Digital Transformation & AI for Humans
Welcome to 'Digital Transformation & AI for Humans' with Emi.
In this podcast, we delve into how technology intersects with leadership, innovation, and most importantly, the human spirit.
Each episode features visionary leaders from different countries who understand that at the heart of success is the human touch—nurturing a winning mindset, fostering emotional intelligence, soft skills, and building resilient teams.
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Visit https://digitaltransformation4humans.com/ for more information.
Digital Transformation & AI for Humans
The Future of Money: How AI and Cryptocurrency Are Reshaping the Global Financial System
In this visionary episode of Digital Transformation & AI for Humans, we dive deep into The Future of Money and explore how AI and Cryptocurrency are revolutionizing the Global Financial System with Stijn Ceelen (Belgium), a Seasoned & result-driven C-level leader in Banking & WealthTech, Managing Director, CEO of Alkiemist Advisors, Advisory Board Member (Banque Thaler (Genève, Zwitserland)), COHERRA (Copenhagen, Denmark and others), Chief Investment Officer of a single family office.
Key Topics Covered:
- Cutting-edge AI applications in finance: from algorithmic trading to intelligent financial advisory
- The role of central banks and government policies in an AI-crypto future
- How Decentralized Finance (DeFi) challenges traditional banking – and AI’s role in this shift
- Can AI stabilize the volatile cryptocurrency markets, or will it add unforeseen risks?
- Opportunities and risks of a borderless, inclusive financial system powered by AI and blockchain
- The top 5 cryptocurrencies to watch in 2025 and beyond (not financial advice!)
- Emerging tech beyond AI and crypto that could redefine finance
- The rise of autonomous AI agents: will they drive massive crypto adoption?
- Stijn’s top advice for leaders and investors preparing for the future of finance
🚀 Ready to rethink how you lead and invest in the AI era?
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About the host, Emi Olausson Fourounjieva
With over 20 years in IT, digital transformation, business growth & leadership, Emi specializes in turning challenges into opportunities for business expansion and personal well-being.
Her contributions have shaped success stories across the corporations and individuals, from driving digital growth, managing resources and leading teams in big companies to empowering leaders to unlock their inner power and succeed in this era of transformation.
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Hello and welcome to Digital Transformation and AI for Humans with your host, emi. In this podcast, we'll delve into how technology intersects with leadership, innovation and, most importantly, the human spirit. Each episode features visionary leaders who understand that at the heart of success is the human touch nurturing a winning mindset, boostering emotional intelligence and building resilient teams. Let's talk about the future of money. I'm excited to discuss how AI and cryptocurrency are shaping the global financial system with my amazing guest from Belgium, stan Seeland. Stan is a seasoned and result-driven C-level leader in banking and wealth tech. Managing director and CEO of Alchemist Advisors and advisory board member at banks in Switzerland and Denmark and chief investment officer of a single family office. Welcome, stan, great to have you in the studio today. How are you?
Speaker 2:I'm doing fine and looking forward to the podcast.
Speaker 1:Amazing. Let's start the conversation and transform not just our technologies but our ways of thinking and leading. Interested in connecting or collaborating? You can find more information in the description below. Subscribe and stay tuned for more episodes. I'd also love to invite you to get your copy of AI Leadership Compass Unlocking Business Growth and Innovation the definitive guide for leaders and business owners to adapt and thrive in the age of AI and digital transformation. Find an Amazon link in the description below. Stan, to start with, I would love to hear more about your story, about your journey, about your latest and most recent achievements.
Speaker 2:My biggest achievement at this moment is just that I'm trying to combine fundamental technical analysis in order to give much better advice to my clients. Of course, I'm making use of AI models because, in my humble opinion, it's really hard to work without AI. At start, I used AI in a more, let's say, supportive way, but of course, the more I got into AI, I also want to use more like machine learning models to make some kind of predictions, to recognize certain patterns in the markets. That can also help me to have a better understanding of the market and, of course, to support my advice to clients.
Speaker 1:Sounds very exciting. From algorithmic trading to AI-driven financial advisory services, what are the most groundbreaking AI applications in finance today, and where do you see them evolving?
