Name: 'Blockchain & AI enable us to move back to a peer-to-peer model at scale' - Anthony Clark-Jones, UBS Investment Bank
Uploaded: 2023-05-04T10:46:51.293Z
Duration: 347.36

04_Anthony Clark-Jones, Product-Portfolio Manager at IB Strategic Ventures at UBS Investment Bank_V02.mp4

04_Anthony Clark-Jones, Product-Portfolio Manager at IB Strategic Ventures at UBS Investment Bank_V02.vtt

English

{{00:00:14}}
So I think when we think about

{{00:00:15}}
digital assets and digital asset

{{00:00:17}}
infrastructure, there's just such an

{{00:00:19}}
enormous amount of potential for making

{{00:00:22}}
financial services operate better

{{00:00:25}}
servicing clients better as well.

{{00:00:27}}
So if you think how financial services has

{{00:00:31}}
developed over the past few hundred years,

{{00:00:33}}
let's say, going way back to a time when

{{00:00:37}}
I could go to a marketplace with a bag of

{{00:00:39}}
gold, for instance, and I could exchange

{{00:00:42}}
that gold for a financial instrument.

{{00:00:44}}
Let's say it's a piece of paper,

{{00:00:46}}
which is a share in a company.

{{00:00:48}}
If you fast forward somewhat

{{00:00:50}}
financial markets become more more

{{00:00:53}}
attuned to electronic services

{{00:00:55}}
and, an account based model.

{{00:00:57}}
And that has grown into a

{{00:00:59}}
very, complex global system.

{{00:01:03}}
What we're seeing now with cutting

{{00:01:05}}
edge technologies such as blockchain

{{00:01:07}}
and artificial intelligence is the

{{00:01:09}}
ability to move back to somewhat of

{{00:01:12}}
a peer-to-peer model, but at scale.

{{00:01:15}}
And so the intersection of financial

{{00:01:17}}
services, business and technology  is

{{00:01:20}}
super interesting and I think the

{{00:01:21}}
future is really quite compelling

{{00:01:31}}
when it comes to regulatory challenges.

{{00:01:34}}
The way that we are viewing this at UBS

{{00:01:36}}
and, have been for some time, Is working

{{00:01:39}}
with regulators right from the outset.

{{00:01:41}}
So our model in digital assets really

{{00:01:44}}
is collaborative, it's transparent and

{{00:01:47}}
we're working right across the market.

{{00:01:49}}
And the regulators that we are

{{00:01:51}}
working with are of course an

{{00:01:53}}
important part of how we move forward.

{{00:01:55}}
So, although Each, party in

{{00:01:59}}
the marketplace will, will have

{{00:02:00}}
its own needs and interests.

{{00:02:03}}
We see that working with regulators is

{{00:02:05}}
a really important part of how we can

{{00:02:07}}
bring bring into production a, fully

{{00:02:12}}
functioning digital asset marketplace.

{{00:02:23}}
So I think to keep abreast of what's

{{00:02:25}}
happening across the digital asset space

{{00:02:29}}
the way we are doing at UBS is really

{{00:02:32}}
the same as, what you would do in any

{{00:02:33}}
complex marketplace, and that's by Really

{{00:02:37}}
growing and leveraging our network.

{{00:02:40}}
So we like to come to events such

{{00:02:41}}
as Finovate Europe and other leading

{{00:02:44}}
events in the digital asset space.

{{00:02:47}}
And then working right across the

{{00:02:48}}
market with as mentioned previously

{{00:02:51}}
with regulators specialists, third party

{{00:02:53}}
vendors other financial institutions,

{{00:02:56}}
which Perhaps I'm not necessarily

{{00:03:00}}
clusters as globally significant banks,

{{00:03:02}}
but everyone's got a part to play.

{{00:03:04}}
So, so building that network, leveraging

{{00:03:06}}
the network is is a really good way

{{00:03:08}}
to keep abreast of what's going on.

{{00:03:21}}
So I think when we think about.

{{00:03:22}}
The progress we've seen in Europe

{{00:03:27}}
in traditional finance with

{{00:03:28}}
distributed ledger technology.

{{00:03:31}}
I think there's obviously been

{{00:03:34}}
a lot of interest  over the past

{{00:03:36}}
few years, but I feel from my own

{{00:03:38}}
experience we're reaching an inflection

{{00:03:40}}
points whereby we're moving from.

{{00:03:43}}
We could call it isolated experiments that

{{00:03:47}}
really talk to operations and technology.

{{00:03:49}}
And the inflection point is really

{{00:03:50}}
moving to more, of a commercial model.

