Bitcoin Event: State of Digital Money Conference to be Held in LA in April
This April, the city of Los Angeles will host the State of Digital Money conference. The conference which will take place on the 18th of April is designed to shape “a future vision” of digital currency, as seen by the leaders of the digital currency community.
The conference will showcase technology and host discussions that will be centered on the future of currency in the global economy. The meet comes at a time when digital currencies such as Bitcoin are rapidly going into the mainstream, and rapidly disrupting the global financial system as we know it. In addition, the possibilities that are now being unveiled through blockchain technology promise to be even more far-reaching.
The conference will feature leading investors and entrepreneurs in the Bitcoin community. Some of them include Jeff Garzik, Brock Pierce, Steve Beauregard and Connie Gallippi. In addition representatives from companies such as Factom, Changetip and Airbitz will also be featured.
CCN.com spoke to one of the conference organizers, Alan Tse, and the following contains what he had to say,
A number of conferences and workshops have been held about digital money in one form or the other. What makes the upcoming SODM unique from the others?
“This is a very good question and I agree that there are already a number of established events out there that cover digital money and cryptocurrency. I personally have not attended all of them, but I think that we have a few differentiating factors that we hope to achieve.
We would be the first to host an event focused on digital money with over 20 speakers and panelists in the Los Angeles area. There is a growing tech community here in LA and many of our speakers are local prominent figures in the digital currency community. Our goal is to bring the community and the LA tech scene together to bridge a connection that has not yet happened. We are hosting our event at rhubarb studios; a new co-working space in downtown LA within the US Bank Tower building which we feel is the perfect venue to be hosting the State of Digital Money.
This venue will allow us to build a creative environment unique from traditional conference centers and hotels, and create an intimate environment ideal for networking. Lastly, we view SODM as not just a conference, but an experience. In addition to the speakers and panels, we are working on strategic partnerships that will create interaction with brands doing great stuff so that people will be immersed in a world of digital money.”
Several jurisdictions have or are in the process of enacting legislation that will govern virtual currency. Some of them include New York and California. What kind of legal environment would you like to see for cryptocurrency and blockchain technology?
“Another great question. As a conference organizer whose role is to curate the talks and panels, I typically choose to remain neutral on as many issues as possible so that I can build lively discussion and debates to happen.
Generally, I am supportive of innovation and disruptive technology as that is where all the excitement is. The appeal of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology is that it is decentralized and can allow for direct digital transactions without the middleman or any fees. Ideally, I think no regulation at all would be great so that people can continue to innovate and create incredible limitless technology utilizing blockchain.
However, realistically speaking, I think some level of regulation could standardize and unify the community and help speed up the process of adoption by bringing attention to the mass public and highlighting the societal benefits of blockchain technology beyond personal privacy. Which I believe, at the end of the day, can take digital currency from a community to an industry.”
Part of the agenda will be on investments in digital money. Will the growing area of bitcoin derivatives be featured in this part of the conference’s agenda?
Yes, the investment panel will discuss venture capital funding and investments into new technologies on the horizon as well as advice for startups (i.e. what VCs are looking for, where the ROI is, successes and failures in startups). However, we have a panel dedicated to blockchain technology which will talk about sidechains, bitcoin 2.0, and other exciting potentials for the technology. We have strategically placed this as our last panel as we look to the future for the bitcoin and digital money.
