CoinDesk’s Consensus Distributed kicks off Monday for 5-days of free virtual content from the cream of the crop in all things blockchain and crypto. Over 150 speakers will be participating in interactive sessions to tackle difficult questions around the future of money and governance in a post-COVID-19 era.
We know five days of conference can be a lot to take in, so we wanted to share with you our list of sessions we think you simply cannot miss (in order of timeline).
1) Money Re-Imagined: What constitutes money and who controls it.
When: Monday, 9 – 10 AM
Hosted by Michael J. Casey & Naomi Brockwell
With David Birch; Caitlin Long; Chris Giancarlo; Lawrence Summers; Dante Disparte; Sheila Warren; & Joseph Lubin.
Description: A pandemic becomes the catalyst for a global markets sell-off and potentially another ‘greater’ recession. From the U.S. Federal Reserve to Venezuela; the Bank of England to 1 Hacker Way, the question of what constitutes money and who controls it are more urgent than ever.
2) Plan B: How will Bitcoin survive this pandemic.
When: Monday 10 – 11 AM
Hosted by Nolan Bauerle and Bailey Reutzel
With Saifedean Ammous; Dovey Wan; Nic Carter; Neha Narula; & Raphael Auer.
Description: The crisis that bitcoiners have long predicted seems to be materializing. How will bitcoin survive its sternest test yet?
3) Carlotta Perez on Surge Cycles and Crypto
When: Monday 11 – 11:30 AM, followed by 30 min AMA
Hosted by Zach Seward.
Description: Influential economist Carlota Perez is joined by Chris Burniske to discuss her theory of technological diffusion as it applies to cryptocurrencies and blockchains. Carlota Perez is the author of the influential book Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital: the Dynamics of bubbles and Golden Ages. She is Honorary Professor at the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP), University College London, and at SPRU, University of Sussex, UK. She is also Visiting Professor at the Nurkse Institute, TalTech, Estonia. She works globally as consultant and speaker.
4) Battle for the Base Layer: Layer 1 Protocols and the bid to unseat Ethereum.
When: Monday 1:30 – 2:30 PM
Hosted by Brady Dale and Will Foxley
With Silvio Micali; Dawn Song; Nick Sullivan; Kathleen Breitman; & Carolyn Reckhow.
5) Crypto Long and Short: A New Market
When: Monday 2:30 – 3:30 PM
Hosted by Noelle Acheson, Galen Moore, Christine Kim
With Miha Grčar; Catherine Coley; Max Boonen; Michael Moro; YinFeng Shao; Alexander Liegl; Frank Holmes; & Ethan Vera.
Description: As bitcoin and other crypto assets enter a new era — post-crash, post-halving and one where macro fundamentals play a bigger role than ever — CoinDesk Research looks at some of the major sector shifts and how they can influence asset prices. Join Noelle Acheson, Galen Moore and Christine Kim as they talk to experts, fund managers and entrepreneurs about the emerging landscape.
6) Mass Adoption
When: Monday 4:10 – 5 PM
Hosted by Leigh Cuen & Zack Seward
With Michelle Phan; Alex Adelman; Meltem Demirors; Nimrod Lehavi; Spencer Dinwiddie; Cameron Winklevoss; & Tyler Winklevoss.
Description: Mass adoption has been the long unrealized dream of crypto. With the global financial system testing its limits, are we closer to realizing that potential? Meet the artists, technologists and builders taking crypto assets mainstream in 2020.
7) Beyond Tainted Coins: The Future of On-chain Forensics
When: Monday 6 – 7 PM
Hosted by Marc Hochstein & Aaron Stanley
With Pawel Kuskowski; Tom Robinson; Dave Jevans; & Jonathan Levin.
Description: Blockchain forensics firms are a Rorschach Test for crypto observers. Some see intrusiveness that undercuts the value proposition of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. Others see crypto’s last line of defense against skeptical financial regulators. How can these firms help grow the crypto ecosystem while preserving financial integrity? We convene executives from the top four firms for a look at the role on-chain forensics will play in three, five, ten years’ time.
8) The Truth about Stablecoins: Usage & Patterns
When: Tuesday 11:30AM – 12:30PM
With Avi Meyers & Will Price
Description: In a time when most cryptocurrencies are increasingly volatile, stablecoins are forging ahead and dominating the market. As volumes increase and hype builds, questions still beg how exactly these stablecoins are being used. Are they driving DeFi? Is the ecosystem still dominated by centralized exchanges? What regions are adopting at the fastest rates, and which coins control the market?
9) Programmable Money and the Future of Enterprise Blockchain
When: Tuesday 2:00PM – 4:30PM
Hosted by Nathan DiCamillo & Ian Allison
With Todd McDonald; Brian Behlendorf; Steve Cerveny; Sophia Lopez; Martha Bennett; John Wolpert; Paul Brody; Ken Moore; Mark Kaplan; Gert Sylvest; Yuichiro Yoshinari; Matthew Frohling; Sveinn Valfells; Michael Lonie; & Srinivasan Srirsm.
Description: An in-depth look into the way programmable money and decentralized technologies are changing way companies do business. Representatives from R3, Hyperledger and Enterprise Ethereum kick off with a “State of Enterprise Blockchain” presentation, followed by a series of interactive case studies.
10) Econometrics: Securing your Blockchain Through Economic Analytics
When: Friday 1:00PM – 3:30PM
Hosted by Reed Cataldo
With Angela Minster; Stephanie Hurder; Matt Bridges; & Terry Rossi.
Description: Times of uncertainty have brought higher than normal fluctuations in crypto prices. Many projects have been subject to economic attacks or design failures that have exploited the limited visibility founding teams have on what is happening in their networks. Learn how real time data analytics can boost the economic security and increase the usability and functionality of your blockchain network.