On June 20, for the first time, Tbilisi hosted Blockchain & Bitcoin Conference Georgia organized by Smile-Expo, an international conference dedicated to blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and ICO. It brought together entrepreneurs, blockchain developers, investors, lawyers, bankers and public officers. The main issue covered during the event is the prospects of mining and blockchain in the digital economy of Georgia.
Results of the Event
The conference was attended by 357 participants from Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Belarus, Germany, the USA, Japan, Gibraltar, Saudi Arabia and Malta.
The Association Blockchain Georgia and the Blockchain Association of Ukraine signed a Memorandum on Cooperation.
The reports were presented by speakers from IBM, ZenCash, Aleinikov & Partners, Kuna Exchange, PwC.
The conference was supported by the Georgian government: the Ministries of Justice, Economy, Finance, the national registry, the Agency for Innovation and Technology.
Projects and startups received bids from investors worth more than $10 million.
Conference
Key topics of Blockchain & Bitcoin Conference Georgia are as follows:
- Mining features in Georgia.
Speakers:
- Alex Sudadze (Bitcoin Embassy Georgia).
- Vakhtang Gogokhia (Golden Fleece).
- Shota Siradze.
- Tornike Darjania.
Giorgi Avaliani, the Project Manager at Bitforx, the second largest cryptocurrency mining data center in the country told about the company.
- The future of blockchain technologies in government control segment.
The Co-founder of Association Blockchain Georgia, Vano Narimanidze, told about state regulation of the cryptocurrency industry in Georgia.
The panel discussion on the blockchain prospects in state administration involved:
- Professor David Kiziria (Blockchain Systems Institute).
- Mariam Turashvili (Project Management Department at National Agency of Public Registry).
- Nodar Kakriashvili (Revenue Service Of Georgia).
- Davit Sivsivadze (Legal Department at University of Georgia).
- Avtandil Kasradze (Georgia’s Innovation and Technology Agency, ex-Ministry of Justice of Georgia).
The issue of promoting the country on the IT market was covered by the author of the revolutionary decree On the Development of Digital Economy Denis Aleinikov (Aleinikov&Partners). He shared the details of the document development, thanks to which Belarus became the first country in the world to implement a smart contract in the legal field.
Gordon Einstein, the Partner at CKR LAW LLP, spoke about the regulation system for the securities market in the USA.
- Success of ICO campaigns: investments, marketing, trends. The third section consisted of a panel discussion on the successful promotion of ICO projects and the report of Shelf.Network founder Lasha Antadze.
Other conference participants are:
- Robert Viglione, Co-founder of ZenCash;
- Mike Chobanyan, President of Blockchain Association of Ukraine;
- Nata Drik, CEO at Blockchain Association of Ukraine;
- Igor Porokh, Analyst at iTuber;
- Andrew Thornhill, Co-founder of Spotcoin.
- Piotr Darwaj, executive Consultant at IBM.
The event was opened by the President of the Association Blockchain Georgia Mikhail Sandadze and the Bixtrim founder Artur Arabyan.
The event host was Nino Epkhoshvili, the Project Manager at the Agency for Innovation and Technology of Georgia.
Demo Zone
The demo zone featured drawings of miners and other souvenirs. It also presented the reports of 12 companies:
- Bixtrim – platform for the cryptocurrency exchange;
- Bitforx – large miner, equipment supplier;
- Glorymine – consultant in the field of mining;
- ZenCash – decentralized anonymous platform dedicated to content management;
- Bitferma – developer and manufacturer of mobile farms for mining;
- Coinmania – service for buying and exchanging cryptocurrency with Georgian interface (accepts the national currency – lari);
- Keepmycoin – decentralized marketing platform;
- Powershare – crowdfunding platform;
- Empleos – blockchain-based ‘labor market’ with a smart search for vacancies;
- Safecoin – anonymous and secure cryptocurrency;
- RPCM – remote power management systems;
- Gminer – manufacturer of ASIC miners.
Organizers and Sponsors
The event was supported by the following sponsors: Bixtrim, Bitforx, ZenCash, Glorymine, and Cointraffic. The organizer is Smile-Expo, which carries out international B2B and B2C events.
The conference partners are the pioneering blockchain companies of Georgia: Association Blockchain Georgia, Bitcoin Embassy Georgia and Blockchain Systems Institute.
Blockchain & Bitcoin Conference Georgia is part of the event network held by Smile-Expo in various countries around the world. In 2018, 26 blockchain events are scheduled, including those in Kyiv on September 19, Baku on September 27, and Astana on October 17.
Images courtesy of Blockchain & Bitcoin Conference Georgia
