Almudena de la Mata in New York: From UN Crypto-Asset Work to Urban Innovation at MIT
How can global financial systems remain resilient in the face of rapid digital transformation? And what role can citizen engagement play in shaping more sustainable and inclusive cities?
These were the two guiding threads of Dr. Almudena de la Mata’s visit to New York at the beginning of September 2025, where she combined her work at the United Nations on crypto-asset regulation with a return to the MIT Sloan School of Management to explore new frontiers in blockchain and urban innovation.
At the UN, Almudena contributed to discussions on how to address the rise of digital finance in a way that preserves security, compliance, and social responsibility. She emphasized the importance of a unified regulatory framework for crypto-assets to prevent risks such as regulatory arbitrage, market fragmentation, and misuse, risks that could undermine both financial stability and societal trust.
Her visit also included engaging with the Digital Currency Initiative at MIT, a global hub for blockchain and digital currency research. This experience highlighted how academia, technology, and policy can converge to shape the financial systems of the future.
Beyond finance, Almudena reflected on the lessons of the DivAirCity project, an EU-funded initiative in which BlockchAIn Intelligence participates. Observing a citizen-designed public space in New York, she drew parallels with the project’s five European case studies (Castellón, Aarhus, Potsdam, Bucharest, and Orvieto). Like these cities, the NYC example demonstrated how methodologies for co-creation can empower communities to design green areas, cultural spaces, sports facilities, and artistic initiatives that meet their own needs.
For BlockchAIn Intelligence, the visit reinforced two essential ideas: financial innovation requires responsibility and global coordination, and urban innovation thrives when citizens are placed at the center. Both illustrate how technology, from blockchain to nature-based solutions, can serve as a bridge between innovation and inclusion.