The decentralization revolution triggered in 2008 has presented a host of new potentially beneficial solutions to existent problems in the financial sector. However, there are economic structures and incentives such as information asymmetries and network externalities, that make it reasonable to keep some of the existent structures, functions and players coexisting with decentralized solutions. Reaching a mix that is optimal from the social perspective is an ongoing challenge that requires the participation of a wide array of stakeholders, including old and new and with Central Banks taking on an innovation role that is new for these institutions.

Bio: Head of the Toronto Innovation Hub Centre within the Bank for International settlements, his role is to contribute to the creation of digital financial public goods such as settlement systems, identity solutions and open finance environments. Before this position he was the head of Payment Systems and Financial Market infrastructures at the central Bank of Mexico where he guided the development, operation, analysis, and regulation of financial market infrastructures. He oversaw the modernization of the payment systems in Mexico, directed the creation of a fast payment system denominated in dollars, and was deeply involved in the development of the operational and regulatory strategy of the Central Bank regarding financial market infrastructures, including CBDC and the inclusion of new market participants in the ecosystem and the opening of the market to open finance solutions. In his previous roles he directed strategic planning and managed macro-financial analysis for the Bank of Mexico, and he is an Economist with a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.