The 2nd Annual Blockchain for Wall Street education day will take place on Tuesday, November 14th at the New York Law School with a focus on “Distributed Ledger Directions and Realities for the Financial Markets.” A new component of this year’s event will be the recognition of real blockchain production pilot projects through presentations from finalists competing in the Blockchain Reality in Financial Markets Challenge, which officially opens on July 1st.
Blockchain for Wall Street is hosted by the Wall Street Blockchain Alliance, a non-profit trade association, and Lighthouse Partners’ The Blockchain Conference. The event debuted in 2016, featuring contributions from representatives of ConsenSys, Credit Suisse, DTCC, the Hyperledger Project, IBM, IC3, Mizuho Securities, Synechron.
Topics to be covered during the 2017 education day program include:
- Financial markets blockchain, distributed ledger and smart contract pilot experiences and lessons learned so far.
- Blockchain and distributed ledger performance, scalability, deployment and security challenges and solutions.
- Smart contract creation and deployment, with a focus on functionality, integration and security.
- Regulatory and legal considerations related to blockchain and smart contract deployment.
- Institutional interest, usage and attitude to cryptoassets.
Says Ron Quaranta, Chairman of the WSBA: “As the focal point of the WSBA’s educational outreach and member initiatives, Blockchain for Wall Street’s expert faculty and deep-dive sessions will once again provide true value to the financial markets community as it confronts real challenges in the adoption of this transformational technology.”
An important addition to the 2017 program is a session featuring five finalists of projects competing in the Blockchain Reality in Financial Markets Challenge, which will showcase the best examples of pilot projects that are leading Wall Street's movement towards full production blockchain systems.
The challenge is expected to draw participation from established financial markets players and vendors as well as from startups, many of which are close to launching blockchain-based pilots. Participants – the identities of whom will remain confidential until finalists are announced just ahead of the education day – will be judged on a number of business and technology criteria. As well as making a highly visible presentation to financial markets and technology executives attending Blockchain for Wall Street, finalists will also receive exposure via additional WSBA outreach channels. Further information on the challenge, including the judging panel, will be announced soon.
“The reality focus of this year’s Blockchain for Wall Street, and the challenge, is important as Wall Street moves from limited proof-of-concepts and ‘demos’ to meaningful and production-quality pilots. As last year’s event demonstrated, bringing minds together to discuss directions and realities is vital if Wall Street firms are going to realize the benefits of blockchain technology,” notes Pete Harris, Principal of Lighthouse Partners and Program Co-Chair of Blockchain for Wall Street.
Early-bird registration for Blockchain for Wall Street is now open, and interest from speakers, sponsors and partners is being actively sought. More information, delegate registration and contacts for the reality challenge is available at www.blockchainforwallstreet.com.
