Overview

Title: Blockchain: After the Hype

Date/Time: Thursday, April 04, 2019 - 2 p.m. ET

Duration: 1 hour

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Summary

After a breakout year in 2017, the blockchain and cryptocurrency sector suffered a series of blows in 2018 that included crashing cryptocurrency prices, increased regulatory scrutiny of crypto ventures, layoffs and business closures, and continued skepticism about the utility of blockchain technologies. Now, the industry has entered a crucial phase that could determine whether the setbacks are simply a healthy correction---or whether lofty dreams of blockchain systems transforming nearly every sector will not become reality.

Join Xconomy for a one-hour webinar featuring leading blockchain and crypto experts, who will help cut through the noise to explain the real opportunities and pitfalls that blockchains hold for businesses, highlight startups and large enterprises making progress, and unpack the key questions that will determine the impact and timeline of this emerging field.

Speakers

Steve Kokinos

Steve Kokinos
CEO
Algorand

Steve Kokinos is the CEO of blockchain platform developer Algorand and is responsible for overall business vision and strategy.

Steve is a serial entrepreneur, most recently co-founder and Executive Charmain of Fuze, where he was responsible for corporate strategy. Under his direction, the company transformed the way enterprises view collaboration as a key driver of business visibility, process improvement, and results. Prior to Fuze, Steve was co-founder of BladeLogic, Inc., a recognized leader in the data center automation market with a Fortune 500 client list including GE, Time Warner, Microsoft, Cable & Wireless, Walmart, and Sprint, among others. BladeLogic held a successful IPO and was later acquired by BMC Software for around $800 million.

Prior to BladeLogic, Steve was co-founder and CEO of Web Yes, Inc., an early market leader in the Web hosting and application service provider arena that provided infrastructure services for Sun Microsystems, Netscape, and Lycos, among others. Web Yes was acquired by Breakaway Solutions in 1999.


Dave Balter

Dave Balter
CEO
Flipside Crypto

Dave Balter is CEO and a Managing Partner at Flipside Crypto, which provides algorithms, indexes, and analysis for institutional-level cryptocurrency investment vehicles.

Previously, Dave was co-founder and CEO of Smarterer, a skills assessment company acquired by Pluralsight (NASDAQ: PS) in 2014. Post-acquisition, Dave was the Head of Transactions at Pluralsight, while also serving as a board observer. In 2001, Dave founded and was CEO of BzzAgent, a social media marketing company, which was acquired by dunnhumby, a division of Tesco, in 2011. From 2011-2014, Dave sat on the global executive team at dunnhumby, where he led all venture and M&A activity.

Dave is Venture Partner Emeritus at Boston Seed Capital; personally, he is an investor or advisor to more than 50 technology organizations. Investments include Promoboxx, Help Scout, Kettle & Fire, Turo, NRG, AdHawk, and Enwoven. Dave sits on the board of directors of Flipside Crypto, Adhawk, Grapevine, and Kindara. He is an advisor at Berklee (Music) Online and is vice chairman of Boch Center for the Performing Arts, a nonprofit steward of iconic venues, providing arts, entertainment, cultural, and educational experiences to the greater Boston community.


Sharon Goldberg

Sharon Goldberg
CEO & Co-Founder
Arwen

Sharon Goldberg is the CEO and co-founder of Arwen (formerly Commonwealth Crypto), a Boston blockchain startup that is developing the most secure way to trade at cryptocurrency exchanges. She is also a tenured associate professor in the Computer Science Department at Boston University. Her research focuses on network security and cryptography, and her blockchain research has resulted in modifications to the BTC and ETH protocols. She's authored over 30 technical papers and is the recipient of two IETF/IRTF Applied Networking Research Prizes, an NSF CAREER Award, and a Sloan Research Fellowship.

Jeff Engel

Jeff Engel, Moderator
Deputy Editor, Tech
Xconomy

Jeff oversees technology coverage across Xconomy's national network, and he writes about software and technology in the Boston area and beyond. Previously, he served as the editor of Xconomy Wisconsin. Before joining Xconomy, he covered manufacturing and technology for the Milwaukee Business Journal, and before that he was the business and healthcare reporter for the Marshfield News-Herald in central Wisconsin.