ABU DHABI, UAE, April 28, 2026, Chainwire
The ADGM Registration Authority (RA) and Hashed Open Research (HOR), a Hashed policy think tank, have co-authored a new policy report synthesizing insights from the “Web3 Leaders Roundtable,” hosted in partnership with Hashed during Abu Dhabi Financial Week (ADFW) 2025.
The closed-door roundtable brought together approximately 40 high-level decision-makers from global financial institutions, regulators and infrastructure companies, including Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), BlackRock, Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), Franklin Templeton, Circle, Consensys, Solana Foundation, the European Commission and the Government of Liechtenstein. Discussions focused on the convergence of AI and blockchain-based financial infrastructure, as well as the practical hurdles shaping institutional adoption of digital assets.
AI agents and blockchain infrastructure: creating reliable financial systems at scale
Participants discussed the rise of AI systems in financial activity, including the implications of increasingly autonomous decision-making and execution.
Participants noted that machine-to-machine activity could overtake infrastructure designed for primarily human-led workflows, increasing demand for secure and transparent systems operating at scale. The report places emphasis on verifiable records and strong governance, with blockchain-based systems increasingly seen as the basis for trusted settlement.
The roundtable also highlighted that tokenization has gone beyond the digitalization of existing assets to rethink market structure, including issuance, distribution and settlement.
Examples include DTCC’s stated aspiration to tokenize the entirety of the U.S. capital markets and early adopter bridges such as tokenized gold products attracting flows from traditional gold ETFs. Participants also noted that the prudential and accounting treatment of stablecoins and other digital settlement assets can shape large-scale adoption, and that personal AI agents (“digital twins”) can become a key interface for participation in the digital economy.
Regulatory uncertainty remains the main bottleneck for institutional adoption
The report notes that regulatory uncertainty remains the main barrier to broader institutional adoption.
Challenges highlighted included risk-weighted asset fees for certain digital asset exposures under Basel capital rules, which can reach up to 1,250%, overlapping AML and KYC requirements across jurisdictions, and unresolved accounting and tax treatment.
The report considers stablecoins and real-time settlement as the most validated and practical paths to scaling on-chain financial infrastructure. However, for tokenization to generate real value and structural market improvements, it also highlights the need for strong secondary market liquidity and reliable redemption mechanisms – otherwise, tokenization risks remaining a technical wrapper.
The report also notes that overly prescriptive regulation early in market development can hinder experimentation before risks and control points are observable, highlighting the importance of balanced frameworks that provide clarity and confidence while still allowing room for innovation.
HE Rashed Al Blooshi, Director General of the ADGM Registration Authority (RA), said: “This report reflects ADGM’s commitment to bringing together global perspectives that help shape the future of finance. As AI and blockchain are increasingly integrated into financial systems and directly participate in economic activity, governance cannot be an afterthought. The report highlights the most important control points in practice, including identity, permissions, auditability and clarity of rights, so that innovation can scale responsibly and remain aligned with market integrity. The focus must remain on building systems that are reliable, well-governed and designed to operate at scale.
“This was the occasion where global leaders from regulators, institutional investors and infrastructure builders came together to discuss how the structure of the capital market should be redesigned and who should lead this redesign, addressing substantive policy directions at the intersection of AI and blockchain,” said Simon Seojoon Kim, CEO of Hashed. “We hope that this report will serve as a concrete reference for the design of a digital financial infrastructure.”
The full report is available on the ADGM website here and the Hashed Open Research website – www.hashedopenresearch.com.
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About ADGM
ADGM is the leading International Financial Center (IFC) based in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. It is one of the largest financial districts in the world in terms of size and the largest IFC in the Middle East and Africa in terms of number of active licenses.
The ADGM is also one of the few jurisdictions in the world and the only one regionally to directly apply the reliable legal system of English Common Law.
Governing the Al Maryah and Al Reem Islands, which are collectively referred to as the Abu Dhabi Financial Free Zone, the ADGM connects the economies of the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region to global markets. Its progressive and inclusive ecosystem enables financial and non-financial institutions to thrive, supporting innovation, sustainable growth and long-term economic resilience.
Through its continued growth and cross-border partnerships, ADGM strengthens Abu Dhabi’s position as “Capital of capital and a leading global platform for finance, investment and business.
For more details on ADGM, please visit www.adgm.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram: @ADGM
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Email: media@adgm.com
About Hached
Hashed, established in 2017, is a web3 venture capital that focuses on investing and research in global startups and decentralized protocols. The Hashed team has offices in Seoul, San Francisco, Singapore, Bangalore and Abu Dhabi. Hashed has been an early supporter of many pioneering blockchain teams around the world. Hashed supports its portfolio companies as a “second team,” helping Web3 founders drive mass adoption globally.
Contact
Communications manager
Wooster Han
Ax
wooster@hashed.com
