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Commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero was sworn in as a CFTC Commissioner on March 30, 2022, after being nominated by President Biden in September 2021, and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate. She previously served for a decade as the Special Inspector General for TARP (SIGTARP), after being nominated by President Obama and unanimously confirmed by the Senate. She led a nationwide federal law enforcement agency and watchdog over TARP, where the U.S. Government became a shareholder in banks, the automotive industry and insurance industry; owned, exchanged, and traded in securities and derivatives; and administered foreclosure relief for consumers. Commissioner Goldsmith Romero previously served at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including as counsel to SEC Chairs Schapiro and Cox during the 2008 financial crisis, and as senior counsel in the Enforcement Division, where she investigated securities law violations, including financial institution fraud, insider trading, hedge funds, and retail investor fraud.

Early in her career, the Commissioner worked at law firms and served a federal judicial clerkship. Commissioner Goldsmith Romero’s leadership has protected markets, the financial system, investors and consumers. She has testified before Congress 13 times and meets often with Congress on policy issues related to the financial system and regulation. She served on a group of inspectors general conducting oversight of the Financial Stability Oversight Council. She led SIGTARP’s investigations into bank fraud, securities fraud, violations of bank and securities laws, money laundering, corruption, mortgage fraud, and conspiracy. These resulted in recoveries of $11 billion, criminal charges against 465 defendants, and Department of Justice, SEC, and other federal and state enforcement actions against financial institutions, corporations, and individuals. These landmark cases had lasting impact to make the financial system safer. SIGTARP was known for its unique ability to find fraud in financial institutions. SIGTARP’s investigations resulted in criminal charges against 100 bankers, with courts sentencing 74 to prison. Her actions to protect markets and investors led SIGTARP to uncover fraudulent practices in mortgage-backed securities that had never been addressed by any other federal agency. These cases resulted in DOJ and SEC enforcement actions, and widespread changes to industry sales tactics. She also led investigations resulting in prison sentences for more than 100 mortgage fraudsters.

Commissioner Goldsmith Romero was an adjunct law professor teaching an advanced securities regulation course at Georgetown Law and a cryptocurrency regulation course at The University of Virginia Law School. Commissioner Goldsmith Romero lives in Virginia with her wife and is an empty nester to three adult daughters.

Jeremy is responsible for strategy, vision and operating execution at Circle. He brings more than two decades of experience building and leading global internet software platforms, including founder and CEO of Brightcove, technologist and entrepreneur in residence at General Catalyst, CTO of Macromedia, and co-founder and CTO of Allaire Corporation. Jeremy has provided expert testimony on digital assets and monetary policy before the US Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Government Affairs, US Senate Banking Committee and the House Financial Services Committee. He has also been named to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) High-Level Advisory Group on FinTech.

Balaji S. Srinivasan (@balajis) is an angel investor, tech founder, and WSJ bestselling author of The Network State. Formerly the CTO of Coinbase and General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, he is an early investor in many successful tech companies and crypto protocols, including Alchemy, Ava Labs, Bitcoin, Cameo, Chainlink, Dapper Labs, Deel, EPNS, Ethereum, Instadapp, Lambda School, Mighty, NEAR Protocol, OnDeck, Opensea, Replit, Republic, Roam Research, Solana, Soylent, Superhuman, Synthesis, XMTP, and Zora. Dr. Srinivasan was the cofounder of Earn.com (acquired by Coinbase), Counsyl (acquired by Myriad), Teleport (acquired by Topia), and Coin Center. He holds a BS/MS/PhD in Electrical Engineering and an MS in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University.

