Takeaways – Blockstart 3rd Demo Day
On February 24, the top 6 startups from BlockStart’s 3rd acceleration program presented their MVPs and the pilots they’ve implemented in SMEs. More than 200 people joined the streaming of BlockStart‘s 3rd Demo Day, and 50 followed the discussion live on BlockStart’s YouTube channel.
Inês Melo e Faro, Communication Manager at F6S and one of BlockStart’s consortium partners, hosted the event. Inês gave a brief overview of what would be discussed during the day. Following the introduction, Joao Fernandes, Project Manager & Investment Analyst at Bright Pixel and leader of the BlockStart consortium, discussed the key takeaways from the BlockStart accelerator during the previous three years.
Following the brief presentations by Inês and Joao, Sabine Brink, Global Blockchain Lead at Shell, took the stage to deliver a powerful keynote about how blockchain can drive the energy revolution.
It became evident during the conversation that the energy sector is evolving. Decentralized technology will be a crucial enabler in the energy revolution by enabling efficient supply chains, bringing verifiable sustainability offers to clients, and developing new decentralized business models. Decentralized technology will be a key enabler in the energy transition.
Demo Day
Finally, it was time for BlockStart’s top six blockchain startups to come! AgeVolt, BlockFrauds, BlockTac, Comunitaria, Digital Village, and HOPU illustrated their solutions, which they developed during BlockStart’s 3rd Acceleration Programme with the assistance of the program’s mentors and experts.
The event was active, with guests able to pose questions directly to the startups via a dedicated Q&A chat. Some surveys were also introduced at the start of the event to encourage attendees to interact and express their thoughts on the Demo Day.
BlockStart has been noted multiple times as an excellent example of a program that assists blockchain startups and facilitates favourable matches with innovative SMEs eager to adopt blockchain-based products and services.
If you missed the webcast here is a recording of the event: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mdii_LDvNwk&t=5s
You can also download the presentation: https://www.blockstart.eu/wp-content/uploads/BlockStart-Demo-Day-3_full-presentation.pdf
BlockStart – Policy Conference
On the same day, February 24, BlockStart hosted the online event “Blockchain: regulation in the decentralized world”, a conference focusing on the question of whether top-down regulation and the decentralized essence of blockchain are compatible and how to best regulate this emerging technology.
Six panelists discussed how blockchain may be a powerful tool for social good and self-government, namely:
- Principal Economist at DG GROW, European Commission, Dr Peter SCHWERIN assured that the European Commission is shifting its approach and accommodating a new paradigm of a bottom-up regulation.
- Marc TAVERNER, Executive Director of INATBA, proposed to shift the regulatory approach from top-down to bottom-up. Blockchain models can have “inbuilt” regulatory approaches as “preventative” measures to ensure stability and protection to the participants of markets. Secondly, the blockchain industry is motivated to “self-police.
- Dr Agata Ferreira, Chief Legal Officer at Status, added that Blockchain is a social technology and if regulators would focus only on the financial aspect, they would ignore the paradigm shift and its implications for communities, social values, identity and self-sovereignty.
In summary, speakers expressed their policy suggestions throughout the panel discussion. The major points of discussion centered on improving digital skills, education, experimentation, and engagement with businesses and regulatory organizations.
Did you miss the Policy Conference? You can watch the video recording below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcNUr4yH-oA
You can also download the presentation: https://www.blockstart.eu/wp-content/uploads/BlockStart-Policy-Conference-presentation.pdf-.pdf
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