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In advance of Paris Blockchain Week taking place from April 13-19, BlockchianReporter sat down with co-founder of the event and board member of Chain Accelerator, Michael Amar.

Paris Blockchain Week is a series of events taking place under the joint High Patronage of the French Ministry for the Economy and Finance and the Secretary of State for Digital Affairs, culminating in the Paris Blockchain Week Summit, which will be held on April 16 and 17.

It will be the first international conference that will be held in France, dedicated to professionals in the blockchain and crypto-assets space boasts of attendees such as Bruno Le Maire, French Minister of the Economy and Finance and Wei Zhou, CFO of Binance.

Last year, France slashed the tax rate for cryptocurrencies and overall, seems to have become much more supportive of the blockchain industry in recent years.

What’s changed?

France is fortunate to have very forward-looking government officials. Even our president has noted the potential of blockchain technology to provide greater transparency to existing industries.

We also have numerous members of parliament, Jean-Michel Mis, Pierre Person, and Laure de La Raudière, for instance, that are pushing forward legislation to accelerate the development and adoption of the technology.

There is a sense of urgency from these officials. They are not only recognising the potential of blockchain and cryptocurrencies, but they are also pushing for the necessary changes to foster the right ecosystem.

Outside of parliament, we also see large French companies such as grocery chain Carrefour adopt the technology. Carrefour has successfully implemented DLT to track products from their farms to their stores, reducing the risk of health hazards such as Salmonella outbreaks.

Europe, for the most part, seems to be one of the most progressive places for Blockchain. Would you say that there is greater support for cryptocurrency specifically or just blockchain?

Europe is a place that strikes the right balance between innovation and consumer protection. Initiatives such as the EU Blockchain Forum have been set up by the European Parliament to not only progress the development and adoption of blockchain and DLT, but to make sure it progresses in a way that is safe for users.

Initiatives and discussion at the European Parliament level have mostly focused on blockchain technology.

But we see parliaments in specific European countries such as Malta and Estonia pass through legislation to make their country attractive to businesses dealing with cryptocurrency. The Maltese government passed three bills into legislation last year concerning both cryptocurrencies and blockchain.

As a result, we are seeing major cryptocurrency businesses such as Binance relocating to Malta. Overall, Europe is one of the most supportive places for businesses relating to cryptocurrency and to blockchain technology.

France has announced plans to spend about €500 million on blockchain over the next three years. In terms of long-term development, do you think Blockchain needs more of funding or positive legislation?

What blockchain requires is the development talent with the skills to work on blockchain and DLT projects. At the moment, there is intense competition for developers in other technology sectors.

We are currently seeing the banking industry and venture capitalist funded projects already securing the largest share of this talent that can build on blockchain and DLT.

The funding we see from France and others such as the €340 million EU fund will help secure more of this talent with the goal of building blockchain projects for various sectors.

Regardless of funding and legislation, the pool of talent with the skills to develop projects on blockchain will remain scarce in the near-term. However, in the longer-term outlook, funding and favourable legislation will help grow the pool of talent and will also attract more developers from other technology sectors to work on blockchain projects.

Paris Blockchain Week has attracted some very powerful names to its lineup. At the same time, a member of the European Central Bank executive recently referred to Bitcoin as the evil spawn of the financial crisis. Do you think events like this help to change the minds of those in high places?

We have seen Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JP Morgan, progress from labelling bitcoin a fraud to recently announcing that he plans to launch his own internal cryptocurrency built on DLT. Events such as Paris Blockchain Week help these sorts of change in mindsets take place.

These events educate executives and key enterprise players to make a difference. We hope to shine a light on what kind of benefits blockchain and DLT can offer, as well as which inefficiencies it can tackle. Let’s not give up on the European Central Bank executive just yet.

The different countries in Europe (naturally) have different policies regarding blockchain. Can the industry thrive that way or are organizations like ‘Blockchain for Europe’ needed to ensure uniformity, at least in the private sector?

