, BNP Paribas
- Glenn Goucher, Executive Advisor, Tetra Trust Company, former President of CDS and CDCC
- Moderator: Kathleen Stephansen, Chair Emeritus, Global Interdependence Center
Closing Remarks
- Lisa McIntire-Shaw, Founding Partner of Cygnus Asset Management, LLC and GIC Vice Chair of Programs
- David Schumacher, Associate Professor of Finance, Desautels Faculty Scholar, Director, Desmarais Global Finance Research Center, Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill University
Sponsors:
9th HEC - McGill Winter Finance Workshop 2022
Sponsored by the Desmarais Global Finance Research Centre
Special Edition with Goethe University - Center for Advanced Studies on the Foundations of Law and Finance
Date: March 27 - 29, 2022
Location: Ischgl (Tyrol, Austria)
Academic papers in all areas of finance, including interdisciplinary work in law and finance, will be presented. The number of participants is limited to ensure an informal atmosphere conducive to open and lively discussions.
Recent editions of the workshop included participants from Boston College, Boston University, Carnegie Mellon, Chicago Booth, Columbia Business School, Houston, LBS, Maryland, MIT, Northwestern, Minnesota, Toronto, UBC, UC Davis, UCLA, UCSD, USC, Washington University, Wharton, and Yale.
Organizers:
- Patrick Augustin (McGill University)
- Jan Ericsson (McGill University)
- Mathieu Fournier (HEC Montréal)
- Alexandre Jeanneret (University of New South Wales)
- Tobias Tröger (Goethe University, LawFin)
- Michael Weber (University of Chicago)
FIAM's first International AI Conference in Capital Markets: November 2-3, 2021
Co-sponsored by the Desmarais Global Finance Research Centre
AI In Capital Markets: Our Future is Now
AI: Humanity's most disruptive technology
Issues, Challenges, Opportunities for the Global Financial Community
FIAM is honored to hold its first international conference in close partnerships with two outstanding conference co-chairs: Pierre Boivin, CEO of Claridge and Chairman of Mila and William (Bill) J. Kelly CEO of CAIA Association. Pierre was a driving force behind positioning Montreal as a thriving artificial intelligence ecosystem on the global scene.
The conference spans over two days – three hours each day.
Presentations are recorded and will be made available for replay on FIAM website and the websites collaborating organizations.
November 2 & 3, 2021

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