Consensus 2015, CoinDesk’s inaugural conference, was held in New York last week. The event featured a wide range of speakers, including prominent figures from the crypto space, traditional finance, law enforcement and aid sector who engaged in a wide range of discussion topics; including the potential use-cases for bitcoin and blockchain technology. Below is a round up of the best quotes from the day’s discussions, in case you missed the event. For a more detailed overview of the day’s proceedings check out our live blog or our summaries of the morning and afternoon sessions. Consensus 2015: The Best Quotes | Create infographics For a more detailed overview of the day’s proceedings check out our live blog or our summaries of the morning…
Last week, over 500 attendees and speakers gathered inside New York’s TimesCenter for CoinDesk’s inaugural conference, Consensus 2015. It was a jam-packed day which bought together industry figures from the banking world, law enforcement, Silicon Valley and beyond to discuss the future use cases of blockchain technology. Away from the stage, the event saw numerous events, including the diversity scholarships, knowledge bars and book signing sessions. Toggle using the arrows below for our highlights, or search using the hashtag #Consensus2015 on Twitter. CoinDesk EventsConsensus…
Cash and gifts-in-kind are the two main types of relief when it comes to assisting those who have suffered in the face of natural disasters, but bitcoin is becoming an ever more popular option. In the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, over $14bn was pledged by the international community for the relief and recovery of the 14 countries affected by the natural disaster – one of the deadliest recorded in history. Paul Currion, an independent consultant for humanitarian organisations, told CoinDesk this “huge outpour of public support” meant a lot of organisations had more funding than they could easily process and distribute. Cash donations can be favoured over in-kind donations, with the latter having been criticised in the past for making it…
CoinDesk’s inaugural conference, Consensus 2015, took place at New York’s TimesCenter yesterday with speakers including Blythe Masters, Kosta Peric and Wences Casares. The afternoon sessions were kicked off by CoinDesk’s Joon Ian Wong, who led a one-on-one session with Debra Brackeen, the global head at Citi’s Innovation Center. Brackeen explained how Citi became involved in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space and said, during her approximately four years at the company, digital money had been part of the conversation. Citi funded its first crypto project in January 2014, which dealt with state-backed digital currencies. This led the bank to be much more proactive in developing a portfolio of activities in and around blockchain…
The Consensus 2015 Makeathon drew to a close today when Team 15 was awarded the event’s $5,000 prize for an application that envisioned how the blockchain could be used to produce verifiable, immutable receipts for use during an insurance claims process. Led by Tierion CEO Wayne Vaughan, the four-member team included Citi Portfolio Risk Management division associate Thulasi Janardhanan; New York University computer science major Deepak Atal; Apttus sales engineer Dom Steil; and Coin Cafe’s Emily Faber. Introducing the concept, Vaughan said: “Right now with our current insurance system there is a high risk of errors and a high cost to integrate with vendors. Our solution is to generate a blockchain receipt for every record that is collected. That…
Few groups have been as early and as active in attempting to understand the implications of digital currency and blockchain technology as US law enforcement. Despite expanded use and investment, cryptographic currencies such as bitcoin continue to be widely used for illicit activities. Dark market operators and extortionists were early and aggressive in their attempts to capitalize on the digital payment network and its cash-like approach to transactions, a trend that continues. As evidence, the Department of Justice, US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California (DOJ), appointed Kathryn Haun as its first Digital Currency Crimes Coordinator this June. The position finds Haun heading up a multi-agency task force in San Francisco and comprised of…