BFFS26 Denver: Joseph Kelly on Bitcoin Custody and Credit; Alan Lane on Banking Lessons
Bitcoin Magazine BFFS26 Denver: Joseph Kelly on Bitcoin Custody and Credit; Alan Lane on Banking Lessons CPAs, wealth advisors, and lenders gather in Denver for BFFS26, featuring Patrick Lowry on pub...
The Bitcoin for Financial Services Summit (BFFS26) returns to Denver October 20–22, 2026, bringing together CPAs, wealth advisors, attorneys, lenders, and finance leaders who are building Bitcoin into their practices. Now in its second year, the summit has grown to more than 30 sessions across two full program days, with a speaker lineup drawn from the firms defining Bitcoin custody, credit, and advisory.
Headlining the program are Joseph Kelly, CEO and co-founder of Unchained, who opens the summit with a keynote on custody, credit, and trust at scale; Alan Lane, former CEO of Silvergate Bank, on lessons for Bitcoin and banking; Patrick Lowry, CEO of Samara Asset Group, on holding Bitcoin as a public-company treasury reserve; and Colin Crossman, Wyoming’s Deputy Secretary of State, on the regulatory outlook for banks, exchanges, and advisors. Additional speakers include Kate Goldman of Anchorage Digital, Sam Baker of River, Eric Yakes of Epoch Ventures, Daniel Hillery of UTXO Management, Moish Peltz of Falcon Rappaport & Berkman, and CJ Konstantinos of Peoples Reserve.
Sessions focus on practical application: bringing Bitcoin into wealth planning and family offices, Bitcoin-backed lending and mortgages, treasury accounting and valuation, retirement and income planning, charitable giving strategies, mining as an asset class, and fiduciary duty when clients hold Bitcoin. Dedicated workshops will offer continuing education credit for financial advisors and CPAs.
“Last year proved that financial professionals want more than a Bitcoin primer. They want to know how to serve clients who already own it,” said Jordan Guess, CPA, co-host of the summit in a press release shared with Bitcoin Magazine. “This year’s program is built around the questions advisors and accountants are actually getting from clients, answered by the people building the infrastructure.”
The summit opens Tuesday, October 20, with the Better Money Invitational golf tournament at City Park Golf Course, hosted with Bitcoin Sports Network, followed by a welcome party at The Space sponsored by Falcon Rappaport & Berkman. Evening programming includes wine and whiskey tastings, and Thursday begins with an optional sunrise hike in the Rocky Mountains.
BFFS26 is co-hosted by Jordan Guess and Wyatt O’Rourke of BFFS Media, producers of the Bitcoin for Financial Services podcast. Sponsors include Unchained, Anchorage Digital, UTXO Management, River, SOUND HSA, SustainHash, and Stormrake.
Asanat Analysis — Why it matters
BFFS26 convening custody and credit infrastructure specialists signals maturation of Bitcoin's institutional plumbing. Joseph Kelly's custody focus and Alan Lane's banking lessons suggest the sector is moving past 'how do we secure keys' toward 'how do we integrate with traditional finance rails'—custody remains the prerequisite for credit products, which remain the prerequisite for broader capital allocation.
The attendance mix (CPAs, wealth advisors, lenders) reflects Bitcoin's transition from asset class to financial primitive. Traditional finance professionals entering the conversation means custody standards, tax treatment, and credit underwriting are becoming professionalized. This typically precedes regulatory crystallization and product innovation that institutions require before deploying significant capital.
Historical parallel: equities markets required standardized custody (DTC/NSCC) before credit markets scaled. Bitcoin's fragmented custody landscape (exchanges, self-custody, institutional vaults) mirrors pre-standardization equity markets. Sessions on both custody and credit suggest the sector recognizes this gap and is attempting to compress the timeline through coordination.