After a conversation at CompSocSci in which I finally grasped how Bitcoin works, I’ve been trying to learn more about it. I watched some of the live stream from the recent CyberSalon devoted to the topic. The videos from the event have now been uploaded and I’m looking forward to watching them in full. The videos are online here. These are the speakers from the event. However I’m a little concerned that so many of the people talking about Bitcoin have such an obvious vested interest in its success.

Speakers:

Jon Matonis- Executive Director, The Bitcoin Foundation

A money researcher and crypto economist from George Washington University, Jon advises  startups in Bitcoin, gaming, mobile and prepaid organizations. A tech contributor to Forbes Magazine and editor of The Monetary Future, Jon serves on the editorial board of Bitcoin Magazine. Previously CEO of Hushmail and Chief Forex Trader at VISA and held senior posts at Sumitomo Bank and VeriSign.

Stephan Tual- Chief Communications Officer, Ethereum

Ethereum is “Cryptocurrency 2.0″. It’s a decentralized mining network and software development platform rolled into one, and it will allow people to create their own altcoins, and other types of crypto.

 

 

 

Niki Wiles -Community Relations, Counterparty

Counterparty is a peer-to-peer finance platform and decentralized exchange built on Bitcoin. He has been involved with distributed finance since the early days of Bitcoin, and has an eclectic background in IT, finance and marketing.

 

 

 Ben Ingram, COO, SWARM– decentralised crowdfunding

Ben is a mainstream entrepreneur. Post sale of his strategic consulting and system  integration company (named the most recognised brand in Cloud software services), Ben  had the opportunity to once again look for the ‘next big thing’.  His startup Swarm  is a  revolutionary approach to enterprise capital & their new model for distributed crowd  funding is the talk of the internet.  “This, right now, is the moment, when crypto equities  emerge as the most profoundly impactful technology of this century.  In 2014,  progressive VC portfolios will be built on the blockchain.” SWARM is a new approach to  crowd funding that uses Blockchain technology to outpace traditional platforms like Kickstarter and which aims to accelerate the evolution of the crypto-currency community and explore the possibilities of issuing new crypto-tokens. They recently launched to a warm reception, raising close to £1m in a week.

 

 Chair: Richard Boase, Cybersalon/UK Digital Currency Association