On Tuesday 12 March, Deloitte Luxembourg hosted the second edition of their Digital Assets Conference (DAC) at DSquare. Celebrating both pioneers and innovators in the fast-evolving digital assets space, DAC brought together more than 100 professionals for a forum on the future of digital assets in Luxembourg. For the first time, the conference featured a Digital Assets Awards ceremony to highlight the work of those significantly shaping the industry.

The panel discussion featured esteemed subject matter experts, including Eron Angjele from CACEIS, Pierre Mottion from Clearstream, Amparo Garcia Flores from Securitize, and John Ehlers of Swissquote Bank Europe. Moderated by Giulia Pescatore, Senior Manager at Deloitte Luxembourg, the panel created a space for industry leaders to share insights into the significant digital asset milestones over the past year and how these have influenced their strategies for 2024. From the integration of traditional securities with blockchain technology to asset tokenization and the associated operational challenges, the conversation covered a variety of perspectives and asset types.

The conference ended with an inaugural Digital Assets Awards ceremony aimed at showcasing and rewarding initiatives, platform enablers and personalities in Luxembourg's promising digital assets ecosystem.

"The Digital Assets Awards were designed to acknowledge the tenacity, creativity, and brilliance of those who are advancing Luxembourg's digital financial ecosystem," says Thibault Chollet, Partner at Deloitte Luxembourg. "We’re grateful to be able to use our platform to champion the relentless efforts of these innovators and hope their inspiring journey drives the entire industry to keep pushing boundaries and striving for excellence."

Award winners

A jury of industry leaders (coming from ALFI, ABBL, Deloitte, Luxembourg Blockchain Lab, Luxembourg for Finance) selected three award winners based on their innovation, inspired leadership, and significant contributions to Luxembourg's growing digital assets ecosystem.

Initiative of the Year

This award recognizes the most innovative and impactful project to Luxembourg’s digital assets ecosystem and beyond. The recipient of this award has demonstrated exceptional creativity and forward-thinking, contributing significantly to the advancement of the digital asset's ecosystem.

Winner: ERC3643 Association

ERC3643 Association is a non-profit organization aligning industry leaders along a shared mission to advance the ERC-3643 token standard’s adoption and promote the development of a standardized, secure, and compliant tokenization framework. The association brings together its members’ expertise and resources to foster collaboration, drive innovation, and create a more inclusive, efficient, and secure financial landscape. By supporting the widespread adoption of the ERC3643 standard, the association aims to unlock tokenization’s full potential and pave the way for a new era of global asset management. Currently, the association has over 45 members and 4 working groups, each with its own mission.

Platform Enabler of the Year

This award acknowledges a platform that has significantly facilitated the growth and development of the digital assets industry in Luxembourg and beyond. The recipient of this award has provided exceptional support and tools that have enabled others to succeed in this rapidly evolving field.

Winner: HSBC Orion

Orion is HSBC’s digital platform for asset tokenization used for the issuance, settlement, and servicing of tokenized securities. Launched in February 2023 with an issuance of digital native bonds for the European Investment Bank, the platform leverages blockchain distributed ledger technology (DLT) on a private/permissioned chain acting as the legal title/record of holdings. HSBC Orion is the first digital asset platform and central account keeper (CAK) located in Luxembourg that is fully operating under Luxembourg blockchain regime.

Personality of the Year

This award recognizes an individual who has made a significant impact in the digital assets industry over the past year. The recipient of this award is someone who has shown outstanding leadership, innovation, and influence in the field, driving growth, and fostering a positive environment for digital assets in Luxembourg.

Winner:  Laurent Marochini

Laurent Marochini is Head of Innovation at Société Générale Securities Services in Luxembourg. Originally joining in 2006 as Risk Manager, since 2018, Laurent has also been serving as Head of the group’s Innovation Lab, #LePlateauLux, and Blockchain Leader. Prior to joining SGSS, Laurent held various management positions at BPSS and Credit Suisse Private Banking. He is Co-Chairman of the ALFI Working Group Blockchain & Crypto Currencies and the Chair of the ABBL FinTech & Innovation Forum. Laurent’s dynamism, active involvement, and leadership in the Fintech ecosystem has been instrumental in positioning Luxembourg on the global map.