8+ Must-See Blockchain Talks of 2019 (So Far)

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Blockchain is still the game-changer of the technological industry. Despite the skeptical voices that emerged after the 2018 Bitcoin crash, blockchain is here to stay. Even more than that—it’s been continuously growing, both in terms of popularity and versatility. While still associated mostly with cryptocurrencies, blockchain has been expanding its range and gaining the attention of the biggest players like Samsung, Walmart, or Louis Vuitton. In Deloitte’s 2019 Global Blockchain Survey, 53% of respondents claimed that blockchain has become critical to their organization, which is a 10-point increase compared to last year. Blockchain is in high demand in more and more areas. With the growth so dynamic, predictions and analyses go out of date in the blink of an eye. Events and conferences keep springing up and each results in a surge of fresh ideas. It’s never been easy to keep up with this technology, and now it’s getting increasingly harder. Still, we all want to stay informed lest we miss any opportunities. Unfortunately, nobody’s going to be impressed that we know better than to put “the” before “blockchain” anymore. To help you, we’ve compiled a list of 8+ must-see blockchain talks of 2019 (so far). We hope that this selection of handpicked videos will shed some light on what’s been happening with blockchain this year.

Andreas Antonopoulos: The Five Pillars of Open Blockchains

For those interested in blockchain and crypto, Andreas Antonopoulos hardly needs an introduction. He is a widely recognized blockchain and Bitcoin expert, an active public speaker, a dedicated educator, and a best-selling book author (“Mastering Bitcoin,” anyone?).

Andreas is best known for his introductory videos about Bitcoin, but all his talks are worth the attention. In the speech above, delivered at Seoul Bitcoin Meetup, he discusses the five principles of open blockchain, stressing the importance of decentralized systems of organizations.

Watch if you wish to learn more about: cryptocurrencies, decentralization

Amber Baldet: Money, Apathy, and Cryptography

Amber Baldet is a former executive director at J.P. Morgan and founder/CEO of Clovyr. As a renowned authority on the practical implementation of blockchain, she remains a dedicated public speaker.

Her 2018 Ethereal summit speech, Beyond Maximalism Toward Hybrid, Privacy Preserving Decentralized Networks, was dubbed one of the best talks of the event by some.

This year on SXSW Conference, she delivered another gripping talk on “how new technologies at the intersection of cryptography and distributed systems are helping us push back against the ongoing aggregation of data in the hands of a few.” In this honest discussion, she shares her insights on decentralization, drawing from her vast experience.

Watch if you wish to learn more about: Web 3.0, cryptography, digital freedom

Rosine Kadamani: Why People and Governments Should Get Involved with Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain!

Rosine Kadamani is a co-founder of Blockchain academy, “the first Brazilian educational project focused on the development and formation of an innovative ecosystem of entrepreneurs, new business models and initiatives using Blockchain infrastructures and DLTs.” She is an avid educator, devoted to sharing her knowledge of Bitcoin and blockchain with the world.

At her Unchain Convention 2019 panel, she discussed how blockchain might erase the current Nation-State system, enhance our individual privacy, provide an alternative economic model, help people resist censorship, and much more.

Watch if you wish to learn more about: cryptocurrencies, new business models, economic transformation

Muhammad Salman Anjum: Opening a New Era of Blockchain (TED Talk at TEDxBahriaUniversity)

On top of being the Director of Operations at Avantas, Muhammad Salman Anjum is an active and widely renowned blockchain specialist and influencer. As a public speaker, trainer, and educator, he strives to empower the next generation of experts.

In his TED talk, he discusses the future of blockchain: how and why different sectors may adapt this technology, the challenges of such adaptation, and the role of blockchain in the current economic shift.

Watch if you wish to learn more about: the future of blockchain, blockchain in AI, blockchain in government

Neha Narula: Preventing Catastrophic Cryptocurrency Attacks

Neha Narula works as the director of the Digital Currency Initiative at MIT Media Lab and specializes in distributed systems, cryptography, cryptocurrencies, and programmable money.

With a Ph.D. from MIT’s Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Lab, her education and expertise make her a widely recognized blockchain authority.

