​Merkle Science Meet: Abu Dhabi Finance Week 2026

​December 8, 2026 | 1:30 PM – 5:30 PM

​📍 Rosewood Abu Dhabi

​Join Merkle Science and a distinguished group of industry leaders, institutional investors, regulators, and compliance professionals for an exclusive afternoon of discussions during Abu Dhabi Finance Week.

​The event will bring together leading voices across digital assets, institutional finance, AI-driven compliance, emerging markets, and stablecoin infrastructure to explore the opportunities and challenges shaping the future of digital finance.

​Agenda

​Speakers & Panel Details

​2:00 PM – 2:40 PM

​Stablecoins & Cross-Border Payments

​Stablecoins are reshaping cross-border payments, with the UAE emerging as a key hub connecting the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and Africa. This session explores how stablecoins are transforming international payments and settlement, alongside the regulatory, AML, and compliance challenges of moving value across jurisdictions.

​Speakers:

• ​Jazib Malik – CEO & Founder, Thirdpay

• ​Donato P. Giarnera – BD, Arf

• ​Serena Sebastiani – VP, Fuze

• ​Joseph Cleetus – VP Business Transformation, Lulu Financial Holding

• ​Atif Shaikh – CRO, DDSC

• ​Jonathan Rigg – CEO, BitOasis

​Moderator: Tom Luo – Head of Sales, Merkle Science

​2:55 PM – 3:35 PM

​AI-Driven Compliance: Building the Next Generation of Financial Crime Detection

​As financial crime becomes increasingly sophisticated, AI is transforming how financial institutions, fintechs, and digital asset businesses detect suspicious activity, identify emerging threats, and strengthen compliance frameworks. This panel explores how AI-driven analytics, blockchain intelligence, and real-time transaction monitoring are shaping the next generation of financial crime detection across the MENA region and globally. Speakers will discuss practical applications of AI in AML/CFT, cross-border payments, and digital asset investigations; the challenges of balancing innovation with regulatory expectations; and how institutions can improve detection accuracy, reduce false positives, and build scalable, intelligence-led compliance programs across jurisdictions.

​Speakers:

• ​Adrianus Schoorl – Partner, Head of Financial Services Regulatory (MENA), DLA Piper

• ​Nicole Purin – Deputy General Counsel, Trustyfy (Former CCO, OKX)

• ​Sharad Kumar – CCO, Cyant

• ​Maryam Saeed – Global Head of Expansion, Sardine

• ​Max Grabner – Head of Product, Range

​Moderator: Kirill Lelchitskiy – CLO, Cyant

​3:55 PM – 4:35 PM

​Crypto Compliance in Middle East and Emerging Markets: The Gulf, Africa, and South Asia

​The UAE sits at the center of capital and payment flows connecting some of the world's fastest-growing digital asset markets, including South Asia, East Africa, and the broader Middle East. This panel examines the compliance challenges unique to these corridors: high-risk jurisdiction exposure, informal value transfer networks, hawala overlaps, and the growing role of stablecoins in markets with limited banking infrastructure. Speakers will discuss how firms operating in and through the Gulf are building compliance programs calibrated for this specific risk environment.

​Speakers:

• ​Tristan Wallaert – CEO, Request Network

• ​Jibran Sheikh – Financial Crime, Compliance Manager & MLRO, Revolut

• ​Mehtap Onder – Managing Director, Fasset

• ​Adam Wolstenholme – Simmons & Simmons

• ​Gillian Lafferty – Head of Compliance, ADI

​Moderator: Sheetal Bhardwaj – Compliance Director & MLRO MENA, HashKey

​4:50 PM – 5:30 PM

​Sovereign Wealth, Family Offices, and the Institutionalization of Digital Assets in the Gulf

​Gulf sovereign wealth funds and family offices represent some of the largest pools of investable capital in the world, and their engagement with digital assets is deepening. This panel examines how these institutions are approaching digital asset allocation, from direct investment in crypto and tokenized assets to backing infrastructure and venture, what compliance and custody standards they are requiring from counterparties, and how service providers are building to meet the expectations of the region's most sophisticated capital allocators.

​Speakers:

• ​Karl Naim – CCO, XBTO

• ​Ali Boukhalfa – Head of MENA & APAC, P2P.ORG

• ​Karthik Mahalingam – CLO, Multipli.fi

• ​Nicholas Philpott – Co-Founder & CSO, Zodia Markets

• ​Andrej Majcen – Co-Founder & Group CEO, Bitcoin Suisse

​Moderator: Thibaut Gravelle-Vivien – Growth Lead, Merkle Science

​Networking Reception

​5:30 PM – 7:00 PM

​An opportunity to continue conversations, exchange insights, and connect with fellow industry leaders and decision-makers.