Speaker 2:Basically, there are a lot of potential breakthroughs, but also evolutions in AI that can really transform finance. I think a couple of years ago, if I would have told you about all those different possibilities, basically people would think that I was talking about science fiction thing, that I was talking about science fiction. But it's clear that AI models they can analyze huge amounts of data, as I told you before, they can also learn from past patterns. They can execute trades in microseconds and that's also what you can already see in the industry that high-frequency trading firms. They already rely on these models and as AI improves, trading bots will adapt and optimize strategies with minimal human inputs. But beyond trading, there are applications where AI is revolutionizing investing and wealth management, for instance. If you look at robo-advisors right now, instead of using basic automation tools, they really transform into more dynamic platforms that adjust portfolios in real time, not only based on market conditions, but also based on your personal risk tolerance. And I believe in the coming years, ai-powered financial advisors will become even more personalized and they will use behavioral insights to tailor investment strategies. But if you look, for instance, also at risk management and fraud detection, ai can just scan millions of transactions in seconds. It can detect fraud. It can detect money laundering much more effectively than traditional methods. The only thing is that these systems should be made more transparent, but also could be more easily for regulators and users to interpret the outcome.
Speaker 2:Another domain is, for instance, market analysis. So before, ai was only used to just read financial reports, but right now, ai can also be used to analyze alternative data points, like satellite images, social media sentiments, in order to predict trends. Even large language models are now reading earnings goals, corporate filings, just to feel what kind of sentiment is in the markets, and in that respect, they can easily improve their market predictions. Then, if it comes to, for instance, personal banking, you already have chatbots, automation tools, but I believe there will be much more tools simplifying, for instance, budgeting, credit scoring, financial planning.
Speaker 2:Today it's more or less done by human beings, but I think AI can be a real support to human beings to do these kinds of things. So, in my humble opinion, in the future AI-driven systems, they could optimize personal finances, debt repayments and even investments. The only thing is, it's all about regulation, but I also believe that regulatory compliance is another area benefiting from AI. As I told you before, ai can scan transactions, it can automate reportings, it can navigate constantly changing regulation etc. So basically, in my humble opinion, we are just at the start where AI is nowadays more like a supportive tool, but in my humble opinion it can really evolve in something, um yeah, more autonomous, that can take over a couple of tasks from human beings, even based on behavioral insights etc we are living in super exciting times where things are truly looking like the science fiction, but at the same time, we need to deal with this reality, and I love that.
Speaker 1:You highlight what really matters. And I want to remind our listeners and viewers that there are also other episodes with your participation where you are sharing your wisdom, your experience, and I welcome everybody to tune in into our previous conversations. But speaking about regulations and transparency and the latest trends, let's dive a little bit deeper into these topics. With the AI and crypto gaining traction, how do you think governments and central banks will adapt? Will we see global AI-driven monetary policies or are we heading towards financial fragmentation?
Speaker 2:It's a very good question. Nowadays governments, central banks they're struggling to keep pace because, indeed, ai and crypto they're rapidly reshaping finance, and I believe that AI has the potential to make monetary policy more data-driven and even more responsive. But, at the same time, crypto is also forcing policymakers to rethink the very nature of money. The challenge lies in whether these technologies will lead to global coordination or a more, indeed, fragmented, financial system. So, in my humble opinion, ai can process real-time economic data far beyond traditional indicators like inflation and employment, and that will allow central banks to make more proactive policy decisions. Some central banks are already experimenting with AI models for forecasting and automation, but I still believe that human oversight will remain crucial. You can already see the rise of decentralized finance. Also, stable coins are pushing governments to explore central bank digital currencies as a regulated alternative that maintains financial stability while offering the benefits of digital transactions.
Speaker 2:The biggest issue I see at the moment is the fact that different countries are taking different approaches to regulation.
