How much trust does change need - and how much change can trust tolerate?
On 15 May 2025, EintrachtTech, the corporate subsidiary of Eintracht Frankfurt Fußball AG, hosted the fourth edition of Block im Park at Deutsche Bank Park – and once again offered a platform for exchange between the financial sector, technology, regulation and politics. The conference was organised in cooperation with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (F.A.Z.). This year’s edition was dedicated to the most pressing questions of digital transformation: What do AI and blockchain mean for companies and markets? How much regulation does innovation need – and how much openness can regulation tolerate? And last but not least: How will we work in the future – and with whom?
What sounds like a colourful mix at first glance emerged as the day progressed: We are in the midst of a transition to a new digital infrastructure. One in which trust, cooperation and European sovereignty must be renegotiated.
The event was opened by Inken Schönauer (F.A.Z.) and Axel Hellmann (Eintracht Frankfurt Fußball AG), who in their welcoming address referred to Frankfurt’s special role as a place of financial and innovation culture and placed the programme in its overall context: between economic responsibility, technological dynamism and social orientation.
Between magic and market logic: AI as a creative partner
Georgia Lewis Anderson set the tone with her keynote speech: ‘It feels a little bit like magic sometimes’, she said – referring to the possibilities of generative AI to develop new ideas, formats and forms of communication. But the question that ran through many of the discussions was: can we still trust what we see?
The link to blockchain was quickly established: As a tool for verification, it can provide guidance where algorithmic systems are increasingly generating content. Between AI avatars, synthetic content and automated communication, the ability to verify the origin and authenticity of digital information is becoming a decisive competitive factor – and the basis for trust.
Deepening in two directions: Focus on regulation and climate tech
Following Georgia Lewis Anderson’s keynote speech, the conference programme kicked off with two parallel panels – both of which provided important impetus for the subsequent discussions at an early stage.
In the panel ‘Regulation in the financial market – important framework or unnecessary bureaucratic hurdle?’, Tim Armbruster (KfW), Marco Bodewein (Bullish) and Daniel Sander (White & Case) discussed the current developments surrounding MiCA, eWpG, Basel III and the international competitiveness of Europe as a financial centre under the moderation of Hubertus Väth.
The assessments remained deliberately differentiated: On the one hand, regulation is indispensable for creating trust and establishing market standards. On the other hand, it harbours the risk of hindering innovation. ‘Regulation remains essential – but it often lags behind developments,’ said Marco Bodewein with regard to the dynamics of the crypto market.
Tim Armbruster emphasised the need to create regulatory equality in order to enable scaling – but also made it clear: ‘We need equality and scalability – but we need to know what the output of our investment should actually be.’
The panellists agreed that MiCA is an important step, but at the same time remains too general. National differences and potential workarounds would prevent Europe from having a fully harmonised framework. The Basel Committee was also discussed – in some cases critically, with the impression that it was ‘mainly buying time’ rather than creating clarity.
At the same time, the panel ‘Climate Tech on the Rise’, moderated by Hannah Klose, focussed on the potential of AI and blockchain in the climate transition. Hannah Helmke (right°) and Tim Schumacher (World Fund) presented specific use cases in the areas of carbon credit trading, energy optimisation and sustainability reporting. The focus was not only on technical feasibility, but also on regulatory connectivity and market opportunities for European providers.
Technology meets infrastructure: two perspectives on market change
Following the morning panels, two parallel sessions focussed on different aspects of the tension between technological innovation and financial market structure.
Under the title ‘AI as a game changer: market trends and disruptive innovations’, the grandstand focussed on the question of how generative AI can have a transformative effect in various industries – particularly in the financial sector. Peter Heidkamp (Aleph Alpha), Andreas Golze (Cognizant) and Michael Dietz (Google), moderated by Hannah Klose, discussed current developments, market trends and the importance of infrastructure, scaling and technological competitiveness. Sustainability and trustworthy AI models also played a role in the discussion.
At the same time, Dr Philipp Wagner (dwpbank), Kim Beuttler (DWS) and Anne-Sophie Gógl (Digital Euro Association) discussed the status and prospects of tokenisation in the Business Club under the moderation of Hubertus Väth.
In the panel ‘DeFi and tokenisation: Quo vadis?’, it became clear that tokenisation has arrived in practice – but is not yet scaled across the board in Europe. And it is only through the efficiency gains of scaling that tokenised products will become really interesting. ‘The big demand will only come once the efficiency gains have been realised,’ Kim Beuttler summarised the central challenge.
The discussion also revolved around the integration of tokenised products into existing market and settlement structures, for example via the digital euro or new settlement models such as T+0. The panellists emphasised that it was not a question of reinventing the wheel, but rather of further developing and networking existing infrastructure in a targeted manner – also with a view to regulatory feasibility and international connectivity.
Strategies, start-ups and new payment systems
Following the discussion on Europe’s digital sovereignty, the focus became more concrete again: How can AI technologies be integrated into corporate strategies? What developments are currently driving the market? And what role do young companies play in this dynamic?
In the panel ‘Growth through AI: Strategies and trends for companies’, Carsten Knop (F.A.Z.), Frank Hensgens (Indeed) and Philipp Wagner (Capgemini Invent), moderated by Hannah Klose, discussed strategic approaches to dealing with artificial intelligence. The focus was on implementation issues, organisational development and the dovetailing of innovation and operational business.
A special feature this year: the AI startup pitches took place in the Business Club alongside the panel on the main stage. Six teams – Syenah, FlyPix AI, Summetix, Twinetic, Spotixx and Quantagonia – presented their solutions for risk analysis, energy efficiency, market monitoring and optimisation. The format was moderated by Alice Rettig (TechQuartier) and Carlina Bennison (Hessian.AI). The presentations provided an exciting insight into current fields of application – and showed just how innovative the European AI start-up scene is.
The panel focus concluded with the discussion ‘The digital future of finance and payment’. Carlos Gómez-Sáez (VR Payment) and Vanyo Walter (RoboMarkets), moderated by Hubertus Väth, spoke about changes in payment transactions and trading, the use of new technologies and customers’ expectations of digital financial services. The focus was on topics such as instant payments, embedded finance and AI-based risk models.
Working environments in transition: between curiosity and structural change
The event concluded with a keynote speech by Raphael Gielgen (vitra.), who took the audience on an imaginary journey into the working world of tomorrow. His conclusion: the future is not created from certainties, but from open questions. ‘If you want to change things, you have to chew them,’ said Gielgen – an image for the need to really engage with transformation instead of just consuming it.
Key topics of his presentation: robot natives, extended realities, next-work skills – and the question of how to enable organisations for permanent uncertainty and learning.
Review and outlook
As every year, Inken Schönauer (F.A.Z.) succinctly summarised the key impressions at the end of the day. She emphasised that Block im Park 2025 had once again shown how closely technological, regulatory and social developments are intertwined today. The panels had made it clear that digitalisation should not be understood as a single technical discipline, but as a cross-cutting issue – with effects on markets, companies and politics alike. Frankfurt is not just a stage, but an active part of this transformation.
