Advancing the Digital Asset Economy at Consensus Hong Kong | Day 2 Replay
Speakers
Haseeb Qureshi — Managing Partner, Dragonfly
— Dragonfly managing partner
Summary
- The "Convergence" is Reality (2026): The primary theme is no longer "crypto vs. tradfi" but the complete integration. Major entities like ICE, Franklin Templeton, and BlackRock alumni are not just exploring but deploying live, revenue-generating infrastructure (futures, tokenized collateral on Binance).
- Yield is the Killer App: The narrative has shifted from price volatility to "productive assets." Whether it is ETH staking, stablecoin yield, or tokenized private credit, institutional capital is exclusively seeking yield-bearing instruments over passive store-of-value assets.
- Regulatory Arbitrage & The "Clarity Act": While the US "Clarity Act" is stalled by banking lobbies fighting stablecoin yield, Asia (Hong Kong) and the UAE are advancing. However, US entities (Coinbase) remain the center of gravity for the regulatory fight.
- Infrastructure over Speculation: The "Degen" era is viewed as over. Capital is flowing into infrastructure: privacy layers (Midnight), decentralized AI compute (Gensyn), and efficient mining.
Trade Ideas
The "Midnight" privacy sidechain mainnet launches at the end of March. Additionally, Layer Zero and USDC are integrating directly with the Cardano ecosystem. Historically, interoperability (Layer Zero) and stablecoin liquidity (USDC) are the two biggest catalysts for DeFi velocity on a Layer 1. Midnight adds a "privacy-as-a-service" utility that differentiates Cardano from other chains. Long ADA into the March catalyst and subsequent liquidity injections. "Sell the news" event post-launch; failure to attract developers despite infrastructure upgrades.
ICE Futures US is launching cash-settled futures for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and BNB, plus multi-token indices (CoinDesk 5 and 20). ICE (parent of NYSE) is a conservative, institutional-grade venue. By launching these specific futures, they are validating customer demand for beta exposure beyond just BTC/ETH. This opens a new revenue stream from institutional hedging that requires regulated venues, not offshore exchanges. Long ICE as a "picks and shovels" play on institutional crypto derivative volume. Regulatory pushback or low volume compared to native crypto exchanges.
Canary Capital has filed for ETFs specifically for HBAR and Litecoin (LTC), citing "passionate communities" and specific utility (enterprise for HBAR, payments for LTC). ETF filings act as a forcing function for price discovery. As seen with BTC and ETH, the mere existence of a credible filing leads to front-running by speculators anticipating approval. Long HBAR and LTC as speculative plays on regulatory approval. SEC rejection or indefinite delays of these specific altcoin ETFs.
Mining difficulty is increasing and rewards have halved. Only miners with "low capital cost basis, access to low power, and efficient fleets" will survive 2026. This signals a consolidation phase where small, inefficient miners capitulate. Large, publicly traded US miners (Marathon, Riot, CleanSpark) have the capital access to acquire distressed assets and dominate hashrate. Long the most efficient large-cap miners as they gain market share from capitulating competitors. Sustained BTC price drop below production cost; energy regulation.
Chalom (ex-BlackRock) distinguishes ETH as a "productive asset" capable of generating ~3% risk-free yield via staking, unlike Bitcoin. He notes a "flight to utility." In a high-rate or maturing environment, institutions prefer assets with internal cash flows. ETH's yield makes it the "bond" of the crypto internet, attracting treasuries (like SharpeLink) that need to show returns to investors. Long ETH as the primary institutional yield-bearing asset. Regulatory classification of staking as a security offering.
The "Clarity Act" is held up by a battle between "large banks and Brian Armstrong [Coinbase]" regarding stablecoin yield. Coinbase is effectively the gatekeeper and primary lobbyist for the crypto industry's most lucrative revenue stream (stablecoin interest income). If a compromise is reached, or if the status quo remains where non-banks can issue yield-bearing stablecoins, Coinbase protects its highest-margin business. Long COIN as the primary beneficiary of US regulatory clarity or the preservation of the stablecoin status quo. Banks winning the lobby war and monopolizing stablecoin issuance.
Binance has partnered with Franklin Templeton to allow the "Benji" token (Franklin's tokenized money market fund) to be used as off-exchange collateral for trading. This provides massive utility for Franklin Resources' (BEN) product. It transforms a passive money market fund into active trading collateral on the world's largest exchange, significantly increasing the total addressable market (TAM) for their tokenized assets. Long BEN as a leader in RWA (Real World Asset) utility, moving beyond simple issuance to actual market integration. Regulatory scrutiny on using tokenized securities as crypto collateral.
Launch of USDKG, a stablecoin backed by the Ministry of Finance of Kyrgyzstan and gold reserves, over-collateralized to maintain the peg. This represents a sovereign-level validation of gold as the superior backing for digital stablecoins (vs. fiat debt). It suggests a broader trend of "Gold 2.0" where gold is modernized via blockchain rails, increasing demand for the physical metal. Long GLD as digital demand for gold-backed liquidity grows. Failure of the specific stablecoin project; gold price volatility.
Up Next
This CoinDesk video, published February 12, 2026, features Charles Hoskinson, Jennifer Ilkiw, Stephen McClurg, Fakul Mia, Joseph Shalom, Richard Teng, William Campbell discussing ADA, ICE, HBAR, LTC, MARA, RIOT, CLSK, ETH, COIN, BEN, GLD. 8 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.
Speakers: Charles Hoskinson, Jennifer Ilkiw, Stephen McClurg, Fakul Mia, Joseph Shalom, Richard Teng, William Campbell · Tickers: ADA, ICE, HBAR, LTC, MARA, RIOT, CLSK, ETH, COIN, BEN, GLD