Speaker 2:If you look at the European Union, it is pushing for strict oversights, while the US certainly with the new administration, trump administration the US remains a little bit more cautious, more cautious, and that can lead to potential financial fragmentation, where businesses and investors face inconsistent rules across regions. So, basically, if you want to do transactions from one area to another and basically the rules are completely different, it is very, very difficult to comply with all those different rules. But what you also see at the same time is that international organizations like the G20 or the IMF they're also exploring global regulatory frameworks to prevent loopholes and that can ensure, indeed, more stability. So, in my humble opinion, the future can go in two different directions Either AI-driven monetary policies and digital currencies bring more global coordination, making financial systems more stable and adaptive, or we will have diverging regulations, which can lead to inefficiencies and greater economic divides. So whether AI and crypto drive collaboration or a more deeper fragmentation will basically depend on how policymakers worldwide will balance between innovation and control in the next coming years.
Speaker 1:Great point, I totally agree, and you mentioned decentralized finance, so let's talk a little bit more about this part. Decentralized finance is disrupting traditional banking models. Do you believe AI will accelerate this shift, or will we see a new hybrid financial system emerge?
Speaker 2:If you just look at decentralized finance, it is indeed already challenging traditional banking by cutting out intermediaries, and AI is also set to accelerate the shift by making decentralized finance smarter, more efficient and even more secure. So AI-driven models can assess creditworthiness in real-time, optimize trading strategies, enhance security by detecting frauds and vulnerabilities before they happen. However, decentralized finance still faces a lot of regulatory uncertainty and many institutions therefore remain very cautious. So, instead of full replacements, I believe we're more likely to see a hybrid system where traditional banks adopt decentralized finance principles, while insurance complies with local regulation. So, in fact, it's more like I believe that there will be regulated platforms offering decentralized finance services as a trend, instead of the pure decentralized finance as some describe it at this moment. So I'm more a believer of a hybrid system instead of a full-blown decentralized financial system.
Speaker 1:Sounds promising. I'm looking forward to discover how it will look in reality. Cryptocurrency markets are often highly volatile, and the recent global events have created significant uncertainty, notably affecting crypto investors. So, as you are the expert, I wanted to talk about all this with you today. Many have experienced substantial losses or liquidations, and we see it all over the world. So what do you think, stan? Can AI help bring more stability, or will it introduce new risks that we haven't foreseen yet?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I believe it can bring more stability, because, on the positive sides, ai can improve market efficiency by analyzing huge amounts of data, predicting trends, but also executing trades at optimal times. You can already see that institutional investors are already using AI to manage risk and reduce volatility through automated trading strategies, sentiment analysis and real-time market monitoring. So AI-driven risk models can also help stabilize prices by detecting patterns that signal potential crashes or manipulative trading behavior. However and there's always another side AI can also create new risks, because if too many market participants rely on similar AI-driven strategies, it could also lead to unexpected market reactions, even flash pressures, where you can see certain assets dropped severely in just a couple of seconds, or it can also increase correlation between assets.
Speaker 2:So the complexity of AI models also make it very hard to predict their long-term impacts, and potential biases in training data could amplify market inefficiencies instead of reducing them. So it all depends on how these models are built. If you just look at some of these models and they still rely on the same data, then basically it can reinforce certain trends and therefore you could see even more risks, because if you look at certain AI-powered trading bots in crypto markets, they also operate without the same regulatory oversights as in traditional finance, which can also increase the risk of manipulation and indeed these typical pump and dump schemes that we have seen in a lot of meme coins very lately. So AI can stabilize the crypto markets if it is used responsibly, but without proper oversights and regulatory oversight, I mean it could also add new layers of risk. So the key is always a balance between automation and safeguards to prevent unintended market disruptions.
Speaker 1:Now I'm curious to hear more about the risks and opportunities, as you already mentioned them. So AI and crypto have the potential to make financial systems more inclusive and borderless, and what are the biggest opportunities and risks in transforming the global financial landscape? We already touched this topic from different sides, but let's dive a little bit deeper and discover the details.
Speaker 2:Basically, one of the biggest opportunities lies in expanding financial access to the unbanked people, especially in areas where there are not a lot of banks For instance, think of Africa.
Speaker 2:Also, ai-driven credit scoring can access borrowers based on alternative data, while crypto enables fast, low-cost cross-border payments without relying on traditional banks.
