The World Today: Digital Assets and the Future of Global Financial Stability

Digital assets, such as cryptocurrencies, have seen explosive growth in recent years; they exceeded US$3 trillion in total market value in November 2021, then fell significantly in the crypto crash of 2022. These new financial instruments and mechanisms present countries with opportunities to reassert or establish their global financial leadership. At the same time, however, nations need to manage the economic and other risks the digital boom has created. They must determine how best to protect consumers, assure economic stability, preserve national security, and mitigate climate risks all while navigating this new financial space.

This edition of “The World Today,” cosponsored by the Wharton School, asks what countries can do to protect and expand their interests in this rapidly evolving landscape. Are digital currencies and central banks the future of finance? How will the global financial architecture change? How should this new sector be regulated?

Join Perry World House and the Wharton School for the first “The World Today” of this academic year, where we’ll learn more about these crucial questions with Rostin Behnam, chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and Sarah Hammer, managing director of the Stevens Center for Innovation in Finance at the Wharton School.

Speaker

Rostin Behnam has served as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)’s 15th chairman since January 2022. Behnam previously served as CFTC commissioner from 2017, and as acting chairman effective from 2021. Behnam’s arrival at the CFTC followed extensive experience in financial markets policy. As Senior Counsel to Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, his major responsibilities included the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and related policy matters affecting the Treasury Department, the US prudential regulators, and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Prior to his work in the US Senate, Behnam held several positions in financial markets and financial market regulation and compliance, including as a proprietary equities trader in New York City, an Investigator at the NJ Bureau of Securities, within the state’s Office of the Attorney General, and private practice, focusing on corporate and transactional law. Behnam received his AB from Georgetown University and law degree from the Syracuse University College of Law.

Moderator

Sarah Hammer is managing director of the Stevens Center for Innovation in Finance and senior director of the Alternative Investments Program at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Hammer also leads the Cypher Blockchain Accelerator and Cypher Digital Asset Incubator, as well as the Blockchain Laboratory at the Wharton School. Hammer is also adjunct professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. Previously, Hammer was acting deputy assistant secretary for financial institutions and director of the Office of Financial Institutions Policy at the US Department of the Treasury. In this role, she led and directed the Department’s policy responsibilities involving financial institutions, as well as overseeing the Federal Insurance Office and the Office of Critical Infrastructure Protection and Compliance Policy (cybersecurity). Hammer has held various leadership positions throughout financial services in general management, portfolio management, trading, marketing, research, and analytics at the Vanguard Group, PIMCO, JP Morgan Chase, BlackRock, and Tudor Investments. Hammer earned a JD and MBA from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Master of Studies from the University of Oxford. She is a Harry S. Truman Scholar and a member of the American Law Institute.