THE CENTRE FOR DIGITAL ASSETS & DEMOCRACY

The Centre for Digital Assets and Democracy (CDAD) has been built on the democratic principle that everybody should own and control their own assets, with the state and its agencies acting as enabling and directly accountable public servants whose role is to assist those who elect them.

About Us

The Centre for Digital Assets and Democracy (CDAD) has been built on the democratic principle that everybody should own and control their own assets, with the state and its agencies acting as directly accountable public servants whose role is to enable.

The entry of digital assets, which we use as an umbrella term including digital ledger technology and its evolutions, into the financial arena has provided opportunities for individuals and businesses to hold and control their assets with less intervention from state and financial institutions.

While bad actors are portrayed as the only beneficiaries of this new asset class, we believe that this is a small, albeit critical, part of the whole picture.

Less attention has been given to thinking about how this asset class can enhance the finances and lives of individuals and businesses, and therefore communities and our society as a whole.

Our Aims

CDAD aims to turn our attention to how digital assets can be used to:

  • give individuals control of their own earnings and financial data
  • reduce the financial burden placed on businesses
  • work with the state and financial institutions to develop regulations, built to help individuals and businesses benefit.

We will do this by the respectful and free exchange of ideas and information. We invite all those in parliaments, digital assets, policy making, state agencies, regulating bodies, financial markets, financial institutions and interested parties to contribute with their positive thoughts and ideas.

Our People

Claire Cummings

Founder and CEO

Claire Cummings is a leading solicitor specialising in crypto law and regulation. She is the founder of The Centre for Digital Assets and Democracy and the founder and managing partner of the law firm Cummings Pepperdine LLP, a London legal firm at the forefront of the crypto and blockchain revolution.

Claire is on the advisory boards of a crypto exchange and a strategic communications firm specialising in digital assets, blockchain, Web3 and AI and the main board of an NFT firm. She is also the legal practitioner on the Forum for Digital Currencies and has acted as part of the Global Digital Finance working group on stablecoins. Claire has also acted as compliance officer, MLRO and director of an FCA regulated fund manager and qualified under SIB to trade derivatives.

As a leading expert in crypto, Claire is a sought after speaker and has published multiple articles on the legal and regulatory issues surrounding cryptocurrencies and the crypto eco-system. Claire was named as a Top Influencer in London for hedge funds (2&20) in 2022 and 2023 and in 2022 was included in the CityWealth Crypto Top 100. Claire is a CityWealth Woman of the Year 2023 and the Cummings Pepperdine Crypto Questions Podcast is a winner of the CityWealth Podcast of the Year 2023.

Jennifer Ewing

Chief Strategy Officer

Jennifer Ewing leads Strategy for the Centre for Digital Assets and Democracy.

Jennifer has over two decades of experience in international capital markets. She has worked with corporates as well as institutional/family office investors internationally in San Francisco, New York and London at investment banks ING, Dresdner, Wood & Company and Cap Connect. In 2015, she co-founded Razlin Capital, an FCA-regulated investment advisory firm. Jennifer now runs Ottersea Advisors where she focuses on helping digital asset businesses grow using policy, people and planning.

Jennifer is the COO of The Hamilton Society, a London-based discussion forum for Anglo/American advocates of free speech. She is a frequent US political commentator on BBC, Talk TV, GB News and Al Jazeera. In addition to her work in finance and politics, Jennifer has done extensive volunteering for Animal Assisted Therapy and Age UK Kensington & Chelsea.

Dr David McGrogan

David Dr McGrogan is a Fellow of the Centre for Digital Assets and Democracy. David’s work will explain in detail why CBDCs are a danger to democracy and a threat to financial freedom.

David is a leading scholar of human rights, public law and regulation, the law of contract, and legal theory. Already widely published in prestigious legal journals, in 2019 he also won the International Society of Public Law’s ICON Prize. He is currently both an Associate Professor of Law at Northumbria Law School, and Director of Postgraduate Research for the Faculty of Business & Law at Northumbria University. He is also a Fellow of the Knapp Foundation and runs a major international research network, on Critical Theory and Conservative Thought.

Before entering academia he worked in the commercial world, experience which informs his current work. He was a legal translator in Japanese-English specialising in company law, commercial law, consumer credit regulation, and financial regulation with an emphasis on financial regulation.

Harry Hussain

Harry Hussain is a fellow of The Centre for Digital Assets and Democracy. His work focuses on the concept of Bitcoin for Liberty.

Harry’s background is in the broad area of freedom and security in think-tanks and the policy sector, all of which informs his current thinking and his active personal investments in Bitcoin. Harry holds a degree in psychology and politics and is also experienced in social entrepreneurship and consultancy.

Francesca Crachilova

Francesca Crachilova is a Junior Fellow of the Centre for Digital Assets and Democracy. Her work focusses on the benefits of Bitcoin with an emphasis on our spearhead campaign, “Bitcoin for Liberty.

Francesca was a key contributor at our inaugural event in October 2023 where she discussed the prize-winning essay she wrote at 13 – “A Digital Democracy” – on leveraging blockchain in modern voting systems.

As well as winning a number of prizes in maths, Francesca is also recognized as one of the top debaters in the UK and stands out as one of the youngest members ever to join the prestigious Team England Debate. At just 16, she made history as the youngest champion to win both the Oxford and Cambridge University debate competitions.

Francesca’s interests include quantum computing, neuromorphic artificial intelligence, photonics-based communication technologies and philosophy.

Our Thoughts

A transcript* of the speech given by Philippa

"Money remains the cornerstone of our society and yet the vast majority of young people have never been and will never be in a bank. Money is moving online."

Inaugural event

A transcript* of the speech given by Claire Cummings (founder) at our inaugural event

Gary Gensler’s court losses

Gary Gensler could be the poster boy for the on-going theme of how people are losing faith in our “three letter institutions”. From the DOJ, to the CDC, to the MSM – we need our institutions to do better.

What is a decentralised asset?

This question is at the crux of any consideration about the relationship of the state and the individual in digital assets.

Political control and digital currencies

The European Conservative published a thought-provoking article last month titled ““This Is Not a Big Brother Project”: Digital Currency and Political Control”. The eye-catching sentence in the sub-heading is “Christine Lagarde, ECB president, opined that even small transactions using the digital euro should be subject to control

The case for impartiality in finance

The issues are far reaching. How can anyone live a normal, every day life without access to banking? How can anyone who wishes to buy a house hope to get a mortgage if their credit rating has been lowered for no financial reason?

June issue of The Otonomist

“We are delighted to appear in the June issue of The Otonomist – a newsletter which looks at how to build businesses on blockchain and invest in crypto.

When the State closes your bank account

Nigel Farage has followed Toby Young in talking publicly about the actions of banks closing accounts without always giving good reason. As George Mason University law professor Todd Zywicki said in a video interview "You do have to have a bank account, really, to be able to live."

Contact

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The Centre for Digital Assets and Democracy is a limited company established under English law with company number 14743341 whose registered office is at 7a Abbey Business Park, Monks Walk, Farnham, Surrey GU9 8HT and is not regulated or authorised.

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