Speaker 2:So, especially in those areas without a lot of banks, it can definitely bring big opportunities to those people Because, yeah, decentralized finance is also opening up investment opportunities to a global audience, removing barriers that once favored institutional players. But, of course, these new innovations come with risks, and again, it's the lack of regulatory oversight in crypto that can lead to frauds, money law real financial instability and AI models also, as I mentioned before, if they're not properly designed, they can reinforce certain biases and they can also create systemic risks. So the borderless nature of AI and crypto raises some concerns about regulatory fragmentation, where different countries impose conflicting rules, rules potentially stiffening innovation, but also creating loopholes for people with, let's call it bad intentions. So, again, and I'm sorry to say, but it's always some kind of balancing act between innovation and responsible regulation. So, if it is done right, ai and crypto could definitely lead to a more open, more efficient and a more fair financial system, but without proper safeguards they could also introduce new vulnerabilities that undermine trust and stability on a global scale.
Speaker 1:Let's domain a little bit more into the cryptocurrency. What are the top five coins you believe are worth close attention to invest in over the next one to three years? And I just want to remind all our listeners and viewers, please note this is not financial advice. We are not responsible for your investment decisions.
Speaker 2:I'm really glad that you mentioned the last part. Now, if I look at cryptos, I know that some people will disagree on this, but I don't see it as an asset class with a lot of intrinsic value like, for instance, stocks at least companies. They always will make profits. So for me it's really hard to do fundamental analysis on cryptocurrencies, so most of the time I'm just using, let's say, technical analysis to decide whether the time is right to invest or sell cryptocurrencies in my portfolio. But if you look at currencies to invest in, I would stick to the most known currencies. At this moment. I would stay away from meme coins. Of course, if you select the right meme coins, you can make a lot of money in maybe a couple of minutes hours. But as we have seen the last couple of weeks and months, we've also seen a lot of bump and dump schemes. Just take as an example Trump coin, melania coin. They went up really, really fast in a couple of minutes. But if you now look at their prices, a lot of people, I believe, also lost a lot of money. So I would stay away from meme coins. But that's my conservative personal advice.
Speaker 2:But if you look at cryptocurrencies that you can invest in. Of course, there's Bitcoin, and for me, bitcoin remains the benchmark assets for let's call it digital or cryptocurrencies. Some people claim it is digital gold. Again, I don't have an opinion about it. I'm more approaching it from a technical perspective. And then, of course, you also have Ethereum, solana. Those are also coins that you can have a look into, but, again, my biggest advice is to approach it from a more technical perspective. So then we have already three coins, but there are no big surprises. And then, of course, you also have, for instance, chainlink Polygon, most of the time more known as Matic. They're much more adopted than all those smaller coins and meme coins. So that's why I would recommend, if you really want to invest in cryptocurrencies, just stick to the most common names, and my advice is just to look at it from a more technical perspective instead of doing some kind of fundamental analysis.
Speaker 1:I feel that we absolutely need to mention XRP, because it is one of the top coins and its positioning has changed drastically recently. So what do you think about it and do you have it as a part of your portfolio?
Speaker 2:I don't have it in my portfolio. I know some people are looking at it, but it was also very volatile the last couple of months, even more than, for instance, bitcoin. So if you have really good nerves, you can also include it in your portfolio.
Speaker 1:I don't have those nerves, so that's why I most of the time, stick to the most common means thank you so much and that's really valuable and I agree it depends a lot on the approach, on the personality and on the overall strategy of investment. Sten, beyond AI and crypto, what emerging technologies do you think will redefine money and finance in ways we aren't talking about yet?
Speaker 2:I will start with the most common one. It was a kind of hype also the last couple of weeks and months. That's, of course, quantum computing. It has the potential to disrupt financial markets, both as a threat but also as an opportunity, because quantum advancements could break existing encryption methods, but at the same time they can also lead to entirely new financial models based on quantum risk analysis and optimization, which enables more efficient portfolio management and fraud detection. So quantum computing would be my number one. And then, of course, we go a little bit more science fiction.
