April 20, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Deconomy, a two-day blockchain conference kicked off in Seoul on April 3. Some 80 experts and entrepreneurs are scheduled to speak during the event, which is expected to be attended by over 2,000 people.

Among the speakers was David Chaum, someone who is referred to as a pioneer in the cryptography industry. There was also Joseph Poon, author of Lightning Network, and Ian Grigg, a financial cryptographer.

Ian Grigg, a financial cryptographer, speaks at the Deconomy conference in Seoul on April 3.

“The reason I pushed Ecash, an electronic cash system, out into the world was that I felt it was important to do so, and the public would come to understand the ability to protect their own privacy, using cryptocurrency,” said Chaum. “I expected the technology would grow down the road.”

The US cryptographer also issued one of the first digital currencies, named Digicash, back in 1983, which was later utilized by financial businesses like Mark Twain Bankshares of St. Louis.

Emphasizing the importance of security, Joseph Poon said business processes can be significantly cheaper and more efficient via public networks based on blockchain technology.

Jeffrey Huang, chairman of 17media, Asia’s largest live-streaming service firm; blockchain research firm nChain Group CEO Jimmy Nguyen; and Evan Cohen, a senior director at crowdfunding platform Indiegogo, were on the stage in a panel discussion to talk about different issues including the impact of blockchain and crptocurrencies in the startup scene.

“I often ask those who want to do an ICO if what they are trying to do is something that cannot be done by other tokens,” Nguen said.

Touching upon the recent falling valuation of most digital coins, Cohen said that it would help shake out a lot of bad actors and projects that have negatively affected the market. 

“The price drops of cryptocurrencies will help reset the market and attract long-term investments for companies with great projects,” he said.

Most major digital coins, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple, saw their prices drop more than 50 percent this year.

On the second day of the event, Deconomy will address a range of issues from relevant regulations to future computing technology.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)