Chelsea E. Manning is a technologist, network security expert, analyst and consultant whose actions showed the world that the conscience of individuals can make urgent change through bravery and determination. Manning works as a security consultant specializing in questions of privacy, security, and hardware optimization at Nym Technologies, the leader in network layer privacy. She is also a transparency activist, author, DJ, and public speaker. Manning worked as an intelligence analyst for the U.S. Department of Defense where she publicly disclosed classified documents that revealed human rights abuses and corruption connected to the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. She was sentenced to 35 years for unauthorized disclosure of government documents. After serving 7 years in military prison, President Barack Obama commuted her sentence to time served. Following her release in 2017, she ran in the 2018 Maryland state senatorial primary, receiving the second-highest number of Democratic votes.

Congressman Patrick McHenry is serving his tenth term as the representative for North Carolina's 10th Congressional District which comprises all or parts of nine counties in North Carolina, from the suburbs of Charlotte on Lake Norman to Pisgah National Forest in Burke County. Currently, Congressman McHenry serves as the Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, a committee he has served on since he was elected to Congress. In his role as Chairman, Congressman McHenry continues to advocate for innovative solutions that increase access to banking services and credit for American families and small businesses. Previously, Congressman McHenry served as Chief Deputy Whip, where he directly assisted then House Majority Whip Steve Scalise by building consensus for the conservative policy agenda of the House Republican Conference. One of his proudest accomplishments as the Chief Deputy Whip was the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which helped to fix our nation’s broken tax code and provided much-needed tax relief to American families and businesses. Prior to being elected to Congress, Congressman McHenry served in the North Carolina House of Representatives. He is a graduate of Ashbrook High School in Gastonia, N.C. and Belmont Abbey College, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in History. Congressman McHenry lives in Lincoln County with his wife Giulia, daughters Cecelia and Rese, and son Perry.

Caitlin Long is Founder and CEO of Custodia Bank, a depository institution designed to solve the settlement risk inherent in integrating digital assets with the traditional financial system. A 22-year Wall Street veteran, Ms. Long became involved with Bitcoin in 2012. She was a managing director who ran Morgan Stanley’s pension solutions business in New York (2007-16), held senior roles at Credit Suisse in New York and Zurich (1997-2007) and began her career at Salomon Brothers (1994-97). She jointly spearheaded a project for delivering market index data to Vanguard using a blockchain, which is now in production at multiple buy-side firms, while chairman and president of Symbiont from 2016-18. She has helped to define a legal and regulatory regime for digital assets in the U.S., including helping her native state of Wyoming enact 29 blockchain-enabling laws since 2018 (parts of which have since been copied nationally). She is a graduate of Harvard Law School (JD, 1994), the Kennedy School of Government (MPP, 1994) and the University of Wyoming (BA, 1990).

William Shatner has cultivated a career spanning over 60 years as an award-winning actor, director, producer, writer, recording artist, and horseman. He is one of Hollywood’s most recognizable figures and a major philanthropist. He has won Emmys and also won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of eccentric lawyer “Denny Crane” on both The Practice and Boston Legal. He has received four additional Emmy nominations as well as other Golden Globe and SAG Award nods. Mr. Shatner currently is the host and executive producer of The UnXplained on The History Channel. From the producers of Ancient Aliens and The Curse of Oak Island, the one-hour, non-fiction series explores the world’s most fascinating, strange and inexplicable mysteries. Shatner continues to act, write, produce and direct while still making time to work with charities and further his passion in equestrian sports. He lives in Los Angeles, CA.

Cynthia Lummis is the junior senator from Wyoming, and the first female Senator ever elected to represent the Equality State. Born and raised on a ranch outside of Cheyenne, Senator Lummis has dedicated her career to defending Wyoming’s agriculture, mineral and energy resources. She first served the state in the state House and Senate, as the state treasurer, and as the at-large member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2008 to 2016. In the Senate, Lummis serves on the Senate Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs Committee; the Commerce, Science, & Transportation Committee; and the Environment & Public Works Committee, where she is focused on issues of importance to Wyoming. She is the cofounder of the Senate Financial Innovation Caucus and the chair of the Senate Western Caucus. Senator Lummis and her late husband have one daughter and two grandsons.

