The First 100 Days - U.S. Policy Impacts on Digital Money

Ananya Kumar is the deputy director for future of money at the GeoEconomics Center. She leads the Center’s work on the future of money and does research on payments systems, central bank digital currencies, stablecoins, cryptocurrencies, and other digital assets. Her analysis has been cited by the Economist, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Federal Reserve, International Monetary Fund and World Bank. Kumar previously worked in research assistant capacities at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Foreign Policy Institute at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). She has also worked as a legal analyst at Sidley Austin LLP in New York City. She holds a MA in strategic studies and international economics from SAIS, where she was a Merrill Center fellow. Kumar graduated cum laude from Bryn Mawr College with a BA in economics and political science.

Paige Paridon is Senior Vice President, Senior Associate General Counsel, and Co-Head of Regulatory Affairs for the Bank Policy Institute. Ms. Paridon is a member of BPI’s legal and regulatory affairs team and leads BPI’s consumer financial regulation and digital assets and payments-related advocacy and policy work. Prior to joining BPI, Ms. Paridon served as Managing Director and Senior Associate General Counsel of The Clearing House. In that capacity, Ms. Paridon led the advocacy efforts of The Clearing House on a wide array of bank regulatory legal and policy issues impacting large financial institutions, including bank rating systems, national bank preemption, industry compensation limitations, brokered deposit restrictions, Community Reinvestment Act regulations, and structural and activity limitations impacting banking organizations. Prior to joining The Clearing House, Ms. Paridon served as Counsel in the Legal Division of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in the Banking Regulation and Policy Group. While at the Board, Ms. Paridon drafted regulations and developed policies in connection with the Board’s implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act, including those related to the establishment of the Financial Stability Oversight Council; restrictions on transactions between banks and their affiliates; and prohibitions on management interlocks. While at the Board, she received the Chairman’s Special Achievement Award for leading the interagency effort to implement the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s nonbank designation authority.

Ms. Paridon received her J.D. magna cum laude from The Georgetown University Law Center where she was elected to membership in the Order of the Coif and holds a B.A. from Yale University.

Will is the Head of Payments, Hardware, and Small Business Public Policy at Block Inc, a global technology company focused on financial services. He is also a Practitioner in Residence (PIR) at Global Digital Finance. Will has experience working at the intersection of trade, technology, economic, and innovation policy, joining Block from HM Treasury in the UK.

Luxmmi is in JPMorgan Chase’s EMEA Regulatory Affairs team, covering digital policy issues including digital assets and AI. Prior to joining JPMorgan Chase, Luxmmi worked as a policy adviser for several years at His Majesty’s Treasury on a range of areas including financial market infrastructure, listing rules and the financial stability implications of emerging technology in finance, with a focus on CBDC and cryptoassets. 

Marius Bischoff is a Manager in the Payments and Innovation team at UK Finance, covering digital identity, supporting the UK Finance Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) working group, the Regulated Liabilities Network (RLN) project, and UK Finance’s work on industry standards. His role involves close collaboration with senior stakeholders across the banking sector to enhance customer outcomes.

With a background in stakeholder engagement, policy formulation, and external relations, Marius has previously worked in consulting, where he advised on strategic engagements and business transformation within the financial and public sectors. He also has significant experience working for NGOs in both Brussels and London, helping to shape regulatory strategies and stakeholder engagement efforts.