Time will reveal whether different policies in different jurisdictions is the best approach for progressing development and adoption of blockchain technology. We will be delving into questions such as this at the conference and we will quickly learn which policies best suit the progression of the technology.

It certainly seems advantageous to jurisdictions such as China and Japan where unexpected changes in policy have resulted in businesses having to change location or shut down operations immediately.

Blockchain adoption in Europe is still in its early stages, and it’s still unknown what kind of long-term impact it will have on policies.

In the short-term, initiatives such as Paris Blockchain Week will facilitate further discussion regarding the technology and how it should be governed.

How has the bear market affected the progress rate of blockchain in Europe and France, specifically?

Prices are always an important point of interest for the general public, but the development of the technology continues to progress in Europe and France regardless. Prices are more of a concern to speculators than they are to the businesses and developers building on blockchain.

Projects do not need to launch their own cryptocurrency to apply blockchain or DLT; the power of blockchain lies in its real-world potential. However, the public often associates blockchain and crypto as one.

Hopefully, as more awareness is built around the capabilities of blockchain, people will see that the technology can be utilized for much more than digital currencies.Apart from investors suffering losses, bear markets can be a good thing.

They serve to get rid of some of the weaker projects from the market. Projects that started with weaker value propositions struggle to continue to fund project development and eventually have to shut down operations. Although this can cause pain in the short-term, it is a good thing for the overall health of the ecosystem in the long-term.

What can we look forward to at the summit?

The summit will cover several interesting topics that will showcase France as a leading tech and blockchain hub. Some of the panels will delve into discussions points specifically focused on certain aspects the technology, while others will delve into the broader ecosystem and how we can best facilitate the continued growth and adoption of this technology.

Matters such as regulation, including how France is spearheading blockchain regulation in Europe, and the role of corporates will all be important talking points.

The panels will consist of pioneers operating at the forefront of the blockchain industry. The biggest innovators in the industry will address the biggest questions within a growing ecosystem, which should make for a thought-provoking and entertaining event!

You can also look forward to lots of satellite events taking place around Paris for the entire week of the summit, organized by some of the biggest blockchain organisations in Paris. These events will include hackathons, dinners, parties, and much more.

There are a lot of events covering blockchain and cryptocurrencies these days, though few have touched on the impact the technology will have on the mainstream public.

The event “Blockchain of the Future: Smart Cities, Media, Smart Contracts & Beyond” gave us a look at how blockchain can affect our lives on a more social level.

BlockchainNYC.org has hosted numerous events often focusing on finance, healthcare, and logistics, areas where blockchain has an obvious fit.

They’ve done well bringing in well-known names as speakers on their panels and attracting huge crowds as New York City’s largest blockchain group. Going in to this event held at the eBay NYC event space, it wasn’t surprising to see so many people enjoying drinks and networking, though it had a distinctly lighthearted feel.




Talking to those who attended, it was clear that they were hungry for ways to connect blockchain to their peers who don’t have much knowledge on the space.The diverse set of speakers certainly delivered.

Meggie Hsu of Air Swap, a decentralized token exchange on Ethereum, brought in the expertise on cryptocurrencies and blockchain that we’ve come to expect from events on the topic.

Though speakers like Tyler Gold of Vice Media; Lillian Ruiz from Civil, a journalism-focused blockchain company; and Karen Bhatia, who works with EDCNYC, were able to connect those ideas to the mainstream public.

Most people have taken a backseat in blockchain developments, not realizing nor understanding how great an impact it can have. These impassioned speakers connected to this audience and sparked a thirst for knowledge in a wider demographic of people. During the event, Lillian Ruiz from Civil remarked:  

Blockchain itself is not going to unlock anything. We need a wider depth of field…a less capitalist world view. We’re talking about a seismic shift in technology, so it benefits us all to think a little bigger.

They talked about social media and how cryptocurrencies will allow people to earn tokens from their original content. An issue many currently have due to content being stolen and reposted, with little to no reward for their efforts.