Speaker 2:One of them is, for instance, biometric authentication. So instead of using traditional, let's say, systems used by banks to identify a person, you could also rely on, let's call it, cryptographic proofs, which are tied to your biometric data, and that allows you to give seamless access to financial services without any intermediaries. So instead of using banks for doing all the work to identify a person, all these biometric authentication methods can also be used to have access to financial services without any intermediaries. It could be very, very transformative in emerging markets where formal banking infrastructure is kind of weak, as I mentioned before. Then another one is called space-based financial networks, so we talk about satellite-driven infrastructure that could bypass traditional banking systems and which could enable of Starlink also offering easy internet access for regions where today there is not a lot of internet access. So space technology advances. Basically, in that domain we could see financial services operating independently of national infrastructures, making money truly global.
Speaker 2:And then, last but not least, it's also a little bit of let's call it science fiction. It's brain-computer interfaces and neural finance which could push financial decision-making into entirely new territory. So if these brain-computer interfaces evolve to a point where they can process financial data and execute trades directly through thoughts so really thought what you're thinking the speed and efficiency of financial markets could change in ways we can't fully predict yet, because instead of first thinking and looking at screens basically if you think I want to buy, let's say, 100 option contracts, basically by just thinking it, it can be executed in uh, in in microseconds. So that can also be some kind of um, yeah, let's call it game changer, but it sounds a little bit more like science fiction at the moment. So they really sound futuristic at this pace. But we also have to take in mind that the pace of innovation in finance that we see is just starting and I truly believe that in the next couple of decades.
Speaker 1:We can see huge, huge in in these kind of domains it is both exciting and a little bit scary, or maybe even very scary. However, it is also a part of reality that the telepathy related solutions are already not only discussed but also developed on the level of concepts and patents. So it is coming. We don't know exactly how soon, but it will definitely become a part of the future agenda and we have to get ready to the idea that the impossible is becoming possible every day and it unfolds in front of our eyes. So we are living in so exciting times and our reality is changing in such incredible ways.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but I also want to warn that if you just look at adoption rates, it also depends on how people will, of how fast people will adopt new technologies. I know that, yeah, most of your listeners they're true believers of ai, but there's still a lot of people outside that don't believe AI will be a game changer in the next couple of years and decades. So you still have those non-believers. But it's the same thing with the smartphone. You always have those early adopters that are always looking for new technologies. But from the moment that let's call it the mass market is adopting those new technologies, it can go really, really fast, but sometimes it can take a couple of years, even a couple of decades, before let's call it the mass markets will adopt new technologies.
Speaker 2:It also depends a little bit, let's say, on regulators, but also the traditional financial system.
Speaker 2:I can imagine that there are a lot of lobbyists lobbying a lot to governments, but also central banks, to keep the system as is as long as possible, because of course, it's not that they don't want to adopt new technologies, but most of the time they just want to buy some time to adopt the same technologies in their own ecosystem just to avoid that suddenly nobody needs the bank bank anymore. So I'm more a believer of a hybrid system where banks and and other financial players just buy some time to uh to adopt new technologies in their own offering, and that's also what you see right now. It's, I think a lot of banks are using chatbots driven by AI. They're also looking into AI models in asset management and wealth management, so I don't believe that traditional banks will disappear. It's more that you asked me about the future and of course, I can be very futuristic and you always have to take into account new technologies, but I'm not a believer that it will happen in a couple of years from now on.
Speaker 1:I agree. There are two different groups which are seeing the development and adoption of AI in completely different ways. However, only time will show how fast this process can take place in our real life. But let's stay in this space of futuristic discussion. How do you see AI and cryptocurrency evolving to reshape the global financial system in the next three to five years? Will autonomous AI agents accelerate crypto adoption to the point where it replaces traditional financial systems, or do you believe there will be something else instead?
