The Calm Before Blockchain Week NYC

Last time I spoke at the Milken Conference in LA, in 2015, I was on a panel to discuss the promise of blockchain technology. We were the only panel addressing the topic, and while it was standing room only, there was little knowledge amongst the audience about bitcoin and blockchain. This year I counted at least 5 sessions related to blockchain and cryptocurrency, with much more engagement and heated opinions…in fact Bill Barhydt, CEO of FPV portfolio company Abra went head to head with economist Nouriel Roubini and wrote about it after in this piece.

• Even though China has banned cryptocurrencies, the country is putting significant resources into developing blockchain infrastructure, in the same way they put billions of dollars to work to gain a lead in artificial intelligence and mobile technology.
• In April 2017, I spoke at a tech conference in Silicon Valley and very few audience members had heard of “initial coin offerings” — I was asked to explain what they were. Last week, when I spoke at another conference all anyone wanted to talk about was blockchain and cryptocurrencies…

Facebook just announced that David Marcus, head of the company’s Messenger product, will be leading a new group at Facebook focused on blockchain technology. Much of Silicon Valley has been late to see the promise of blockchain technology, partly because decentralization usurps the centralized data control that many of the tech giants have built their business models on. Last November I was on stage with Tim Draper at Web Summit in Lisbon and specifically called out Facebook — pre-Cambridge Analytica news –