On Thursday evening, the brutkasten Meetup #blockchain took place in the Vienna TribeSpace. Experts discussed current trends and developments in the field of blockchain. In addition, Blockchain startups pitched their business ideas.
In the past few months, a lot has happened in the blockchain sector. Numerous companies and organizations are now bringing functioning applications to the ground, be it in the FinTech or GovTech sector. Time for the brutkasten to meet at a Meetup with experts about current developments and trends.
In a top-class panel, four experts from Austria discussed the usability of blockchain technology and concrete use cases at the TribeSpace in Vienna on Thursday evening.
Live from the #Blockchain Meetup in the Tribe.Space Live from the incubator Meetup #blockchain in the Tribe.Space with Benedikt Angerer (Bitpanda), Shermin Voshmgir (Research Institute for Cryptoeconomics – WU), Andreas Freitag (Accenture DACH) and Dominik Thor (Vaulitude), as well as the pitching startups, about the latest #Blockchain trends. Publiée par DerBrutkasten sur Jeudi 4 avril 2019
Among the experts were Shermin Voshmgir, director of the Research Institute for Cryptoeconomics at the Vienna University of Economics and founder of the BlockchainHub in Berlin, Andreas Freitag, Blockchain expert at Accenture Austria, Dominik Thor, founder of the blockchain startup Vaultitude, and Benedikt Angerer, Business Developer Bitpanda.
Make the supply chain more transparent
At the beginning of the panel, the potential of blockchain technology was discussed in order to make the retail supply chain more transparent. Shermin Voshmgir, who studies the socioeconomic implications of blockchain technology as an economics computer economist, explained that there is growing demand for the tokenization of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). According to him, major players, such as the World Bank or UNIDO, are increasingly interested in the implementation of blockchain technology in the field of development cooperation. However, according to Voshmgir, it would require more expertise in the area of governance, since the creators of the technology are usually not sustainability experts. A stronger interdisciplinary approach could remedy this situation.
Andreas Freitag of Accenture Austria also emphasized that in the area of governance technology is becoming increasingly important – especially in countries where administrative structures are weak. As an example he mentioned the potentials of a future tokenization of land register entries in war zones. “In Syria, for example, there are no more land register entries. For returnees, it is therefore difficult to prove their own property, “said Friday.
Digitize assets
Domink Thor of Blockchain startup Vaulitude also emphasized that blockchain technology not only has tremendous potential for proving ownership, but could also help minimize fraud and industrial espionage. His company developed a Blockchain-based application for improved intellectual property protection, especially for cross-boarder IP-Theft.
Krypto-FinTechs become acceptable with PSD2
Also on the podium was Benedikt Angerer, who works as a business developer for the Vienna-based fintech company Bitpanda. The Financial Market Authority (FMA) granted the company yesterday, Thursday, a license as a payment institution under the European regulation PSD2 (which brutkasten reported). The FinTech company can now perform payment services on behalf of customers. In this context, Angerer emphasized that he was open to the current regulatory efforts and welcomed the Austrian Sanbox model. Voshmgir also has great potential for further development: “The PSD2 licenses will make Krypto-FinTechs socially acceptable and, in addition, strengthen the link between off- and on-chain”.
Also published on Medium.