![Financial Privacy Under Fire_Web Banner](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/optimized/public/2024-08/Financial%20Privacy%20Under%20Fire_Web%20Banner.jpg?itok=XsSoFhgQ) Conference # Financial Privacy under Fire: Protecting and Restoring Americans’ Rights Date and Time September 12, 2024 9:30 AM - 4 PM EDT Location Cato Institute, 1000 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC Share This Event ##### Featuring ![r-bench-cropped.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2024-08/r-bench-cropped.jpg?itok=4P4bGfXq) Robert Bench Radius ![Kirkpatrick Bos_Headshot](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2024-08/Kirkpatrick%20Bos_Headshot.jpg?itok=sJ2miAmo) Katherine Kirkpatrick Bos StarkWare [ ](https://twitter.com/kkirkbos) ![Paul Brigner - cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2024-08/KtA2Oo9t_400x400.jpg?itok=F9KcvZmG) Paul Brigner Coinbase Institute [ ](https://twitter.com/paulbrigner) ![Morgan Cloud - cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2024-08/cloud-cropped.jpg?itok=fpaJC9uP) Morgan Cloud Emory University School of Law ![Nikhilesh De cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2021-12/Nikhilesh-De.-cropped.png?itok=PnZfQKh0) Nikhilesh De CoinDesk [ ](https://twitter.com/nikhileshde) ![Ahmed Ghappour - cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2024-08/Ahmed-Ghappour-cropped.jpg?itok=yzhTnx_W) Ahmed Ghappour Espresso Systems [ ](https://twitter.com/ghappour) ![Victoria Guida circle](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2025-08/victoria-guida-circle.jpeg?itok=6JIKnTH2) Victoria Guida *Politico* [ ](https://twitter.com/vtg2) ![Stephen Henderson](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2024-08/Stephen%20Henderson%20cropped.jpg?itok=HuhMeDwL) Stephen Henderson University of Oklahoma College of Law ![Rob Johnson](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2024-08/Rob%20Johnson%20square.jpg?itok=NP9jSkDm) Rob Johnson Institute for Justice [ ](https://twitter.com/freerangelawyer) ![Gregory Lisa](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2024-08/Gregory%20Lisa%20cropped.jpg?itok=fpbKeJ5m) Gregory Lisa Hogan Lovells [ ](https://twitter.com/gregoryclisa) [![William J. Luther - cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2024-08/William-J-Luther-cropped.jpg?itok=BBEcut6E)](/people/william-j-luther) [William J. Luther](/people/william-j-luther) Florida Atlantic University [ ](https://x.com/WilliamJLuther) ![Patrick-McHenry cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2024-08/Patrick-McHenry-cropped.jpg?itok=k_9vCyql) Rep. Patrick McHenry (R‑NC) Chairman, House Financial Services Committee [ ](https://twitter.com/PatrickMcHenry) [![Norbert Michel Cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2025-01/norbert-m-cropped.jpg?itok=8WIx97Dk)](/people/norbert-michel) [Norbert J. Michel](/people/norbert-michel) Vice President and Director, Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, Cato Institute [ ](https://x.com/norbertjmichel) ![Ian Miers - cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2024-08/Ian-Miers-cropped.jpg?itok=o21kAwKU) Ian Miers University of Maryland [ ](https://x.com/secparam) ![Jumana Musa](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2024-08/Musa_Headshot%20cropped.jpg?itok=CVAG_9Wh) Jumana Musa National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers ![Lanier Saperstein - cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2024-08/lanier-saperstein-cropped.jpg?itok=1vMTU2MQ) Lanier Saperstein Dorsey & Whitney LLP [![New Jennifer Schulp cropped image](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2023-03/jennifer-schulp-cropped-2.jpg?itok=kdrnmhHr)](/people/jennifer-j-schulp) [Jennifer J. Schulp](/people/jennifer-j-schulp) Former Director of Financial Regulation Studies, Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, Cato Institute [![Brent Skorup cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2024-05/Brent%20Skorup%20cropped.jpg?itok=5Witkb6w)](/people/brent-skorup) [Brent Skorup](/people/brent-skorup) Former Legal Fellow, Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies ![Natalie Smolenski - cropped ](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2024-08/natalie-smolenski-cropped.jpg?itok=GFZJmqqi) Natalie Smolenski Bitcoin Policy Institute [ ](https://x.com/NSmolenski) ![Jay Stanley - cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2024-08/Stanley_Headshot.jpg?itok=mo7fmHd0) Jay Stanley Senior Policy Analyst, ACLU Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project [ ](https://x.com/JayCStanley) ![Miller Whitehouse-Levine - cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2024-09/Miller-Whitehouse-Levine-cropped.jpg?itok=DXdf0Owg) Miller Whitehouse-Levine DeFi Education Fund ![Claire Williams Circle](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2025-08/claire-williams-circle.jpeg?itok=O7ilRgKt) Claire Williams *American Banker* [ ](https://twitter.com/byclairew) The privacy Americans should enjoy over their financial information has been in steady decline for more than 50 years. Regulatory frameworks, such as the Bank Secrecy Act and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Consolidated Audit Trail, grant government access to Americans’ financial transactions. As financial services have become increasingly digitized, the volume of financial records to which the government has easy—and often unfettered—access has grown exponentially. And proposals for a central bank digital currency, which involve the government becoming more intimately involved in Americans’ use of money, have the potential to further erode the ability to transact without government surveillance. As policymakers are confronted with questions about evolving technologies, the question of financial privacy must not be shunted to the side. It is time to rethink financial privacy. Does financial convenience have to come at the cost of financial privacy? Does the Constitution provide the protections needed to limit government access to financial information? Can decentralization provide privacy-protecting solutions? Join us for an outstanding program featuring leading policymakers and experts discussing financial privacy at Cato’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives annual conference. ### Schedule 9:30 - 9:35 AM **Opening Remarks** [**Norbert Michel**](https://www.cato.org/people/norbert-michel), Vice President and Director, Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, Cato Institute 9:35 - 10:45 AM **Financial Privacy and the Constitution** [**Morgan Cloud**](https://www.cato.org/people/morgan-cloud), Emory University School of Law [**Stephen Henderson**](https://www.cato.org/people/stephen-henderson), University of Oklahoma College of Law [**Rob Johnson**](/people/robert-e-johnson), Institute for Justice [**Jumana Musa**](/people/jumana-musa), National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Moderated by [**Brent Skorup**](https://www.cato.org/people/brent-skorup), Legal Fellow, Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies, Cato Institute 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM **Evaluating Central Bank Digital Currencies** [**Robert Bench**](https://www.cato.org/people/robert-bench), Radius [**William Luther**](https://www.cato.org/people/william-j-luther), Florida Atlantic University [**Natalie** ](/people/natalie-smolenski)**[Smolenski](/people/natalie-smolenski)**, Bitcoin Policy Institute [**Jay Stanley**](/people/jay-stanley), American Civil Liberties Union Moderated by [**Victoria Guida**](https://www.cato.org/people/victoria-guida), *Politico* 12:15 - 12:45 PM **Lunch** 12:45 - 1:55 PM **Bank Secrecy Act Reform** [**Katherine Kirkpatrick Bos**](https://www.cato.org/people/katherine-kirkpatrick-bos), StarkWare [**Gregory Lisa**](/people/gregory-lisa), Hogan Lovells [**Norbert Michel**](https://www.cato.org/people/norbert-michel), Vice President and Director, Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, Cato Institute [**Lanier Saperstein**](/people/lanier-saperstein), Dorsey & Whitney LLP Moderated by [**Claire Williams**](/people/claire-williams), *American Banker* 2:00 - 2:30 PM **Fireside Chat with U.S. Representative [Patrick McHenry](https://www.cato.org/people/rep-patrick-mchenry-r-nc), Chairman, House Financial Services Committee** Moderated by [**Jennifer Schulp**](https://www.cato.org/people/jennifer-j-schulp), Director of Financial Regulation Studies, Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, Cato Institute 2:45 - 3:55 PM **Decentralization and Financial Privacy** [**Paul Brigner**](https://www.cato.org/people/paul-brigner), Coinbase Institute [**Ahmed Ghappour**](https://www.cato.org/people/ahmed-ghappour), Espresso Systems [**Ian Miers**](https://www.cato.org/people/ian-miers), University of Maryland [**Miller Whitehouse-Levine**](https://www.cato.org/people/miller-whitehouse-levine), DeFi Education Fund Moderated by [**Nikhilesh De**](/people/nikhilesh-de), CoinDesk 3:55 - 4:00 PM **Closing Remarks** [**Jennifer Schulp**](https://www.cato.org/people/jennifer-j-schulp), Director of Financial Regulation Studies, Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, Cato Institute 4:00 PM **Reception** [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).