The author of the new memoir, Permanent Record, former CIA officer and National  Security Agency (NSA) consultant Snowden risked everything to expose the U.S. government’s  system of mass surveillance. He is the subject of the Oscar-winning best documentary Citizenfour and the critically acclaimed Oliver Stone fil, Snowden. Appearing live from Moscow, Snowden  continues to speak out about technologies and practices (increasingly by nongovernmental  entities) that have created “the most effective means of social control in the history of our  species.” “Everything we do now lasts forever. Not because we want to remember, but because  we are no longer allowed to forget,” he says, evoking the key theme of Permanent Record.  “Helping to create that system is my greatest regret.” As one of the world’s most passionate and  authoritative voices on privacy and cybersecurity, Snowden continues to warn us of the growing threats of our digital age. 

Edward Snowden shocked the world in 2013 when he broke with the intelligence  establishment and revealed that the U.S. government was pursuing an unprecedented system  of mass surveillance with the potential to collect every single phone call, text message and email of every person on earth. Fearing arrest, he fled to Hong Kong, where he secretly met with  journalists from The Guardian newspaper and filmmaker Laura Poitras. Poitras later won an  Academy Award for Citizenfour. The Guardian and The Washington Post were awarded a  Pulitzer Prize for their role in reporting on the NSA leaks. Snowden saw this honor as “a  vindication” of his efforts to bring the secret surveillance programs to light. Snowden himself has  received numerous honors for his public service, including the Right Livelihood Award, the  German Whistleblower Prize, the Ridenhour Prize for Truth-Telling and the Carl von Ossietzky  Medal from the International League of Human Rights. He currently serves as president of the  board of directors of the Freedom of the Press Foundation. 

Since gaining asylum in Russia, Snowden has remained in the headlines as an  impassioned and authoritative champion of privacy, civil liberties and cybersecurity during what  he calls “the greatest redistribution of power since the Industrial Revolution.” Based on  Snowden’s revelations, both the US and UK governments have faced court challenges to their  surveillance laws, prompting new legislation in both countries. Internet companies, reacting to  public outrage over privacy concerns, have made encryption commonplace. Snowden continues to sound the alarm on mass surveillance and the collection of data by both  governments and corporate entities. He has been invited to speak at venues ranging from  international investment conferences to the TED stage and the Sorbonne—receiving glowing  reviews and passionate applause from audiences around the world.

Christine is a Partner and Head of Digital Asset Strategy at Apollo Global Management, Inc. In this newly created position, Christine leads digital asset strategy across the firm, exploring more ways to apply blockchain technologies to Apollo’s business. She also plays a key role in Apollo’s strategy to invest in some of the most innovative digital asset companies and founders, with a specific focus on those transforming the financial services sector where Apollo can serve as a validator and enabler of new technologies. Previously, she was a Managing Director at J.P. Morgan and led its Blockchain/Crypto/Metaverse program through initiatives in digital assets, tokenized payments, internet-of-things, decentralized identity, NFTs, and virtual worlds. She is a graduate of Brown University. Christine was named in Fortune’s The Ledger 40 Under 40 list of “the most impressive, young superstars transforming business at the leading edge of finance and technology.”

Sriram Krishnan is a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz where he invests in crypto and early stage consumer startups. Today, Sriram serves on the boards of Bitski, Hopin, and Polywork. Prior to joining a16z, Sriram held numerous senior product roles. Most recently, he led core consumer teams at Twitter where he was responsible for products including the home timeline, new user experience, search, discovery, and audience growth. Before this, Sriram created and oversaw various mobile ad products for both Snap and Facebook, including Snap’s Direct Response ads business and the Facebook Audience Network, one of the largest networks in display advertising. Sriram started his career at Microsoft where he touched numerous projects related to Windows Azure. He is the author of "Programming Windows Azure" published by O'Reilly. Along with his wife, he co-hosts The Good Time Show on Clubhouse, a nightly show which they interview innovators around tech and culture.

