Technological innovation is no longer the only engine of the crypto ecosystem. Today, the debate has moved to the field of legal architecture and financial infrastructure control. This was the heart of the discussion moderated by Laure Pallez, Associate Director at Mascaret, and Estelle Monraisse (President Alter’Com Conseil and Senior Partner at Mascaret) at the conference organized by the Cercle France-Amériques on Monday, March 16, 2026.
The event, dedicated to interactions between “Banks, States, Citizens: who will shape the future of crypto?”, brought together a panel of experts recognized for a cross view between Europe and the United States on the issues of digital sovereignty: Sebastien Badault, Vice-President at Ledger and Stéphane Blemus, Financial Law Lawyer at White & Case.
The observation: irreversible integration
The era of experimentation is over. The question of the entry of digital assets into mainstream finance no longer arises: it is a reality. The current challenge lies in the definition of the rules of the game. The next chapter will not be written by technology alone, but by the interaction between private infrastructure, public sector involvement and regulatory credibility.
Three pillars of transformation identified:
- Stablecoins, vectors of influence: For Europe, the ability to develop and adopt local issuers and payment rails is an imperative of sovereignty in the face of a dollar-dominated market.
- Asset tokenization: More than a technical innovation, the programmability of financial assets represents a structural overhaul of capital markets, from issuance to asset service.
- The regulatory framework as a lever: If the MiCA regulation offers a basis, the leading jurisdictions will be those that will align law, liquidity and institutional adoption to create an ecosystem of sustainable trust.
Finance is emerging at the intersection of law, technology and market structure. For companies and decision-makers, reflection must now focus on the nature of the infrastructure used and the resulting strategic benefits.
Mascaret thanks the Cercle France-Amériques for the invitation to this reference event and its partners for the quality of the debates.