By Na’Riyah Mckinney

On February 14, 2025, the University of Miami Law Review hosted its annual symposium, titled “Navigating the Relationship Between the Administrative State and Emerging Technology.” The event, held at the Shalala Student Center in Coral Gables, Florida, brought together legal scholars, industry experts, and practitioners to discuss the evolving regulatory frameworks surrounding digital assets and artificial intelligence (AI). A key word for this day was Crypto!

The symposium commenced with a keynote address by Michele Korver, Head of Regulatory at a16z crypto, who provided insights into the challenges and opportunities in regulating digital assets. Following the keynote, the first panel delved into the Securities and Exchange Commission’s approach to regulation by enforcement in the digital asset industry. Moderated by Professor Christoph Henkel of Drake University, the panel featured Amanda Tuminelli, Chief Legal Officer
at DeFi Education Fund; Marisa Coppel, Head of Legal at Blockchain Association; and Daniel Stabile, Partner and Co-Chair of the Digital Assets & Blockchain Technology Group at Winston & Strawn LLP.

Jake Chervinsky, Chief Legal Officer at Variant, provided an
explanation of decentralized finance (DeFi), setting the stage for the second panel. This discussion focused on the incongruence between DeFi and legacy financial regulations, moderated by Miller Whitehouse-Levine, CEO of DeFi Education Fund. Panelists included Kimberly Prior and Drew Hinkes, both Partners at Winston & Strawn LLP, and Rodrigo Seira, Special Counsel at Cooley LLP. DeFi allows
people to manage their money digitally without the use of third parties, and this aids the customers as laws are made to deal with third parties.

The third panel addressed the global reach of U.S. anti-money
laundering (AML) and sanctions laws, with insights from Michele Korver; Ari Redbord, Global Head of Policy and Government Affairs at TRM Labs; and Professor Carla Reyes of SMU Dedman School of Law. The discussion was moderated by Lee Sullenger, Director of Financial Crimes Compliance (Digital Assets) at BNY Mellon.

The following questions were asked: How do we apply laws that
involve people dealing with matters pertaining to things that aren’t people (code etc.)?

The following question, “Who does the justice system hold
accountable with these new complications?” was answered by the panel. The response entailed “The problem at hand is the fact that third party systems aren’t popular around laws, so there is an issue of security when it comes to what protocols surround the transaction of money without a third party regulator.”

The event provided a platform for ambitious discussions on how emerging technologies are reshaping legal and regulatory landscapes, emphasizing the need for adaptive frameworks to address the complexities introduced by rapid technological advancements. This left the attendee, Daniela Riveramatos, with the following questions: Why is there legal regime surrounding such a simple transaction? If there are no parties in the middle ground why is there legal action surrounding it?