Special Edition: Governance and the Blockchain

Bitcoin Wednesday Presents:

Governance in the Age of Blockchains and Digital Currencies

On Friday, 2 December 2016, Bitcoin Wednesday will organize a workshop, including a panel discussion on this subject.

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Seven years of innovation and millions of dollars of investment have led to a proliferation of blockchain solutions designed to reduce dependence on "trusted" authorities like governments and banks. What might sound like science fiction is now happening: Self-executing, decentralized networks in which "trust," "governance" and "consensus" are coded into protocols.

• To what extent have they succeeded?

• Where have they failed and what challenges do they face?

• What alternatives for governance do these new technologies offer?

• How will they effect our world?

• Will we soon see smart contracts, swarms and Decentralized Autonomous Organizations replace traditional, centralized bureaucracies?

• How can we best use them to enable new governance systems while balancing public and private interests with fundamental individual rights?

This workshop will explore the subject from different angles, from the small core of developers who make crucial decisions on system architecture, the users and the other stakeholders like, for example, the miners who play a key role in the power structure. After two presentations on the blockchain and governance, we'll have a panel discussion between experts and specialists in this field.

The workshop will feature:

Dr. Roberto Valenti (http://www.bitcoinwednesday.com/profile-dr-roberto-valenti/), CTO of PROFΞTH, an Ethereum-based platform for a global fair-trade digital economy.

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Roberto has doctorate in machine learning and computer vision at the Intelligent Systems Lab Amsterdam at the University of Amsterdam. His current work is focussed on using AI algorithms to promote peer-to-peer exchanges without the need for advertisement and marketing.

Justin Bons (http://www.bitcoinwednesday.com/profile-justin-bons/), founder of Cyber Capital, a new cryptocurrency investment fund in The Netherlands.

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Justin is a miner, trader and investor who approaches the subject of governance from this perspective. He was a key contributor to Bitcoin Wednesday's discussion on the historic Ethereum Classic - Ethereum Modern fork held last August.

Dr. Balázs Bodó (http://www.bitcoinwednesday.com/profile-balazs-bodo-from-the-institute-for-information-law/), research scientist and Marie Curie Fellow at the University of Amsterdam's Institute for Information Law.

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Balázs studies self-governing peer-to-peer communities and the emerging economies arising around them. Before coming to the University of Amsterdam, Dr. Bodó was a Fullbright Researcher and a Fellow at Stanford University’s Center for Internet and Society and a Fullbright Fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society and Harvard University.

Susanne Tarkowski Tempelhof (http://www.bitcoinwednesday.com/susanne-tarkowski-tempelhof-bitnation/), notorious founder of Bitnation, one of the world's first functioning virtual nations.

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Susanne is also the author of The Googlement: The DIY Guide To Starting Your Own Nation. Her Bitnation provides services such as Blockchain-based IDs, a public notary, education and peer-to-peer insurance to several thousand of its citizens and ambassadors.

Emanuele Braga (http://www.bitcoinwednesday.com/emanuele-braga-macao/), co-founder of the Milan-based Macao Center for Art and Research which has launched its own cryptocurrency in cooperation with Freecoin and D-cent.

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Artist, activist and researcher, Emanuele is helping to promote the use of the Commoncoin to reward community members for their participation in Macao.

PROGRAM

The workshop will be held during the 2-day Moneylab Conference from 1-2 December.

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The governance workshop (http://www.bitcoinwednesday.com/event/governance-and-blockchains/) will take place on Friday, 2 December, from 13:45 - 15:15 and be held in the main hall at Pakhuis de Zwijger.

As with many events at Pakhuis de Zwijger, we expect a diverse audience with many different points of view.

More details will be announced soon.

The full program including the workshop's participants and moderators will be published here (http://www.bitcoinwednesday.com/event/governance-and-blockchains/) as soon as it is available.

We have a special arrangement for tickets. Read below if you want to attend.

TICKETS

Limited tickets available. Please carefully follow the instructions in this section.

Tickets are for both days of Moneylab on 1 and 2 December and includes lunch on both days as well as admission to Bitcoin Wednesday on 7 December (https://www.meetup.com/BitcoinWednesday/events/227452108/).

Last-Minute Tickets

• Bitcoin Only: 25,- while supplies last.

• Send a mail to tickets AT Bitcoin Wednesday DOT com and follow the instructions very carefully.

• Last chance! You cannot get these tickets at the door.

Tickets at the door purchased with euro at Pakhuis de Zwijger are 60,- for both days of Moneylab and don't include Bitcoin Wednesday on 7 December (https://www.meetup.com/BitcoinWednesday/events/227452108/). You get a very big savings for using Bitcoin.

Order Tickets

• Send a mail to Tickets AT BitcoinWednesday DOT com and follow the instructions carefully. You must RSVP here.

• Advance tickets are available with Bitcoin only.

• They save money and guarantee you a seat.

• Your ticket is your transaction ID plus your Meetup user name.

• No refunds. Your order is a non-refundable contribution to the non-profit Bitcoin Foundation of The Netherlands and goes 100% toward producing more events like these.

• No exceptions.

• Program subject to change.

Sold Out?

• Not yet. If and when we do, we'll post it here first.