David Maisel is an entertainment visionary, film and theater producer, and the architect of the self-financed and self-producing Marvel Studios. In 2003, Maisel first conceived of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and joined Marvel where he founded the new Marvel Studios. From 2005 to 2007, Maisel was promoted to Vice Chairman, elevated to the Office of the CEO, and promoted to Chairman. He oversaw the development, production, and launch of the first Iron Man film in 2008, and arranged the sale of Marvel to Disney in 2009. After leaving Marvel in 2010, Maisel led the creation of a cinematic mythology for the popular Angry Birds game. Maisel launched Mythos Studios in 2018. Prior to Marvel, Maisel’s career spanned many prominent entertainment firms including CAA, The Walt Disney Company, and Endeavor Talent Agency.

Oana Ruxandra is EVP of Business Development & Chief Digital Officer for Warner Music Group. In this capacity, Oana oversees WMG’s global digital strategy and is charged with creating additional revenue opportunities and forging new partnerships, as well as maximizing relationships with key existing partners. Additionally, Oana and her team focus on commercial innovation, attracting non-traditional partners, and identifying entrepreneurial M&A opportunities for the company. Oana previously spent four years at WMG, where she advanced to VP of Digital Strategy and Business Development. In 2016, she moved to Universal Music Group for a two-year stint as SVP of Digital Strategy and Partnerships. Oana began her career in the financial industry, working at Constellation Capital Management and BlackRock. She holds a B.A. degree in Economics and Political Science from Columbia University and an M.B.A. from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Veteran technology entrepreneur/investor Yat Siu is the co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands, a global leader in blockchain and gaming with the goal to provide property rights for virtual assets. Yat began his career at Atari Germany, then established Hong Kong Cybercity/Freenation, the first free web page and email provider in Asia. In 1998 he set up Outblaze, an award-winning pioneer of multilingual white label web services. After selling one of its business units to IBM, he pivoted Outblaze to incubate digital entertainment projects. One of those projects is Animoca Brands. Yat has numerous accolades, including Global Leader of Tomorrow at the World Economic Forum, Young Entrepreneur of the Year at the DHL/SCMP Awards, and recognition as one of Cointelegraph's top 100 notable people in blockchain. A classically trained musician, Yat is a member of the advisory board of BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) and a director of the Asian Youth Orchestra.

Bio for the Premier of Bermuda, The Hon. E. David Burt, JP, MP Premier the Hon. E. David Burt, JP, MP, is Bermuda’s youngest Premier. He is a graduate of The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where he graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Business Administration with a double major in Finance and Information Systems. He was awarded The George Washington University Presidential Administrative Fellowship and received his Master’s of Science degree in Information Systems Development in 2003. Mr. Burt attained a Project Management Professional certification in 2009. He is also a licensed private pilot. An entrepreneur, Premier Burt started GMD Consulting Limited, an IT consulting company focusing on project management. He served as President since its inception until 2016 when he stepped down upon being appointed Leader of the Opposition. Premier Burt co-founded HITCH Limited and was the lead developer for the award winning HITCH Mobile App enabling Bermuda residents to hail taxis. In the past, Premier Burt has served on the Tourism Board, National Training Board, as a Director of the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce, and has been a Director of the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation. Mr. Burt is also active in local and international public service and community organizations. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, the Western Stars Sports Club, and the Devonshire Recreation Club. Premier Burt and his wife Kristin have two children, Nia and Edward

Rich Widmann is a senior operator and lawyer with extensive experience in blockchain and cryptocurrency. Rich serves as the Global Head of Strategy for Web3 at Google Cloud, where he cofounded Google’s first Web3 efforts and oversees the ongoing execution of Google Cloud’s Web3 product roadmap. Rich often leverages his previous experience as an attorney focusing on regulatory and white collar criminal corruption matters as it relates to international corruption and cryptocurrency. He teaches a course on the intersection of business and law of cryptocurrency at the Northwestern Pritzker University School of Law where he is an adjunct faculty member. He is a frequent speaker and author on the adoption of blockchain technology by public companies and is a guest lecturer on topics related to cryptocurrency for the Federal Bar Association.

