Trust, Scale, Adoption: ChangeNOW at Consensus 2026

Consensus Miami 2026 is once again proving why it’s considered one of the most important events in crypto, and this year, ChangeNOW isn’t just showing up, it’s actively shaping the conversation.

On May 6, the team takes part in two consecutive panel discussions hosted by NOWNodes at the Miami Beach Convention Center’s “Meet Ups” zone. NOWNodes, part of the broader NOW ecosystem, provides blockchain node infrastructure powering a range of crypto services.

These sessions focus on some of the industry’s most pressing topics: infrastructure resilience, tokenization at scale, and the real barriers to mainstream adoption.

Representing ChangeNOW is Pauline Shangett, Chief Strategy Officer, who will also moderate the first panel in her capacity as Strategic Advisor to NOWNodes.

Her schedule at Consensus goes well beyond these sessions. On May 5, she appears at the Capital Markets Summit to discuss onchain privacy and identity (11:25 AM), followed by a second session titled “FQ Trust by Design: Building On-Chain Systems People Believe In” at 1:20 PM. Then on May 7, she joins “The Next Commodity Revolution: RWA Meets Instant Liquidity” at 4:40 PM.

Across three days and five panels, one core question ties everything together: what does it actually take to build systems people trust with their money?

About ChangeNOW

Founded in 2017, ChangeNOW operates as a non-custodial cryptocurrency exchange, meaning it never holds user funds. The platform supports swaps across more than 110 blockchains and over 1,500 assets, often without requiring account registration.

Today, it serves more than eight million users and has expanded into a broader ecosystem that includes NOW Wallet, NOWPayments, NOWTracker, and NOWNodes: offering API-based blockchain infrastructure for businesses and developers who prefer not to run their own nodes.

For ChangeNOW, the topics discussed on stage are far from theoretical. Its systems process cross-chain swaps daily, requiring consistent uptime, accurate real-time data, and secure execution: all without custody of assets. Infrastructure reliability isn’t a talking point; it’s a constant operational requirement.

Panel 1: Trust Under Pressure

The first session, “Trust Under Pressure: Can Tokenized Systems Stay Consistent at Scale?”, runs from 10:35 to 11:10 AM.

Moderated by Pauline Shangett, the panel features Kwon Park (Crypto.com), Abi Dharshan (Zerion), Vidor Gencel (Solflare), and Philipp Zentner (LI.FI).

The discussion takes a direct approach: tokenization is no longer experimental. With real assets and users involved, inconsistencies in ownership data are not minor issues, they’re business-critical failures.

The panel pushes beyond theory, tackling difficult questions such as when data discrepancies escalate into executive-level risks, and what the real, measurable cost of system failure looks like.

Panel 2: Can RWA Deliver?

Immediately following, the second panel: “Selling Trust: Can RWA Deliver on the Promise of Mass Adoption?” runs from 11:15 to 11:45 AM.

Moderated by Samuel Hood Burke (CCN), the discussion includes speakers from Houdini Swap, TON Foundation, Paxos, and GlobalStake.

Rather than assuming success, this session examines why tokenized real-world assets, like treasuries and real estate, haven’t yet reached mass adoption. The conversation explores whether the bottleneck lies in regulation, liquidity, awareness, or simply a mismatch between what’s being built and what users actually want.

Why It Matters

While organized by NOWNodes, these conversations reflect broader challenges across the crypto industry.

For ChangeNOW, the connection is immediate. Nearly a decade of building fast, private, and scalable infrastructure has put the company face-to-face with the same issues being debated on stage, only in real production environments.

This year, the NOW ecosystem isn’t at Consensus to launch products or make announcements. The focus is on contributing to discussions that will shape where the industry goes next.

The sessions begin at 10:35 AM on May 6 in the Meet Ups area of the Miami Beach Convention Center. If you’re attending, it’s worth arriving early: these are the kinds of panels where time runs out before the insights do.

If you’re not in Miami, you can still follow updates via ChangeNOW and NOWNodes on social media, with a full recap expected after the event.