Bankers Debate Bitcoin at Sibos 2014

The Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, located in the rapidly growing Boston Seaport district, proved a fitting location for Innotribe’s series of digital currency seminars and talks at the Sibos 2014 technology and innovation trade show.
Innotribe’s bitcoin series included talks on regulation, disruption and the future of investment in the space. The crowd, comprised of a mix of digital currency veterans and novices alike, displayed an enthusiasm and critical eye that largely defined the day’s events.
Innotribe is a startup and innovation project started by financial network operator Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT).
Amidst the backdrop of a broader banking trade show and exhibition composed of the banking industry’s biggest players, the Innotribe talks pointed to the next generation of financial technology that, for now, remains just outside the broader financial space.
Opening talk casts wide net The first seminar offered a broad overview of digital currency development and the issues shaping the industry today, looking at whether the technology represents what panel experts frequently dubbed ‘the future of money’. The session was co-hosted by Anthemis Group founder Udayan Goyal and banking expert and author Chris Skinner.
Speakers such as Bitcoin Foundation executive chairman Jon Matonis, bitcoin entrepreneur and SecondMarket founder Barry Silbert and Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire weighed in on what’s driving regulation development, consumer adoption and technological advancement in the space.
During the wide-ranging session, the panel – which also included Ripple Labs co-founder and CEO Chris Larsen, colored coins inventor Yoni Assia and SWIFT CEO Gottfried Leibbrandt – ultimately agreed that almost all areas of technology have the potential to be reshaped by digital currency.

This post was published at Coin Desk on September 30, 2014.