After holding successful workshops in Massachusetts at Harvard and MIT, in California at Stanford, and in London, Hong Kong and Sydney, COALA, an initiative that endeavors to bring clarity and reduce legal uncertainty in the blockchain space, held its blockchain workshop at New York University’s Stern School of Business on April 4th – 5th.

The COALA Blockchain Workshop NYC brought over 150 experts in decentralized cryptocurrency and blockchain technology including senior developers, academics, investors and lawyers to discuss the rapid reach and exponential applications of Blockchain. 

“The NYU Blockchain Workshop was an important event featuring some of the most pioneering blockchain-based applications —the real game changers. Entrepreneurs and engineers from across the globe came to New York, and each of them brought something uniquely valuable to the audience,” said COALA co-founder Primavera de Filippi. “With COALA, we try to create new opportunities for people from different backgrounds to network, to help them gain insights from people they might not work with everyday, and who could become potential colleagues in the future.”

Panelists believe that Blockchain and decentralization is continuing to redefine the financial and technological realms, as well as showing great promise in other areas.

The event hosted expert speakers from across the globe, investigating upcoming challenges and opportunities for Blockchain, as well as its impact on current social, economic and political order. Keynote addresses were conducted by Frank Pasquale, a Professor of Law at the University of Maryland, and Henning Diedrich, senior software engineer at IBM.

“Decentralization is hitting energy, manufacturing, food, health, learning, security, even governance and policy making itself; it’s not only finance”, said David Orban, Managing Director of Network Society Ventures. “When bitcoin and blockchain are getting the finger pointed at them with people saying ‘it’s just a fad’ – well, it’s not. It’s part of a deep, broad wave of huge changes, where the opportunity for enormous wealth creation is concrete and present now.”

The topics addressed during the workshop include discussion on difference between blockchain and legacy technologies; blockchain investment (and adoption) from an institution perspective; adapting regulatory framework to blockchain technology; blockchain for re-inventing organizations and more.

Vlad Zamfir, researcher at the Ethereum Project, has been attending COALA Blockchain Workshops since January 2015.  He said:

“I think it’s important for people working in projects in this space to synchronize on different issues, not just around tech, but at the intersection of tech and society. COALA allows us to talk to the regulators, the policy makers, the investors and other developers so that we see our work in a broader context. It gives me a place where I can think about the impact of this technology on society.”