Key Takeaways from the Blockchain Nation Miami Conference 2018
The Keybox team attended the 2-day Blockchain Nation Conference in Miami. With the aim of the conference being to “learn about the latest trends in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space and gain insight on the future of regulation”–it definitely did not disappoint!
Along with enjoying the Miami sun, the team got to benefit from the conference’s extensive list of industry experts and enthusiasts. With over 3,000 attendees and 75 speakers, including “cyber celebrities” such as Jim Rogers and John McAfee, it was not surprising that the event prompted some interesting views.
One of the more noteworthy points that was brought up, dealt with the issue of anonymity in the crypto space. Patrick O’Meara, Chairman of Inveniam Capital Partners, described how although the aspect of anonymity is highly cherished with cryptocurrencies, it could also be what prevents them from being adopted by the mainstream. Regulatory procedures such as KYC and AML cannot (and should not) be ignored, thus finding a way to still carry out these checks, without compromising anonymity, will be critical for the future of crypto. Patrick also went on to highlight some interesting market opportunities around debt, definitely a subject to keep an eye on.
Another interesting perspective regarding the legalities of cryptocurrencies, came from Pratin Vallabhaneni, a Partner at the law firm White & Case. Vallabhaneni discussed how there is still a lot of confusion regarding the legislation around crypto in the US; the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) defines cryptocurrencies as ‘property’, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a security and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as a commodity! These discrepancies brings risk to the market as US legislature seem still undecided how they’re going to work with cryptocurrencies in the long term.
Lastly, our CEO, David White, got to pitch Keybox to this VIP audience in his own very inimitable style and he was typically very direct, “The current market is having to choose between convenience and security, it just doesn’t make sense! We believe a product combining both characteristics is the way to go, that’s why we are launching Keybox.”
We also launched our safety tips, check out the #staysafewithkeybox for a lighter view of cybersecurity.
