Is Banking Broken?

"From TradFi to Ecommerce and Fintech to Digital Assets"

John O'Loghlen (Emmanuel) - Regional Managing Director APAC & Country Director Australia of Coinbase thinks yes! Australia's Big Four probably disagree. Should be a fun evening.

John's career is basically the evolution of payment systems in human form:

• TradFi: Goldman Sachs (learning how the old system works)
• E-commerce: Founded a pizza chain in Beijing, watched China leapfrog cards entirely
• Fintech: 11 years at Alibaba/Alipay processing billions of transactions instantly
• Digital Assets: Now MD of Coinbase APAC, fighting banks that won't give him an account

The thesis: Each upgrade met massive resistance from incumbents. Each happened anyway.

The controversy: Australian banks are systematically closing crypto accounts with 24 hours notice. John's taking it to Parliament. Banks say crypto is risky. John says they're blocking innovation.

Who's right? Come and find out.