Welcome to the last day of Consensus 2021!
Today is Day 4 at Consensus, CoinDesk’s biggest event of the year, featuring panels, workshops, keynote speakers, fireside chats, networking and more, all exploring the evolution of digital finance and blockchain technology. The Node will bring the best of Consensus to your inbox in special morning and evening editions from May 24-27. There’s still time to register for Consensus here.

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–Cameron Hood, newsletter editor

It could be said that we saved the best for last on the final day of Consensus 2021. The big themes of today’s broadcast will include the current regulatory landscape and how it can be improved, particularly how it relates to the emerging fields of crypto-native banking and decentralized finance. Rounding out the day will be a series of fireside chats with some of the biggest names in the industry, including one late arrival: Tom Brady.

Here are a few sessions I’m checking out. Be sure to look through the guide to see everything that’s on offer today.

8:00 – 8:20 a.m. A Conversation with FinCEN Acting Director Michael Mosier
Slow Ventures’ Jill Carlson speaks with Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Acting Director Michael Mosier about the coming spate of regulation needed (or not) to prevent financial crime on blockchain networks.

8:25 – 8:50 a.m. Whack-a-Mole: Crypto Tax Treatment Around the Globe
Lukka, OECD and One Hundred Ventures tax experts discuss the unfocused, jurisdictional patchwork of crypto tax laws.

9:25 – 9:50 a.m. New Wineskins: Can DeFi Fit in the Old World Legal System?
Aave’s Rebecca Rettig, Compound’s Jake Chervinsky, dYdX’s Marc Boiron, Uniswap’s Marvin Ammori and Nifty's Olta Andoni – perhaps the top legal minds in DeFi – ask whether this emergent industry needs new financial guidance.

12:25 – 1:00 p.m. If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em? Why Crypto Companies Are Becoming Banks
Representatives from Paxos, Anchorage, Perkins Coie join Caitlin Long and CoinDesk’s Marc Hochstein to discuss the growing trend of crypto natives becoming “banks,” and whether this trend will last under a new administration. This thread is picked up again at 2:10 p.m. with "Who Needs Banks Anyways? The State of Decentralized Financial Services,” featuring Bankless’s David Hoffman, among others.

4:15 – 4:55 p.m. A Car in Every Driveway and a Personal Token in Every Wallet

Many are betting that personal tokens (or social tokens, as they're sometimes called) will be the next big trend to sweep through the crypto world. Roll’s Bradley Miles and Rally’s Kevin Chou join Alex Masmej and Joon Ian Wang, who have tokenized themselves, for a roundtable. Later, learn about Spencer Dinwiddie’s social token experiment at 6:10 p.m.

Rounding out the last day at Consensus are a series of one-on-one interviews with distinguished guests including Whale Shark, Cathie Wood, CZ, and a just-announced fireside chat featuring Sam Bankman-Fried and Tom Brady.

–Daniel Kuhn

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This Week at #Consensus2021

The quixotic dream of crypto has always been personal financial freedom without reliance on traditional intermediaries. Today, more than ever, these technologies are offering individuals a self-sovereign financial future.

This week at Consensus by CoinDesk, our virtual big-tent conference, we examine the trails being blazed and the people leading the charge.

Join our Explorations track "Dimension C: Life in the Parallel Financial System," sponsored by eToro, with Brooklyn Nets point guard Spencer Dinwiddie, eToro CEO Yoni Assia, Venrock's David Pakman and more at Consensus by CoinDesk, running to May 27. Register today.

OFFICIALS REVIEW: The SEC is now officially reviewing two more BTC ETF applications. Anthony Scaramucci’s SkyBridge Capital and Fidelity Investments’ Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust join four others under official review with more still pending.

9 MONTHS IN: Meanwhile, Fidelity Investments’ first bitcoin fund has raised $102 million from wealthy investors since launching last August, according to Wednesday regulatory filings.

CODERS < BANKERS: DBS, Southeast Asia’s largest bank by assets with a $55.4 billion market capitalization, is helping Singapore’s central bank research blockchain. CEO Piyush Gupta said the institution has twice as many engineers as bankers.

BTS ESG: Bitcoin’s environmental concerns, pushed to the forefront by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, could slow big investors’ push into the cryptocurrency, according to analysts and industry executives. “Crypto needs to address renewable energy, and then it will be able to resume its bullish trend,” Edward Moya, senior market analyst at the brokerage firm Oanda, told CoinDesk.

–D.K.