Eva is the Director of The Graph Foundation, part of the initial team that launched the Graph Protocol and a web3 investor with eGirl Capital. Prior to joining the web3 space, Eva was a management consultant specializing in financial services. In her spare time she plays chess, likes to create NFT art and paintings, and travel the world.

Kevin Rose is the Founder and CEO of PROOF Holdings Inc., a new media company responsible for the creation of the PROOF Collective and Moonbirds NFT collections. In aggregate, PROOF NFTs have a trading volume of over 170,000+ ETH ($500M+), and rank in the top 10 NFT collections of all time. In addition to PROOF, Kevin is a Partner at early-stage technology venture capital firm, True Ventures.

Prior to PROOF and True Ventures, Kevin began his investing career as an angel investor in Twitter, Facebook, and Square. From there he joined Google as a General Partner at Google Ventures, where he invested in companies like Ripple, Blue Bottle, Medium, and Next Door.

Kevin’s previous entrepreneurial ventures include founding the first social news site Digg (2004), the intermittent fasting app Zero, and building out the e-commerce marketplace HODINKEE, as CEO.

Julie Foerster serves as the Project Director for IRS Digital Assets position in the office of the Deputy Commissioner for Services and Enforcement. In this role, she will oversee development, implementation and execution of the new IRS Enterprise Digital Assets Strategy and work with a team of leaders across business units on executing efforts involving enhancing compliance and enforcement, improving customer service, and establishing data/technology protocols. Prior to this position, Julie served as Director, Examination, Headquarters in the SB/SE Division, where she oversaw policy, quality/technical support and workload selection operations for Examination – Field and Campus Policy, Specialty Policy and Quality areas. She has a diverse background and an array of experience in SB/SE Field Examination and Headquarters Examination. Julie is a native of Washington state and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a major in Accounting from Gonzaga University, and is a graduate of the 2017 Candidate Development Program. Julie lives in Atlanta, Georgia and enjoys outdoor activities and spending time with family and friends.

PHILIP EDWARD ‘BRAVE’ DAVIS is perhaps best known now as a politician, serving as Leader of the Progressive Liberal Party and Member of Parliament for CAT ISLAND, RUM CAY AND SAN SALVADOR. What many may not know is that he entered politics late in life. Professionally, he is known both locally and internationally as an acclaimed Corporate and Human Rights lawyer, a highly distinguished legal educator, a passionate sportsperson, a sponsor of many sporting activities, and a Toastmaster. His appointment as Queen's Counsel, the highest possible honour which is conferred on those practicing law in the English legal system anywhere in the world, came in recognition of both his highly successful legal practice but also his contribution to legal education.

A leading litigation lawyer, Philip ‘Brave’ Davis has an impressive record in the Courts of Appeal, with perhaps more appearances before the UK Privy Council than any other Bahamian lawyer. During his first term in parliament, Mr. Davis chaired the National Insurance Board for a number of years, which is why he can speak so authoritatively on the country's economic affairs. During his tenure there, he introduced a number of fundamental reforms, which put the National Insurance Board in the position it is today, where it is currently providing support to thousands of Bahamians. During the last administration of the Progressive Liberal Party, from 2012-2017, Mr. Davis ran a super-ministry, the Ministry of Works. His portfolio covered everything relating to the physical infrastructure of The Bahamas, as well as oversight of Bahamasair, BEC, and the Water & Sewerage Corporation. In no small way, this is why he has a reputation for getting things done.