Speaker 2:I believe, instead of fully replacing traditional finance, I believe that traditional finance is more likely to integrate these new technologies like AI and cryptos, so it's more that they will evolve next to each other. So you can already see that AI-driven automation is making financial systems faster, more efficient and more accessible. You can already see AI-powered trading bots, risk management tools and predictive analytics. All those things become more advanced, but they're also adopted by the traditional financial system that we know today, the traditional financial system that we know today, Basically all those autonomous AI agencies. I believe that they could accelerate crypto adoption by managing portfolios, executing trades, but also optimizing strategies without human inputs. But I also believe that these agents they will act next to personal financial advisors, because I've seen it also, it's robot advisors, especially in uh in europe, that people they don't trust to rely on what they call robots. Only they still love the human touch, but I believe that the human touch will have a different task than it has today. So AI will be used much more in managing portfolios, but I believe there's still the human touch.
Speaker 2:I don't know a financial advisor coming by just to drink a coffee to talk about the family financial advisor coming by just to drink a coffee to talk about the family, but also to explain a little bit more in let's call it human language, what happens in portfolios. But again, while AI can drive adoption, in my humble opinion the key will be regulation, Because regulatory uncertainty remains the most important barrier to AI, but also to crypto replacing traditional finance. So, again, governments and central banks are exploring digital currencies and they are also exploring AI driven financial oversights. But in my humble opinion, what we see today, with Europe introducing strict rules on using AI but also looking into the launch of digital currencies, it is much more strict than, for instance, in the US, where the Trump administration just wants to lower regulatory barriers and that kind of fragmentation between major economic blocs in the world. I don't know if it will fasten the adoption of AI and cryptocurrencies in general.
Speaker 1:That's a great point and I totally agree with you. At the end of the day, it's all about trust and predictability. So when we're talking about wealth management, about managing our assets, we are thinking about sustainable, predictable growth, and we trust human beings much more than the systems. And we'll see how it will develop, but for the moment, I can understand that we are still not there mentally to let AI sit in the driver's seat in this process.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I completely agree on this. To be honest, I still believe that AI will be more like a supportive tool that, in the end, will maybe replace some of the tasks that we are doing right now. But just give it a couple of years, maybe 10 years, I don't know. Future will tell us.
Speaker 1:I believe we have less time to adapt ourselves. We have less time to adapt ourselves, but hopefully it will take some longer so that we catch up with the changes.
Speaker 2:Stan, if you could give one piece of advice to leaders and investors preparing for the future of money, what would that be? Yeah, look, I talked about a lot of science fiction things in this episode. I'm not sure which ones will become, I don't know, adopted by the mass markets. The best advice I can give is that you need to prepare for the future of money, or just for the future of these kind of things. If you just look at financial technology, it's evolving so fast with AI, crypto, decentralized finance and all of these things will reshape how value is created, stored, exchanged.
Speaker 2:The worst thing you can do is resist all these changes.
Speaker 2:The best thing you can do is just to embrace them. It's like embrace them, try to learn continuously about new technologies and just try to adjust your strategies as these new technologies emerge. Because if you resist and then suddenly it becomes let's call it mainstream, then you will be too late. But if you embrace it, if you investigate in some of these technologies and you just prepare yourself for the mass market adoption of new technologies, then at least you will be ready to implement the right stuff in your company. So that means that you always need to keep an open mind about blockchain's role in finance, understanding how AI-driven automation will impact decision-making, but also staying informed about regulatory shifts that could redefine the whole landscape. So, in my humble opinion, diversification will be key, not just in assets, but also in knowledge and approach. And the future of money, in my humble opinion, won't be a single system, but it will be some kind of convergence of traditional finance, digital assets and AR-powered financial tools, and those who anticipate these shifts and position themselves accordingly will have the biggest advantage.
Speaker 1:Absolutely brilliant. I love our today's conversation and your advice is so spot on. Thank you so much, Stan, for being here today, sharing your wisdom, your experience and your vision for the future. Such a great pleasure to have this conversation.
Speaker 2:Thank you.
Speaker 1:Thank you for joining us on Digital Transformation and AI for Humans. I'm Amy and it was enriching to share this time with you. Remember, the core of any transformation lies in our human nature how we think, feel and connect with others. It is about enhancing our emotional intelligence, embracing a winning mindset and leading with empathy and insight. Subscribe and stay tuned for more episodes where we uncover the latest trends in digital business and explore the human side of technology and leadership. Until next time, keep nurturing your mind, fostering your connections and leading with heart.