{{00:03:53}}
So I think what we're seeing in Europe

{{00:03:54}}
at the moment is is a will to move

{{00:03:56}}
from those isolated proofs of concept

{{00:03:59}}
or experiments to more commercially

{{00:04:02}}
focused and complimentary  initiatives.

{{00:04:07}}
How does that compare to

{{00:04:08}}
the rest of the world?

{{00:04:09}}
I, think it's probably broadly similar

{{00:04:11}}
because I think for some time distributed

{{00:04:14}}
ledger technology has been on the agenda

{{00:04:17}}
of globally significant institutions.

{{00:04:20}}
However, I think now like I say in

{{00:04:23}}
Europe, I think in other parts of the

{{00:04:24}}
world too, we're gonna be moving to, a

{{00:04:26}}
period where those proofs of concept are

{{00:04:29}}
going to start to pay for themselves.

{{00:04:31}}
And and ideally we're gonna start

{{00:04:33}}
to scale them with, more volume.

{{00:04:43}}
When it comes to dlt, distributed

{{00:04:45}}
ledger technology and financial services

{{00:04:47}}
institutions, I don't think that

{{00:04:50}}
blockchain or other forms of dlt are

{{00:04:53}}
necessarily the so-called silver bullet.

{{00:04:55}}
So they're not the, answer for everything.

{{00:04:58}}
They don't wanna solve all

{{00:04:58}}
of the challenges that we.

{{00:05:00}}
That we facing financial services and

{{00:05:02}}
also as well that, they're not gonna

{{00:05:04}}
help us reach all of our aspirations.

{{00:05:06}}
So I think first and foremost, How

{{00:05:09}}
financial services institutions

{{00:05:12}}
use DLT is, first and moment

{{00:05:14}}
by qualifying what it's for.

{{00:05:16}}
So I think there are some really

{{00:05:17}}
interesting use cases that a, secure,

{{00:05:21}}
scalable and an arguably transparent

{{00:05:24}}
database, otherwise known as blockchain or

{{00:05:26}}
DLT, can be used in, financial services.

{{00:05:31}}
But I think those use cases

{{00:05:32}}
need to be chosen carefully.

{{00:05:34}}
And I think most importantly as well, that

{{00:05:36}}
there needs to be commercial rationale.

{{00:05:37}}
Behind it and not just using

{{00:05:40}}
the technology for the sake

{{00:05:41}}
of using the technology.

So if you think how financial services has

developed over the past few hundred years,

I could go to a marketplace with a bag of

complex marketplace, and that's by Really

We could call it isolated experiments that

really talk to operations and technology.

because I think for some time distributed

Finovate

Expert Insight

Anthony Clark-Jones leads the Strategic Ventures portfolio at UBS Investment Bank, focusing on digital initiatives like Digital Assets, Digital Asset infrastructure, and Blockchain-based products and business models. He tells us how he identifies trends and opportunities in the digital asset space, how he navigates the regulatory challenges of working with Digital Assets, plus gives us his take on where Europe's TradFi industry is at when it comes to leveraging Distributed Leger Technology. 

Digital

Banking

Digital Transformation

Crypto

Investing

Digitisation

Digital banking

Banking innovation

Banking technology

Digital payments

Digital innovation

Blockchain

Fintech investing

Cryptocurrency

Digital Assets

Crypto Assets

Digitalisation

Digitization

Digital Economy

small_anthony clark-jones.jpg

thumbnail_anthony clark-jones.jpg

xsmall_anthony clark-jones.jpg

anthony clark-jones.jpg

Anthony Clark-Jones

Product/Portfolio Manager, IB Strategic Ventures

One of your key focuses is on products and business models related to Digital Assets and Digital Asset Infrastructure: what is it about these technologies that has captivated your interest?

How are you navigating the regulatory challenges presented by investing in and delivering products related to Digital Assets?   

How do investment bankers like yourself identify and capitalise on the most promising trends and opportunities in the digital asset space?

What stage is Europe’sTradFi industry at when it comes to leveraging Distributed Leger Technology and how does it compare to the rest of the world? 

How imperative is it that traditional financial services implement Distributed Leger Technology and how can they do this?

large_Finovate Interviews Anthony-Clark Jones.png

medium_Finovate Interviews Anthony-Clark Jones.png

small_Finovate Interviews Anthony-Clark Jones.png

thumbnail_Finovate Interviews Anthony-Clark Jones.png

xsmall_Finovate Interviews Anthony-Clark Jones.png

Finovate Interviews Anthony-Clark Jones.png

'Blockchain & AI enable us to move back to a peer-to-peer model at scale' - Anthony Clark-Jones, UBS Investment Bank

Future of Finance