Blockchain Hub | Day 1 Recap

Day one is in the books at Blockchain Hub Davos – and it was a day to remember! 

The day’s guiding theme was” Global Assets on the Digital Stage.” More than 20 leaders from across the public and private sector took to the main stage for a series of conversations on the trends shaping the future of blockchain adoption and digital assets. 

The afternoon started with a thoughtful discussion the need for enhanced and unified reporting standards for financial contracts – and why blockchain provides the ideal infrastructure to realize such an outcome. With speakers including Dr. Allen Mendelowitz (president of ACTUS and former chairman of the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Board), Charles Hoffman (creator of the ubiquitous XBRL reporting standard) and Dr. Willi Brammertz (one of the most respected minds in the risk management field), a rich and actionable range of ideas were discussed. In the words of Hoffman, “Blockchain and accounting are a match made in heaven.”

Programming continued with a series of keynotes and panels devoted to DeFi – its remarkable rise, and why reports of its alleged demise are highly premature. As CasperLabs CEO Mrinal Manohar pointed out, “DeFi’s market cap in 2020 was a fraction of what it is today, even after events of the past few weeks.” Speakers expressed confidence that DeFi is not going anywhere – and shared a universal optimism that its next frontier will be more focused on inclusivity, and making it a more accessible option for the many new users that will come as UX continues to improve. 

The day’s penultimate program block took a closer look at how crypto markets have evolved since their earliest days. Cypher Capital’s Vineet Budki shared a candid perspective on how to think about digital assets in a fast-changing market.

The first day of the Blockchain Hub concluded with a series of all-star panels. Ramesh, Ramadoss, Board Member at the IEEE Standards Association, moderated a panel that featured European Parliament Vice President Eva Kaili, Coinbase Chief Product Officer Faryay Shirzad, Crypto Council for Innovation CEO Sheila Warren and Global Blockchain Business Council Board Member John deVadoss. They offered earnest perspectives on the critical role regulation will play in truly enabling digital assets on a global scale, and stressed the importance of working with key players from within the system to come up with regulation that protects customers and fosters innovation. 

The day concluded with a lively discussion on the state of crypto in 2022, featuring Ropart Asset Management Managing Partner Todd Goergen and Bitcoin Foundation Chariman Brock Pierce. Among other topics, they dug in on the big opportunity present in more proactive engagement with lawmakers.

The momentum will keep rolling into tomorrow, which will broadly focus on enterprise and government blockchain adoption – and feature speakers from IBM, AWS, Roche, CasperLabs and more. The event is nearly sold out, but a few slots remain: you can RSVP here. 

For those not in Davos, fear not! You can follow the event livestream here. And be sure to follow CasperLabs on Twitter, which is sharing regular updates and soundbites from the Blockchain Hub throughout the event.