Since May 2017, he has been the Leader of the Progressive Liberal Party. On September 16th, he was Elected the fifth Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, where he also serves as Minister of Finance. Prime Minister Davis has become a leading voice for Small Island Development States on matters of Climate Change and sustainability. As Prime Minister, he has repositioned The Bahamas as a global leader in Digital Assets with the launch of the country's White Paper on the Future of Digital Assets. Mr. Davis is also recognised for his government's bold initiatives in laying the framework for the Administration's policy on the launch of its Carbon Credits Exchange regime.

Nelly Mensah is the Vice President of Digital Innovation and Emerging Solutions at LMVH where she heads Web3 and metaverse efforts globally. In her previous role at Sephora, Nelly led future innovation and digital store experience. In parallel, Nelly has been deeply involved in blockchain for over 5 years. She co-led a blockchain developer community and consulted for several projects in the crypto space. Prior to Sephora, Nelly spent 5 years in Deloitte Digital where she focused on digital transformation and experience design. She is a member of the World Economic Forum Metaverse committee.

Jon Heder is a founding member of Verified Labs and an actor, best known for his role as Napoleon Dynamite. He has also appeared in the films The Benchwarmers, Blades of Glory, and Killing Winston Jones. The mysterious and the unknown bewilder him and get him excited to not only prepare for unforeseeable future events, but to explore both the brightest and darkest corners of human creativity. He also loves hybridding animals in art, but he respects Mother Nature too much to not tell you to respect Mother Nature. Respect the animal kingdom and respect Tigonia Forever for infinity.

Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder and chairman of SALT, a global thought leadership forum and venture studio. Prior to founding SkyBridge in 2005, Scaramucci co-founded investment partnership Oscar Capital Management, which was sold to Neuberger Berman in 2001. Earlier, he worked in Private Wealth Management at Goldman Sachs & Co. In 2022, Scaramucci was ranked #47 in Cointelegraph’s Top 100 Influencers in Crypto and Blockchain. In 2016, he was ranked #85 in Worth Magazine’s Power 100: The 100 Most Powerful People in Global Finance. In 2011, he received Ernst & Young’s New York Financial Services “Entrepreneur of the Year” Award. Anthony is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and a board member of the Federal Enforcement Homeland Security Foundation. He is the author of five books. Scaramucci served on President Donald J. Trump’s 16-person Presidential Transition Team Executive Committee, and in 2017 briefly served as Chief Strategy Officer of the Export-Import (EXIM) Bank and White House Communications Director. Scaramucci, a native of Long Island, New York, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Tufts University and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School.

The Honorable J. Christopher Giancarlo served as Chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Considered one of “the most influential individuals in financial regulation,” he also served on the U.S. Financial Stability Oversight Committee, the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets, and the Executive Board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions.

Giancarlo is author of “CryptoDad – The Fight for the Future of Money,” an account of his oversight of the world’s first regulated market for Bitcoin derivatives and the coming transformation of financial services. Giancarlo is Executive Chairman of the Digital Dollar Project, Senior Counsel of Willkie Farr & Gallagher and also board director, advisor and angel investor in numerous technology and financial services companies. Among other recent recognitions, Giancarlo was appointed to the rank of Chevalier in the National Order of Merit by French President Macron in recognition of his expertise in “cryptofinance;”.

Illia Polosukhin is Co-Founder of NEAR Protocol, a decentralized developer platform powered by a sharded smart contract blockchain. NEAR’s vision of a scalable, robust, and highly usable blockchain began in 2018 when they couldn't find a protocol that met the needs of builders. NEAR Protocol launched its mainnet in 2020 and is focused on scaling to global mainstream adoption. Illia has more than 10 years of industry experience, including 3 years at Google where he was a major TensorFlow contributor and managed the team building question-answering capabilities for the core Google search, as well as an author of several notable research papers. Illia has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Bloomberg, TIME, Wired, New York Magazine, Forbes, and TechCrunch.