[Modern Consensus columnist Michael Hillmeyer checked out the blockchain and cryptocurrency panels at the Propelify tech and music conference in Hoboken. Below is his review of the first panel, called, “Diversity in the Blockchain Industry and Why It’s Important to Get It Right Now”. Also check out his review of the second panel (“Is Crypto the Future of Money?”) and the third panel (“Is Blockchain the Answer to Big Data Problems AND Does Blockchain Create Existential Threats to Intermediaries?”)] Just a few short weeks after braving the PATH Train for a blockchain and artificial intelligence coding event at Jet, we found ourselves back on the waterfront in Hoboken for…
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Venture capitalists talk about blockchain startups
Lots of “scammy, spammy crypto projects” right now
We were back on the Columbia University campus a couple of weeks ago for another panel on blockchain, this time part of the “Startup Columbia Entrepreneurship Festival” series of tech talks. While the seats in the university’s Miller Theater were more comfortable than in most of the other venues we’ve been to recently, the almost absolute darkness and prohibition on using electronics made note taking a bit more challenging. Fortunately, this was a more freewheeling discussion among the moderator, Nat Kelner, associate director of the Columbia Entrepreneurship Blockchain Studio, and three venture capitalists who focus on the blockchain ecosystem. We attended several events earlier in the year where proponents of…
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Harry Hindsight jabs me for missing the crypto boat
A startup guy agonizes over his 2013 bitcoin opportunity
Harry Hindsight loves to tease me about the fall of 2013. Everyone knows Harry, and Harry has been super busy these days, especially with the year cryptocurrencies had in 2017. For every crypto-evangelist, there are 10 lamenters who are kicking themselves for not listening. Given all the media frenzy these days, it’s easy to forget that bitcoin had another 10-fold increase back in late 2013. That was the first one I missed, and the one Harry won’t let me forget. This miss wasn’t simply not buying when seemingly smart friends were advising me to. Back then, barely anyone knew what bitcoin was. No. My miss was colossally worse because the…
