The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has partnered with the Coalition of Automated Legal Applications (COALA), a think tank focused on blockchain and decentralized technologies, to host a series of blockchain workshops in Sydney.
Branded the Sydney Blockchain Workshops, the conference will convene regulators, policymakers and technologists to examine the opportunities and challenges presented by blockchain technology and to assess its potential impacts on social, economic and political systems.
David Whiteing, CBA’s Group Executive and Chief Information Officer, said the event will provide a rare chance for Asia-Pacific regulators, government officials, academics and technology specialists to engage directly with leading blockchain experts and researchers.
“The conference offers both introductory education and deep-dive discussions about the transformative potential of distributed ledgers, along with the economic, commercial, legal and social policy questions that arise,” Whiteing said in a statement.
“Blockchain has the potential to transform banking in the way that the internet changed how we buy music and watch movies. It’s an exciting phase for this technology, and our involvement positions Commonwealth Bank to help lead its development in Australia for the benefit of customers.”
Hewlett Packard Enterprise is another corporate partner supporting the workshops.
Daniel Biondi, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Fellow and Chief Technologist for Financial Services, highlighted blockchain’s potential to reshape financial services and related applications, including a range of cryptocurrency tools and platforms. He noted the technology could modernize legacy global banking systems, enabling faster payments and more efficient B2B transactions.
“Bringing together the full ecosystem of stakeholders for thoughtful discussion and exploratory sessions during the Blockchain Workshops will help illuminate practical ways to apply this knowledge,” Biondi said. “Ultimately, the conference aims to drive the creation of proofs of concept and to clarify the business processes we should tackle first.”
The Sydney workshops are the fifth installment in a global series organized by COALA, an international collaborative research and development initiative that focuses on blockchain technologies, smart contracts and decentralized applications.
COALA brings together academics, legal experts, technologists and entrepreneurs. Founding members include Primavera De Filippi, research fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University; Constance Choi, founder of Seven Advisory; and Amor Sexton, an attorney with Adroit Lawyers.
Beginning December 7, 2015, the Sydney Blockchain Workshops program will include several distinct components:
- December 7–8: Invitation-only internal workshops to explore four practical applications of blockchain technology—identity and privacy; smart contracts for financial transactions; jurisdictional and regulatory considerations; and security and governance;
- December 9: An invitation-only global regulatory roundtable focused on reducing uncertainty around regulatory approaches to digital currencies and blockchain technology at both local and international levels;
- December 9–10: An Asia-Pacific hackathon competition that invites teams to develop novel open-source blockchain applications;
- December 10–11: A public conference designed to foster innovation through education about crypto-ledger technologies and to explore what a constructive, post-disruption future could look like.
By bringing together diverse stakeholders from industry, government and academia, the Sydney Blockchain Workshops aim to accelerate practical understanding and responsible adoption of blockchain technology across the Asia-Pacific region.