LIVE: Fed Reserve hosts first-ever crypto conference

The U.S. Federal Reserve is hosting a first-of-its-kind conference on Oct. 21, 2025, focused on payments innovation. For the first time, cryptocurrencies will be part of the official agenda.

The event is bringing together economists, technologists, and policymakers to discuss the evolving landscape of money and digital payments. Representatives from blockchain and stablecoin firms, including Chainlink, Paxos, Circle, and Coinbase, are scheduled to attend, signaling the Fed’s growing openness to engaging directly with the crypto industry.Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell (Credits: Getty Images)

The event began at 9:00 AM ET with remarks from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher J. Waller. Topics that are being discussed include bridging traditional finance with the digital asset ecosystem, stablecoin use cases, AI in payments, and tokenized products.

According to the event announcement, the conference aims to “consider a broad range of perspectives” on how to improve the payment system and foster innovation.

Oct 21, 2025 | 11:30 AM ET - Paxos CEO addresses printing $300 trillion in minutes

Paxos CEO Charles Cascarilla addressed a recent operational error that led to the over-minting of a “fantastically large number” of tokens, emphasizing that the incident was contained within the company’s systems and never affected users.

“We printed it. The mistake was entirely ours,” Cascarilla said, acknowledging that Paxos fell short of its own operational standards. The error, he explained, stemmed from a rarely used manual process within the firm’s secure cold-minting setup, which is a safeguard designed for maximum security that, in this instance, led to human miscalculation.

Cascarilla noted that the issue was identified within minutes and reversed internally. Despite the mishap, he pointed to the event as a testament to blockchain’s inherent transparency, as the over-minting was instantly visible on-chain.

“This underscores the value of blockchain,” he said. “You can immediately see what’s going on, which builds confidence in the financial system over time.”

The Paxos chief added that while automation reduces errors, balancing it with human oversight remains critical for secure token issuance — a challenge that highlights both the maturity and the growing pains of institutional blockchain adoption.

Oct 21, 2025 | 11:20 AM ET - Paxos CEO says DeFi must evolve beyond complexity to reach mainstream users

Decentralized finance (DeFi) and crypto still have a long way to go before becoming truly user-friendly, according to Paxos CEO Charles Cascarilla. Speaking about the industry’s current state, Terres compared navigating DeFi today to accessing the early internet through dial-up.

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“I would say DeFi and crypto are still not abstracted away enough,” Cascarilla said.

He explained that widespread adoption will only occur once blockchain technology is abstracted away with great consumer products that let users focus solely on solving real problems.

"No one knows how the phone works, or at least, almost nobody does. But yet, everyone knows how to use it. Crypto, Blockchain, DeFi, stable coins need to be just like that,"Cascarilla added.

He praised companies like PayPal for integrating stablecoins into traditional finance, calling such moves early signs of crypto’s usability shift.

Oct 21, 2025 | 10:50 AM ET - Industry experts discuss stablecoin applications and emerging business models

The stablecoin panel led by Kyle Samani of Multicoin Capital began with panelists Charles Cascarilla (Paxos), Tim Spence (Fifth Third Bank), Fernando Terres (DolarApp), and Heath Tarbert (Circle).

Oct 21, 2025 | 9:50 AM ET - Fed urged to modernize payments while tackling AI fraud and DeFi risks

The panelists urged the Federal Reserve to upgrade infrastructure and set clear guidance on digital assets, all while confronting emerging risks from AI-driven fraud.

Sergey Nazarov, co-founder and CEO of Chainlink, argued that the Fed must make its existing systems interoperable with stablecoins and tokenized deposits.

“The payment landscape represents the buy side of the digital asset economy,” he said, stressing that clarity around risk management would help the United States lead global innovation in digital payments.

Jackie Reses, CEO of Lead Bank, cautioned that innovation should not come at the expense of security. She highlighted that “AI fraud reversibility” and the potential for deepfake scams could destabilize trust if not managed properly.

“It’s always going to be great, until everybody’s grandma is defrauded,” Reses warned, urging regulators to move “slow and steady” as AI and payments technology increasingly converge.

Michael Shaulov, CEO of Fireblocks, echoed that sentiment, noting the economic implications of stablecoins for credit markets. He called for further research into how digital assets might reshape bank balance sheets and the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy role.

Jennifer Barker, global head of treasury services at BNY, outlined four key priorities for regulators: modernizing payment rails for 24/7 operation, setting technical standards, strengthening fraud detection, and establishing liquidity and redemption frameworks for tokenized deposits and stablecoins.

Oct 21, 2025 | 9:30 AM ET - Panel on bridging traditional finance with digital asset ecosystem

During the first panel at the Federal Reserve’s Payments Innovation Conference, Chainlink co-founder and CEO Sergey Nazarov pointed to persistent challenges in interoperability across financial networks.

He identified major gaps in compliance, identity verification, accounting, and regulatory frameworks, arguing that a hybrid model combining existing financial infrastructure with updated regulatory standards will likely emerge over the next two to five years.

However, Lead Bank CEO Jackie Reses warned that most banks are ill-prepared to handle interoperability between traditional and digital systems. She stressed the need for institutions to prioritize wallet infrastructure, transaction processing, and the management of crypto on-ramps and off-ramps.

Reses added that while know-your-customer (KYC)-compliant systems are largely in place for institutional use, accessibility for retail users remains limited.

She also predicted that stablecoin infrastructure will develop naturally through market demand rather than centralized design.

Related: Cryptocurrency and Blockchain: What Is the Federal Reserve Afraid Of?

Oct 21, 2025 | 9:00 AM ET - Waller kicks off conference with opening remarks

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher J. Waller kicked off the inaugural Payments Innovation Conference.

In his opening remarks, Waller highlighted the importance of integrating decentralized finance (DeFi) and cryptocurrency innovations into the broader payments landscape.

"The revolution transforming payments is demanding change everywhere,” he said.

Waller explained a two-pronged strategy: supporting innovation driven by the private sector while developing targeted public infrastructure that could enhance the resilience and efficiency of payment systems.

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He also highlighted the Fed’s ongoing exploration of tokenization, smart contracts, and artificial intelligence in payments, suggesting a growing willingness to experiment with next-generation financial tools.

Waller closed his remarks by floating the idea of a new “payment account” framework designed to better accommodate forward-looking financial institutions.

[Correction: A previous version wrongly attributed Charles Cascarilla's quotes to DolarApp.]

This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Oct 21, 2025, where it first appeared in the Policy section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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