Platforms like Steemit and Civil were highlighted as a means to achieve compensation for content creation, not only driving a community of sharing from content providers, but allowing people to feel secure in the fact that their private information won’t be sold to advertisers.

As social media has become a major aspect of people’s everyday lives, hearing of these revolutionary changes was enough to convince those more passive towards blockchain about its importance in the future.





It opened a lot of doors, and I noticed more people taking notes and an active interest in the topics than I’ve seen before at similar events. Transitioning into smart cities, it began to make sense to those less knowledgeable how building city infrastructures on secure data could impact their lives and not just the behind the scenes of how cities are run. Estonia was a great example of this. Nasdaq notes:

Is it any surprise that our cities are growing up and getting smarter? From the 1950’s onwards, cities were built around cars; now smart cities are being built around data and information. The obvious next step is to share data which is a good reason why sharing and decentralization on blockchain is important.

With these points established, it was easier for people on the less technical side to absorb information about blockchain, the role cryptocurrencies play, and what smart contracts are and how they can be utilized. These aren’t topics that only investors should be keeping an eye on.

This technology will play a pivotal role in everyone’s lives. It was inspiring to see everyone in agreement and actively taking an interest in this transformative technology.

Seen any good events recently? How do you think blockchain will impact the mainstream public in the future? Let us know at Bitcoinist here: http://bitcoinist.com/blockchain-of-the-future-event-coverage/

Swiss investors have teamed up to launch the first global crypto finance conference. The event is slated to take place right before the next World Economic Forum.

Eight Swiss investors and businessmen have launched the project for the first global crypto finance conference, set to take place in 2018. Their plan looks pretty promising.

Crypto Finance Conference ’18 will address the needs and interest of a global investor community and aims to increase their appreciation about Blockchain and crypto currencies. The conference will also show how they can best place investments and what risk specialists and regulators think about the fledgling industry.

A further topic will cover the question about how to safely store crypto currencies.

Beautiful Conference Setting

The conference will take place on January 17 to 19, 2018, in Suvretta House in St. Moritz, a glamorous setting in the Swiss Alps that will be familiar territory for the rich global invest community the conference aims to attract.

The World Economic Forum 2018 will take place immediately after the crypto finance conference 70 kilometers down the road in Davos.

Many of the coveted investor community will presumably take the ride or short flight from one conference to the next....continue reading: 
http://www.finews.com/news/english-news/28646-swiss-investors-launch-crypto-_C2_ABwef_C2_BB

La nueva era del Internet descentralizado

¿Es Blockchain una tecnología revolucionaria que va a cambiar nuestras vidas?

¿Blockchain va a afectar a los sectores más diversos como finanzas, energía, telecomunicaciones?

¿Exige la reinvención de nuestros negocios?¿Qué son los contratos inteligentes y cómo pueden cambiar nuestras relaciones y negocios?

¿Qué posibilidades abre Blockchain para negocios inclusivos?¿Van los negocios Blockchain a cambiar nuestra forma de trabajar? 

Te invitamos a a descubrir más sobre este nuevo tipo de tecnología y cómo integrarla en tu negocio u organización a partir de las ponencias de un panel de expertos.

 

PROGRAMA:

12:00h-13:15h Mesa redonda



Modera la mesa: 

Almudena de la MataExperta en Innovación SocialApasionada del cambio social a través de la innovación, Almudena ha buscado tener un impacto positivo como directivo internacional en el sector privado, el público y también como emprendedora y académica.

Socia de Impact Hub Madrid desde su fundación, apoya en particular la internacionalización de startups. Motivada por la búsqueda de caminos innovadores para resolver los grandes retos de la sociedad actual cocreó Innovation for Change, plataforma que trabaja con universidades, empresas e individuos en el fomento de la innovación, procesos de cambio y pensamiento crítico.

Ha sido Advisor del Bundesbank y la Comisión Europea, investigadora del Max Plank Institut y docente desde el 2000 en varias universidades europeas (actualmente en el IE). PhD Max-Planck-Institut Hamburgo.

