Asia Events & Media Coverage ahead of the iExec V4 Release in December

It has been a busy month for the iExec team speaking at events across the globe, including 4 important conferences in Asia. It was also a great month for showcasing iExec’s work. Notably, being recognized as one of the main contributors to Hyperledger Avalon, presenting the Trusted Compute Framework alongside Microsoft, Intel, ConsenSys, Envision, PegaSys and Kaleido. Other than that, we have spoken met some important actors and spread the word of the iExec V4 release at the end of the year. This update will give a quick insight as to where we’ve been.
Devcon5
iExec attended the most important gathering in the Ethereum world (and let’s be honest, the entire blockchain dev world!), Devcon. With every year we attend the conference, we are more excited to be part of the Ethereum ecosystem and are proud to have long been recognized within the community. This was the fourth time iExec attended the conference, having first presented the project at Devcon2 back in 2016!

We were excited to observe the evolution in the ecosystem (and to see the survivors). It is great to see that, what once were only ideas, are now becoming products. These days, we’re happy to find different actors and bodies within the space joining forces and collaborating to strengthen the ecosystem as a whole. Some notable examples would be the Ethereum Foundation, the EEA and the Ethereum Magicians.
iExec has invested time and involved with all of these groups and we are happy to see them working together.
As well as being an event to showcase progress and groundbreaking research in the field, Devcon provides great networking opportunities. iExec exchanged with many actors in the space, as well as those who have been on our that we are ready and explored how we can begin to integrate with them.
Off-chain, Oracles and Trusted Compute
We noticed three recurring topics at Devcon. Off-chain compute, oracles, and trusted computing. These issues were repeatedly raised by projects who were looking for solutions, only confirming that iExec is on the right track. Each of these are areas are a focus for iExec, and are technically advanced, particularly in trusted computing solutions. Our ‘TEE’ trusted compute solution was released with Intel over a year ago now, and was the big announcement from the previous Devcon in 2018. At the time, very little people had heard about Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs). This year, however, the topic was frequently brought up in questions at our booth or during presentations. It was clear other projects had acknowledged the necessity of trusted compute within blockchain-based networks.
Events like this give iExec an opportunity to understand the needs of other actors both blockchain and non-blockchain. We are able to identify what current problems exist in the space, helping us come up with the best solutions to resolve these problems.
iExec Devcon Presentations
One of the most exciting moments of the conference was the announcement of the collaboration with Microsoft, Intel, ConsenSys, Envision, PegaSys and Kaleido as part of the EEA presentation. We presented an initial example use case of the Trusted Compute Specification (TCF) of which iExec is proud to be the main author of the code. This is the latest work from the Intel x iExec strategic partnership. Watch the video of the presentation below!
➡Read the Intel Announcement here
➡ Read the Hyperledger Avalon Technical roles here
➡Read the EEA Announcement here
In addition to this presentation, iExec team members gave 2 other talks (on ENS Ethereum Addresses and upgradability smart of contracts) while also participating in an ENS workshop. We were honored to be invited to present our experience gained with iExec.
Devcon5: iExec Off-Chain Drinks

iExec held a networking event after Day 2 of Devcon, hosting an evening of drinks and food across the street from the conference. It was nice to see familiar faces, getting to meet old business partners from over the years. We were pleased to meet others over the later days of the conference who had met new business partners or clients at our event! Thank you for coming along, especially with the fierce competition we had from events in the other rooms!
Thank you to the Proof of Attendance Protocol (POAP) for organizing the badges and NFT tokens for all attendees of the iExec event. We loved the idea and look forward to working with you again!
Korea Blockchain Week 2019
Victor, iExec asset manager, and the Korea CM, Kang were both in Seoul for the 2019 Korea Blockchain Week. As the Korean crypto market presents a huge opportunity for iExec. We were there to engage with the growing blockchain dev community in Korea.
In case you missed it, there was an exciting piece of news to come from Upbit, Korea’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange following the trip. As Upbit reopens its BTC markets, the RLC token was whitelisted as one of only 26 project tokens that will continue to be accessible through UpBit BTC pairs and the wider Korean market.
Shanghai Blockchain Week 2019
iExec also attended the Shanghai International Blockchain Week 2019. Held annually since 2015, Shanghai International blockchain week is organized by Wanxiang Blockchain Labs. Funded by China Wanxiang Holdings, Wanxiang Blockchain Labs is a non-profit research institution for Blockchain technology. The institution provides reference information for regulatory bodies in China. Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum founder, is also a formal Chief Scientist at Wanxiang Blockchain.
This 5th year of the conference featured numerous well-known figures in the blockchain industry. Vitalik Buterin of Ethereum was present as well as, Gavin Wood (Polkdot), Michinobu Kishi (Bank of Japan), Henry Ma (Webank), Sergy Nazarov (Chainlink), and of course the iExec team!
Shanghai Blockchain Week is an important international event for everyone involved in the space. We talked with the likes of representatives from Binance, Huobi, Chainlink, and Decent blockchain. JC also met the Chief Innovation Officer of Wanxiang Innova City, the proposed Blockchain-powered City in Hangzhou. We’re sorry though — it is still a little too early to give more details on anything else right now!
CCF China Blockchain Conference 2019
The (China Blockchain Conference) is hosted by the world-renowned CCF (China Computer Federation) in Chengdu, China. CCF is the biggest computer association in China. CBCC is the most academic blockchain conference in China. There are over 800 participants from top universities, industry, financial institutions, government, and international experts.
We were impressed with the huge amount of interest in our work and the sheer volume of attendees at the booth, eager to ask about iExec. We are pleasantly surprised to observe the recurring theme of trusted off-chain compute, Intel SGX and trusted execution environment (TEE) technology.
As mentioned, when we launched the TEE SGX solution over a year ago, with the first-ever of its kind in the blockchain industry, very few people knew about this technology. This year, the awareness of TEEs has noticeably increased as both the blockchain and wider computing industry start to realize the need for and uses for this emerging and game-changing technology. With a strategic partnership with Intel, iExec are competitively well-positioned with SGX and blockchain solutions, having first-mover advantage and becoming more and more recognized and accredited for our work.
One of the most exciting pieces of news during the China Blockchain Conference was the iExec booth and solutions being broadcast on CCTV. With an audience of over 100 million, CCTV is the largest and most influential television station in China.
iExec Cheif Innovation Officer, Jean-Charles takes to the stage
Jean Charles was a mainstage speaker at the China Blockchain Conference, his presentation exploring the theme of blockchain and global convergence. Using the specific use context of smart cities, he gave five separate use cases illustrate how the convergence of different technologies such as distributed computing, trusted compute and blockchain can shape our future. This, of course, included iExec use cases, such as the research and prototypes from SHIFT labs, to demonstàrate how iExec is the perfect fit to shape such a future.

And a thank you to the community!
And on a final note, it has been great to see our social network activity spiking over the past month. We’ve noticed a higher level of engagement from the community over on twitter — it is great to see everyone getting excited about the iExec V4 release in December. We appreciate everyone who is helping spread the word!
Interested in following the iExec project? What’s next?
Before iExec V4 (the high-performance computing version with GPU support) is released this year, we’ll be giving more news on the recent developments of each of the recent announcements. To be the first to know and get exclusive updates, subscribe to the iExec newsletter and follow on social media.
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