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Hadley Stern
Speaker · Proof of Talk 2026
DeFi Development Corporation UK PLC

Hadley Stern

Independent Non-Executive Chairman, DeFi Development Corporation UK PLC

Having launched Fidelity's blockchain incubator in 2014 and later headed global digital asset custody at BNY Mellon, he moderated three sessions at Proof of Talk Paris 2026.

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The Significance

Why the room needs them.

Hadley Stern moderated three sessions at Proof of Talk Paris 2026, on institutional DeFi, digital asset treasuries and judgement in the age of infinite tools. From 2014 he launched Fidelity's blockchain-specific incubator and digital currency group, and later ran global digital asset custody at The Bank of New York Mellon. He was appointed a director of DeFi Development Corp. (Nasdaq: DFDV) in January 2026.

The Numbers
3
Sessions moderated at Proof of Talk Paris 2026
17
Years at Fidelity Investments, from 2001
2014
Fidelity Labs blockchain incubator launched
The Thesis · on the record

What Hadley believes about the next ten years.

01
US ETFs should pay the staking reward
Writing in CoinDesk in March 2025, he argued that Europe's approval of staking ETPs should set the precedent for a staking ETF in the United States, and that American investors were being denied yield because issuers had learned from the Ethereum case to strike staking from their applications. Midway through the piece he put it in a line: "It's time for a Solana ETF."
02
The corporate crypto treasury has outgrown the inflation hedge
In Forbes in September 2025 he wrote that what began as a macro hedge against inflation had evolved into public companies using crypto for infrastructure participation and yield, and that the shift was playing out on Solana through a new class of digital asset treasury entities.
03
A listed company can participate in a network, not merely hold it
On his appointment to the board of DeFi Development Corp. in January 2026 he said that combining a public market structure with active participation in the Solana ecosystem represented "a compelling evolution in digital asset treasury management".
The Timeline

Years of shipping.

2014
As a senior vice president at Fidelity Labs, launches the firm's blockchain-specific incubator and digital currency group, per the biography DeFi Development Corp. has filed with the SEC.
2016
Founds Fidelity Digital Asset Services, per that same filed biography. The Block later described him as the unit's founding president from 2016 to 2018.
2018
Leaves Fidelity after seventeen years and is named Bloq's first chief operating officer in October.
2021
Becomes head of global digital asset custody at The Bank of New York Mellon, a role The Block reported as running to 2024, after leading the Amazon Web Services Innovation Lab from 2020.
2024
Joins Marinade as Chief Commercial Officer in September.
2026
Appointed a director of DeFi Development Corp. (Nasdaq: DFDV) on 27 January, and Independent Non-Executive Chairman of DeFi Development Corporation UK PLC from 15 January; resigns from the UK board on 30 June, and that company is renamed Cykel AI PLC on 13 July.
In Their Words

Lines that keep proving correct.

“But what began as a macro hedge against inflation has now evolved into something more sophisticated: public companies leveraging crypto not just for exposure, but for infrastructure participation and yield.”

Forbes, "Solana's Institutional Moment: SOL Digital Asset Treasuries", 17 September 2025

“It's time for a Solana ETF.”

CoinDesk, "The U.S. Deserves Better Crypto ETFs. Let's Start With Solana", 17 March 2025

“DFDV's approach to combining a public market structure with active participation in the Solana ecosystem represents a compelling evolution in digital asset treasury management, and I look forward to supporting the Company's long-term strategy.”

DeFi Development Corp. press release filed with the SEC as Exhibit 99.1 to a Form 8-K, 29 January 2026
The Body of Work

What they have built, written, and backed.

Built

  • Fidelity's first iPhone appBloq's October 2018 announcement of his hire credits him with leading development of Fidelity's first iPhone app and with launching the firm on Facebook and Twitter, and says he holds 16 patents.
  • Fidelity's blockchain incubatorFrom 2014, as a senior vice president at Fidelity Labs, he launched the firm's blockchain-specific incubator and digital currency group, per the biography DeFi Development Corp. has filed with the SEC. Bloq's 2018 announcement describes the same work as the cryptocurrency and blockchain incubator inside Fidelity Labs.
  • Fidelity Digital Asset ServicesDeFi Development Corp.'s SEC-filed biography says he founded the unit in 2016. The Block, reporting his hire by Marinade in September 2024, described him as its founding president from 2016 to 2018.
  • Digital asset custody at BNY MellonHe was head of global digital asset custody at The Bank of New York Mellon. DeFi Development Corp.'s January 2026 announcement of his board appointment says he launched the industry's first bank-grade digital asset custody platform for bitcoin and ethereum.

Hadley at Proof of Talk

The next Proof of Talk is in Abu Dhabi.

Louvre Abu Dhabi, 3–4 December 2026. Admission is by application, and the room is capped at 2,000.

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