Fireside Chat with Ruben Amenyogbo (Architect Systems) and Shannon Corless (Prev BFS) at ETHConf
リアクション
2026年07月01日
In this fireside chat, Shannon Corless, former Treasury Department official, interviews Ruben Amenyogbo, founder and CEO of Architect, a Swiss regulated global investment firm active in digital assets since 2017 with backings including Kiki, Privy, Worldcoin, and Zama. Ruben opens by explaining why Architect made the deliberate choice to be licensed rather than unregulated, framing it as both strategic and economic. Strategically, most of the world's capital sits behind regulated walls (large pension funds, endowments, insurance companies), and those institutions can only face regulated counterparties. Economically, an institutional grade setup commands a higher price point and management fees than offshore prop shops can charge.
Ruben walks through the reality of billion dollar institutional due diligence, describing the structured progression from informal team conversations through deep diligence on business continuity planning, deputization, reserves, and insurance against long tail risks. On AML and compliance, he distinguishes firms that structure around compliance from those that structure within it, advocating for KYC at both capital formation level (knowing who is investing in the vault) and market level (ensuring capital isn't commingled with illicit assets when flowing into the market). On the geopolitical question of whether dollar backed stablecoins extend or erode US dominance, Ruben notes that while 95% plus of stablecoin flows are USD denominated, the fact that assets are dollar pegged does not mean the rails serve US interests, which is why figures like Jamie Dimon have publicly called out Brian Armstrong. He explains Architect's relocation to Switzerland during the Gensler era due to hostile regulatory conditions in the US. He closes with his three wave thesis: continued education and proof of concepts now, competitive dynamics among asset managers next, and osmosis bringing the largest balance sheets last, urging builders to avoid shortcuts that would compromise their reputations with institutional diligence teams.
00:00 Introduction
00:31 About Ruben and Architect
01:19 Why Architect Chose to Be Regulated
02:27 Strategic Reasoning: Capital Behind Regulated Walls
03:23 Economic Reasoning: Institutional Cost Base and Fees
03:50 What a Billion Dollar Due Diligence Process Looks Like
04:52 The Shift From Foreplay to Deep Diligence
05:20 Questions Cryptonative Founders Don't See Coming
06:24 AML, Sanctions, and Source of Funds as the Real Objection
06:47 The Two Levels of KYC
07:14 Structuring Around vs Within Compliance
08:02 KYC at the Capital Formation Level
08:22 KYC at the Market Level and Commingling Risk
09:16 Risk Management as a Risk Adjusted Returns Function
09:41 Mapping the Universe of Risk
10:14 Tools, Policies, and Screening Partners
10:51 Does Crypto Extend or Erode US Dollar Dominance
11:49 Stablecoin Flows Are 95% Plus USD Denominated
12:18 Who Controls the Rails Is the Contested Question
13:00 Capital Pools and the Politicization of Asset Management
14:00 Why Architect Incorporated in Switzerland
14:48 Operating Out of Palo Alto During the Gensler Era
15:19 The Global Mandate and Distributed Team
15:51 What Grown Up Looks Like for Digital Assets
16:26 The First Wave: Continued Education
17:02 BlackRock Bitcoin ETF and Securitize as Proof Points
17:33 Competitive Dynamics Among Large Asset Managers
18:07 Osmosis at the Allocator Level
18:54 What Five Year Winners Will Have Built
19:32 Avoiding Shortcuts That Get You on Treasury's Radar
20:00 Closing
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*ETHConf 2026*
ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum.
Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
✅ *Follow ETHConf*
X: https://x.com/ethconf
Website: https://ethconf.com
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets
🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Ruben walks through the reality of billion dollar institutional due diligence, describing the structured progression from informal team conversations through deep diligence on business continuity planning, deputization, reserves, and insurance against long tail risks. On AML and compliance, he distinguishes firms that structure around compliance from those that structure within it, advocating for KYC at both capital formation level (knowing who is investing in the vault) and market level (ensuring capital isn't commingled with illicit assets when flowing into the market). On the geopolitical question of whether dollar backed stablecoins extend or erode US dominance, Ruben notes that while 95% plus of stablecoin flows are USD denominated, the fact that assets are dollar pegged does not mean the rails serve US interests, which is why figures like Jamie Dimon have publicly called out Brian Armstrong. He explains Architect's relocation to Switzerland during the Gensler era due to hostile regulatory conditions in the US. He closes with his three wave thesis: continued education and proof of concepts now, competitive dynamics among asset managers next, and osmosis bringing the largest balance sheets last, urging builders to avoid shortcuts that would compromise their reputations with institutional diligence teams.
00:00 Introduction
00:31 About Ruben and Architect
01:19 Why Architect Chose to Be Regulated
02:27 Strategic Reasoning: Capital Behind Regulated Walls
03:23 Economic Reasoning: Institutional Cost Base and Fees
03:50 What a Billion Dollar Due Diligence Process Looks Like
04:52 The Shift From Foreplay to Deep Diligence
05:20 Questions Cryptonative Founders Don't See Coming
06:24 AML, Sanctions, and Source of Funds as the Real Objection
06:47 The Two Levels of KYC
07:14 Structuring Around vs Within Compliance
08:02 KYC at the Capital Formation Level
08:22 KYC at the Market Level and Commingling Risk
09:16 Risk Management as a Risk Adjusted Returns Function
09:41 Mapping the Universe of Risk
10:14 Tools, Policies, and Screening Partners
10:51 Does Crypto Extend or Erode US Dollar Dominance
11:49 Stablecoin Flows Are 95% Plus USD Denominated
12:18 Who Controls the Rails Is the Contested Question
13:00 Capital Pools and the Politicization of Asset Management
14:00 Why Architect Incorporated in Switzerland
14:48 Operating Out of Palo Alto During the Gensler Era
15:19 The Global Mandate and Distributed Team
15:51 What Grown Up Looks Like for Digital Assets
16:26 The First Wave: Continued Education
17:02 BlackRock Bitcoin ETF and Securitize as Proof Points
17:33 Competitive Dynamics Among Large Asset Managers
18:07 Osmosis at the Allocator Level
18:54 What Five Year Winners Will Have Built
19:32 Avoiding Shortcuts That Get You on Treasury's Radar
20:00 Closing
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
*ETHConf 2026*
ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum.
Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
✅ *Follow ETHConf*
X: https://x.com/ethconf
Website: https://ethconf.com
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets
🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
