A digital eye on currency: Alisa DiCaprio

Alisa DiCaprio, chief economist for the enterprise distributed ledger technology and services firm R3, is putting her years of experience in the world of global banking to work. She is helping to further the use of digital currencies and the technology supporting them.

DiCaprio's first financial role was from 2003 to 2005, when she worked in the U.S. Department of Commerce's Office of Latin America and the Caribbean to assist with international trade law, legislative relations and other matters. From there, she held positions with organizations such as the Asian Development Bank in Manila, Philippines, the Asian Development Bank Institute in Tokyo and more.

During her time as R3's head of trade and central bank digital currency from October 2017 until January 2022, DiCaprio contributed to a paper on electronic negotiable instruments with the Washington, D.C.-based Bankers Association for Finance and Trade. That paper helped guide amendments to the U.S. Uniform Commercial Code in October 2022, which provided new default rules for governing digital asset transactions, artificial intelligence and other technological advancements.

"Be inclusive in defining stakeholders and competitors. … If you are working on a [central bank digital currency], your stakeholder is not just the central bank, rather it is the underbanked population, the fintechs, the entrepreneurs and the merchants," DiCaprio said.

DiCaprio has wasted no time since jumping into her current role to help spearhead partnerships with institutions seeking to adopt R3's technology.

Most recently, the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates named R3 as the technology partner supporting its CBDC campaign to address points of friction with cross-border payments and strengthen financial inclusion — putting DiCaprio front and center to advise the bank on the best course of action.

"Success is political, but being the most credible team in the room is nearly equal," DiCaprio said. "The research team is never a big political operator on a project, but we can use our position as thinkers to influence the overall perception of the company."