Her panel from the 2019 MIT Bitcoin Expo concerns proper blockchain security. Starting with a bold thesis that “cryptocurrency is not ready for billions of users,” she discusses the current security risks and how to fight them.

Watch if you wish to learn more about: cryptocurrencies, security

David Schwartz: Blockchain Beyond the Hype

David Schwartz doesn’t need an introduction as an authority on blockchain. As the CTO of Ripple and one of the original architects of the XRP network, David has been devoted to the topic for years now. He’s an influential voice in the blockchain community, so any updates from him are worth checking out.

In this talk delivered at the 2019 WeAreDevelopers World Congress, he talked about the concept of the Internet of Value, how blockchain has the potential to change the global economy, and the way we think about international payments.

Watch if you wish to learn more about: cryptography, distributed ledger technology, international payments, Ripple

Vitalik Buterin, Joe Lubin, Stephen Palley, Ryan Selkis: How to Measure Success?

This panel is a meeting of four great minds:

Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum;
Joe Lubin, another co-founder of Ethereum and the founder of ConsenSys;
Stephen D. Palley, blockchain and virtual currency attorney;
Ryan Selkis, the founder and CEO of Messari.

The discussion, which took place at DappCon 2019, focused on how blockchain can impact society in a positive way and what metrics can be used to measure its success in Ethereum and beyond.

Watch if you wish to know more about: Ethereum, cryptocurrencies, the future of blockchain

Brad Yasar, Andrea Bonaceto, Kevin Dougherty, Zia Word: Investing in Blockchain

In this comprehensive panel moderated by Muhammad Salman Anjum (whom you may remember from #4 on this list), experts in different sectors of blockchain investments had a chance to meet:

Brad Yasar, the founder and managing partner of Blockchain Investors Consortium as well as the CEO and co-founder of the business advisory firm Beyond Enterprizes;
Andrea Bonaceto, the founding partner and CEO of the investment company Eterna Capital;
Kevin Dougherty, the head of trading at the hedge fund group Decentral Park Capital;
Zia Word, founder of multiple blockchain-related companies and current CEO of the Crypto Queens consultancy..

During Coinsbank’s 2019 Blockchain Cruise, the panelists discussed the reasons why more and more big corporations invest in blockchain, the numerous challenges and opportunities of such investments, and why this technology is worth including in a business strategy.

Watch if you wish to learn more about: blockchain investments, enterprises, blockchain adoption by corporations.

Sebastian Buczyński: Smart Contracts in Action, Blockchain Applied

This list wouldn’t be complete without a mention of the recent talk delivered by our very own Sebastian Buczyński at this year’s Tech Power Summit by STX Next.

Sebastian Buczyński is an Expert Python Developer at STX Next with a passion for blockchain technology. On top of his numerous IT-related skills, he is an active blogger and public speaker. He also has a book on clean architecture on the way!.

In his Summit talk, Sebastian provides a basic explanation of blockchain, discusses the principles behind ETH smart contracts based on real-life examples, and describes how to set things up.

Watch if you wish to learn more about: smart contracts, decentralized crowdfunding.

Final thoughts

Our list of 8+ best blockchain talks of 2019 might be done for now, but the blockchain revolution is in full swing all the same. And the year hasn’t ended yet, either—a lot of events, conferences, and speeches still await us. We plan to expand this article as new videos grab our attention.

Soon, we’ll have a great opportunity to get fresh blockchain inspiration. Our Business Development Team Leader, Christian Mendoza, is going to visit the 2019 Paris Blockchain Summit II on October 18. He’s bound to come back with a lot of new ideas to share with us.

If you’re going to be at the conference, too, feel free to reach out to Christian! He and his colleagues can help you identify obstacles in your software development processes and find ways to speed up work on digital products.

Did we miss a talk that’s worth watching? Let us know if any come to your mind; we’ll be happy to add it to our list.

Or maybe you feel like you need to brush up on the basics of blockchain? If so, go ahead and check out our other blockchain-related articles:

And if you’re looking for more conferences to attend in order to keep up with technological news, we encourage you to take a look at this list: 9 Python Conferences to Attend in 2019 to Become a Better CTO.