On August 5th, the SmartFi team spent the day with crypto enthusiasts around the world at the second annual, ‘DeFi Conference 2021: The Rise of Decentralised Finance’. Due to the pandemic, the event was held virtually and had all of the hallmarks of a great conference — engaging keynotes, spirited panel discussions, a few fireside chats, a VIP lounge, giveaways, and event booths to virtually pop into for a chat.
This year’s event focused on two of the hottest trends in the cryptosphere: DeFi and NFTs. With 1572 attendees from over 113 countries and 44 speakers, there was a wide breadth and depth of ideas, innovation and viewpoints to choose from.
On the DeFi track speakers explored the factors contributing to the rise of decentralised finance, its impact on the current financial system, and the players in markets such as in international remittance, lending and borrowing, derivatives, trading, payments and asset transfer.
Our CEO, Aaron Tilton delivered a wide-ranging keynote presentation — ‘DeFi Sherriffs: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.’ Here’s the talk abstract:
As a former Utah State Legislator and nuclear power plant site developer Aaron will discuss how to balance the technical determinism of DeFi systems design and the mandates of regulators and policy makers to create superior crypto innovations. Using the analogy of the Wild West Aaron will explain how (contrary to popular DeFi beliefs) DeFi does have gatekeepers or ‘sheriffs’. The sheriffs of DeFi are those who manage the core technology innovations. But are they really protecting crypto users while providing wealth creation?
A technology-first approach is problematic for several reasons and there is a stand-off between governments and Crypto/DeFi. What’s the way forward? Go beyond CeDefi technology combinations to the next level fundamental shift of source code designs that incorporate new algorithms and protocols.
Crypto has the potential to empower individuals and entities worldwide with the freedom to pursue the creation of wealth and use of financial property only when the crypto industry successfully incorporates core features previously believed impossible. Features that provide superior DeFi governance, value fundamentals and payment systems.
Is it possible to uphold traditional society standards without undermining functionality, governance or ethos of Defi/crypto? Aaron will explain how.
Here’s a recording of his talk
For more about Technology Sheriffs read our latest article here.
Aaron also took part in a panel discussion that covered topics around crypto wealth generation and maximization through decentralized finance. The other panellists were Sergej Kunz, Co-founder of 1inch Network, Shane Ai, Head of Research and Development at ByBit, Anish Mohammed, Co-founder of Panther Protocol and Piers Ridyard, CEO of Radix DLT. The panel was moderated by Nelson Merchan Jr, CEO of Light Node Media.
Here’s a recording of the discussion
Many thanks to Bitcoin Events for organizing a great conference. Our team enjoyed chatting with everyone who dropped by the booth.. We’re looking forward to the next one in October. See you there.
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