Juan Hernandez, Founder & CEO of Open Finance Network: Crypto's Biggest Impending Issues

— Juan Hernandez, CEO of Open Finance Network, founded a trading platform for alternative assets in 2014 and pivoted to digital securities after recognizing blockchain's potential for clearing, settlement, and capital raising.

— Digital securities are securities in a new digital format; the industry needs issuance platforms, protocols, exchanges (or ATSs), and service providers—particularly securities lawyers—to succeed.

— Issuance platforms earn a "C" grade overall; they face challenges educating traditional issuers and raising capital in a soft crypto market, though institutional adoption is slowly beginning.

— Protocols received an "incomplete" grade because they haven't been fully tested at scale; edge cases like multi-tranche offerings with different holding periods are still being solved.

— Real estate is the most promising asset class for tokenization because it is widely understood, suitable for fractional ownership, and can attract marquee issuers who provide mainstream credibility.

— Regulators have been receptive to digital securities; they appreciate that smart contracts can enforce compliance rules more reliably than traditional methods, improving investor protection.

— Real estate and traditional private limited partnerships represent the strongest near-term opportunities for tokenized securities; focus on marquee names and well-understood hard assets rather than exotic, unproven companies.

— Securities lawyers must be educated on the technical and regulatory implications of digital securities so they can advise clients confidently; this legal bottleneck is critical to mainstream adoption.

— Section 12G of securities law—which caps private shareholders at 2,000—should be refreshed to reflect blockchain's ability to manage larger shareholder bases transparently and securely.