PUBLISHED ONMarch 12, 2018 9:00 AM
SINGAPORE, Mar 12, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - The world's leading minds in blockchain will meet with venture capitalists, investors, and government regulators in Singapore from 5-6 April to discuss the opportunities and challenges of blockchain, one of the fastest growing technologies finding its application among businesses.
Leading investors such as Timothy Draper (Draper Associates), Golden Gate Ventures, SeedPlus, along with global blockchain leaders from Bancor, 1kx, ZCash as well as Singapore's SGInnovate will discuss the future of blockchain technology and its commercial viability, including for the world's and Singapore's businesses. They will meet at De/Centralize 2018, Singapore's premier blockchain conference.
According to McKinsey, blockchain, the technology underpinning cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, could revolutionize the world's economy, driven by its innovation around privacy protection and business efficiencies. Global research firm IDC has forecast that global spending on blockchain solutions will rise from US$945 million in 2017 to US$2.1 billion in 2018. Key drivers of growth include the banking & finance, logistics, retail, professional services -- all of which form crucial pillars of Singapore's global competitiveness.
Kenneth Bok is the founder of blocks, a Singapore-based startup which researches the blockchain ecosystem, and also one of the companies organizing De/Centralize 2018: "The potential of blockchain to revolutionize our techno-economic landscape is phenomenal. We're particularly keen to see how Singapore, with its agile and visionary regulatory framework, will drive adoption, innovation, and growth of the decentralized web."
According to a report by PwC Strategy, Singapore is named as one of the leading initial coin offering hubs in the world, alongside the likes of Switzerland.
Aditya Mishra, Co-organizer of De/Centralize and the Co-Founder and COO of Zenprivex (ZPX), comprised of a team of investors, bankers & VCs covering token generation, decentralized exchanges and blockchain research for institutional investors: "A lot has been said about investment in cryptocurrencies, which is on track to becoming a trillion-dollar asset class.
"Our focus for De/Centralize is less on the speculative nature of currencies and more on macro-economic ideas around the foundational technology. To this end, we're extremely pleased to be bringing some of the world's most renowned investors, regulators, and blockchain thought leaders to Singapore, and to further Singapore's presence on the global fintech and blockchain map," said Aditya.
"Several years ago, the excitement around the decentralized ledger (blockchain) architecture started to grow dramatically", said Steve Leonard, CEO of SGInnovate. "People began imagining a range of high-impact use cases such as eliminating counterfeit drugs, putting a lifetime of health records in the hands of patients, and verifying food production and supply-chain integrity, to name a few. While it's 'early days' still, the momentum around scaling up blockchain pilot-projects is building. It will be exciting to see the impact across industries and economies," he added.
Taking place at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands, on 5 & 6 April, De/Centralize 2018 explores the revolutionary themes in the ongoing blockchain evolution: capital raising, decentralized applications, legal and regulatory issues, and the evolution of the cryptoasset ecosystem.
In partnership with SGInnovate, De/Centralize will develop and enhance the blockchain community in Southeast Asia, generating a curated dialogue around blockchain, protocol-level development, and the decentralized web.
Blockchain spending will be led by the financial sector ($754 million in 2018), driven largely by rapid adoption in the banking industry. The distribution and services sector ($510 million in 2018) will see strong investments from the retail and professional services industries while the manufacturing and resources sector ($448 million in 2018) will be driven by the discrete and process manufacturing industries.
For more information around De/Centralize, as well as to purchase tickets, do visit the website: www.decentralize.sg.
Press release (PDF): https://www.acnnewswire.com/clientreports/598/Decentralize.pdf
About De/Centralize 2018
ZPX, XSQ and blocks come together to bring you De/Centralize 2018. De/Centralize 2018 is Singapore's premier blockchain conference bringing the decentralization zeitgeist to the city's economic and financial landscape. Through De/Centralize 2018, which is to be held from 5th to 6th April 2018 at Marina Bay Sands, we bring together technologists, regulators, leaders, and investors to participate in this ongoing global revolution. For more information, please visit https://www.decentralize.sg/ or follow us on Facebook at @decentralize.sg
About SGInnovate
At SGInnovate, we believe that Singapore has all the resources and capabilities needed to tackle 'hard problems' that matter to people around the world. As part of our Deep Tech Nexus Strategy, we are focused on adding tangible value to the Singapore deep tech startup ecosystem in two key areas - development of Human Capital and deployment of Investment Capital. With the support of our partners and co-investors, we back deeply technical founders through equity-based investments, access to talent, and support in building customer traction. Our efforts are prioritised around transformational technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain and MedTech, which represent impactful and scalable answers to global challenges. SGInnovate is a private-limited company wholly owned by the Singapore Government. For more information, please visit www.sginnovate.com.
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