Is it boom or bust for decentralized finance?
A concept note for a roundtable discussion on the present and future of the global DeFi space
The traditional financial ecosystem has been witnessing an evolution for the past couple of years into the decentralized domain. DeFi, as it is called, holds a lot of promise in creating, shifting, and reconfiguring the global financial value chain. Blockchain technology has been able to give a sound footing to this brand-new monetary system, and many amazing entrepreneurs have created some path-breaking products and services.
However, while we do hear about DeFi, the upward movement is merely a gentle slope currently. Even though DeFi has the capability to transform the lives of millions of people (primarily the unbanked), the solutions built around this system, have failed to gain much public awareness. The adoption of crypto across the world has also been modest, to say the least.
So, is it just a media hullabaloo over Decentralized Finance and DApps, and we are really far from reality about DeFi? Is the DeFi space still in an experimental stage and there is a long way to go? Or, is the story of DeFi globally really so good, but we do not get to see it often?
So while we all believe that the needle is moving slowly and steadily, it is time for a change.
Let us discuss some areas of concern and points in this roundtable discussion:
- DeFi organizations that are working independently of one another, creating a fragmented market.
- The bright minds in this space aggressively pushing for DeFi do not have a common outlet like the World Economic Forum in Davos.
- Crypto faces staunch resistance from politicians, regulators, financial institutions, and Lawmakers.
- There is not enough thrust from traditional financial proponents and entrepreneurs to explore this space.
- More investments and focus needs to come into the DeFi space.
- Awareness and adoption need to increase.
We are calling in some people deep diving in this space for quite a while, to gather their minds and brainstorm on how to make or break this space once and for all.
The Roundtable Knights
- Pavel Bains, CEO, Bluzelle
- Benjamin Yablon, Chairman & CoFounder, Salt Lending
- Bernd Oostrum, Co-Founder CEO, Tezsure
- Kyle Kemper, Founder & CEO, Swiss Key
- Long Vuong, Founder & CEO, TomoChain
Our Guests
Benjamin is an experienced blockchain strategist with a demonstrated history of working in the financial technology industry. Currently, he is the Co-founder, of SALT Lending — which has a mission to offer solutions that make it possible for people to securely hold and borrow against their cryptoassets.
Ben is super-skilled in international expansion, has strong business development and leadership skills, and is a published author and accomplished public speaker.
Bernd wears multiple hats. He is the Co-founder & CEO of Tezsure. Tezsure is a platform to provide personalized insurance solutions to our users in a simplified way so that they can leverage the features of Blockchain and can function in a community-driven insurance pool without the involvement of any third party.
Bernd is also building developer tools and DeFi products on the Tezos blockchain. Before co-founding Tezsure he worked as lead blockchain architect & developer for one of the biggest insurance companies in the Netherlands. During that time he designed and developed blockchain solutions for insurance companies and the Dutch government.
Kyle Kemper had his bitcoin awakening in 2013 and he came to believe that we now have a choice when it comes to the type of money we can use. Since then, he has dedicated his heart and actions to educate, inspire, learn, collaborate, and create in this space. The ecosystem is blossoming and it is triggering a renaissance age…a golden age. He is the Founder and is currently building Swiss Key with the purpose to make cryptocurrency and digital identity simple, secure, and accessible to everyone. For many years Kyle has served as the executive director of the Blockchain Association of Canada (BAC) where we have worked with industry leaders, policymakers, governments, NGOs and other industry associations to assist with collective growth. He also advises, educates, and works with entrepreneurs, start-ups, SMEs, ICOs.
Long Vuong, is the Founder and CEO at TomoChain. An experienced technologist, entrepreneur, and product manager. He follows a big vision to build products that impact millions of people.
Pavel is the CEO of Bluzelle, a decentralized database that solves the security, integrity, reliability issues facing data management.
Pavel often speaks on panels and conferences about where digital media, finance, and technology are heading. Pavel also is a contributing writer to Fast Company, Venture Beat, Forbes, and The Huffington Post.
Special Thanks
Our entire series was ably managed and moderated by Pavel Bains, CEO, Bluzelle. He brought a 360-degree outlook in fintech, investments, DeFi, and many things blockchain and Crypto. Our gratitude to him for making these discussions much more focussed and directed.
Stay Connected
Watch our videos on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcgK-DYlNlQXUqp0rHp084Q