  

Alex Preukschat

Digital Transformation and Blockchain Expert Desde 2012 es asesor de desarrollo estratégico, gestión de proyectos y formador de mandos en empresas multinacionales y start ups dentro del ecosistema Blockchain.

A lo largo de su carrera ha trabajado en el sector financiero (FinTech) y turismo en facetas vinculadas a tecnología, marketing digital y desarrollo de negocio en distintos países.

Autor y productor de la primera novela gráfica del mundo sobre Bitcoin (BitcoinComic.org), así como de juegos móviles, inspirados en el mundo de las criptomonedas, desde MoneyFunGames.com.

Estudió en la Universidad Pontificia Comillas-ICADE E-4 en Madrid/España y ESB Reutlingen/Alemania. 



Carlos Kuchkovsky Jiménez
CTO New Digital Business at BBVA

Ingeniero informático apasionado por la continua transformación social propiciada por la tecnología y de la nueva economía P2P. Ha trabajado como desarrollador dentro de la industria del juego y, actualmente en el BBVA, para mejorar la interacción persona-finanzas dentro de la banca.

Co-Fundador y Coorganizador de los grupos de interés APIHour y El Mundo descentralizado y desarrollador de otros proyectos más íntimos y personales como L8SmartLight.

 

Daniel Díez García
Blockchain & DLT Lead @Everis

Daniel es un adoptador temprano y emprendedor de Bitcoin y Blockchain. A lo largo de los 4 últimos años ha desempeñado el cargo de Director de Estrategia y Desarrollo de Negocio en Bit2Me (la primera aplicación que conectó a la red ATM tradicional, galardonada como mejor Startup de España en 2015), así como co-fundador de la primera consultora española de Blockchain, Furai. Daniel es actualmente responsable de Blockchain para EMEA y Latam en everis, desde donde coordina la estrategia tecnológica multi-sector.

 13:30h-14:15h Entrevista Q&A con Robert Haastrup – Timmi



Robert Haastrup – Timmi
Chief Visionary Officer at BC, DiverseRecruiting & Brexitjob

Fundador  de startups en serie y apasionado de la tecnología y la innovación, Robert Hasstrup-Timmi ha fundado Blockchain Company – http://www.blockchaincompany.info.

Un nuevo ecosistema que tiene como objetivo acercar al público general las tecnologías leger distribuidas y las criptomonedas a través de una plataforma con al rededor de 30 aplicaciones que utilizan el sistema Blockchain.

Learn more about this event here: http://madrid.impacthub.net/evento/transformar-el-mundo-con-blockchain/

Click here to Create a Free member account on Blockchain Company and start earning points for making comments, sharing content you love, invites and other activities. Your points may be converted into tokens in a future BlockchainCompany.info ICO (Initial Coin Offering). Start learning the impact of Blockchain as a new technology and how it affects you!

Blockchain—You've heard the term, now understand the impact. Business of Blockchain - April 18, 2017 Cambridge,  MA


Digital technologies let people who’ve never met do business across borders and continents in an instant. But how can they trust one another without relying on bureaucracy and middlemen? How can security, identity, and ownership be guaranteed while still operating at the speed of the Internet?

Blockchains, or distributed ledgers, may provide the answer. Companies, researchers, and governments are exploring how blockchains can secure trust without the need for middlemen or third parties. Leaders in every industry from finance to health care, music to renewable energy, must understand how distributed ledgers can help them operate more efficiently.

MIT Technology Review in collaboration with MIT Media Lab Digital Currency Initiative invite you to a one-day conference examining the technology, ethics, and impact of blockchains.


• Meet pioneers in this emerging field
• Learn about the technology to gain business advantage
• Separate fact from hype, and what’s imminent from what’s far off

In the heart of the MIT campus

This event takes place at the MIT Media Lab, in the heart of the MIT campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Here you can't help but feel the excitement and inspiration of being at the top university in the world, surrounded by the top technology minds anywhere... Learn more: http://events.technologyreview.com/presents/business-of-blockchain/2017