Future Blockchain Summit returns to Dubai on December 6th at Gitex

The Future Blockchain Summit, the world’s most influential Blockchain industry event, is set to return in December for its third edition as Dubai and the UAE push ahead with their widespread Blockchain transformations. After a year of missed business opportunities that has forced the global Blockchain community to interact over virtual meetings, the Future Blockchain Summit is set to be part of the world’s only global in-person technology event of 2020, bringing a much-needed boost to Blockchain transformation initiatives.

For the first time, from 6th-9th December, the Future Blockchain Summit will be hosted alongside GITEX Technology Week - the 40th anniversary edition of the MENASA region’s most renowned technology show - GITEX Future Stars, the region’s largest tech startup event; GISEC, the region’s most renowned cybersecurity exhibition; Future Blockchain Summit, the leading platform for the transformative technology, as well as the inaugural edition of Marketing Mania, the new platform for brand marketers.

With worldwide spending on Blockchain technology expected to hit $11.7 billion by 2022, the Future Blockchain Summit’s hardest hitting agenda yet aims to bridge the divide between governments and their citizens — all through the world’s most disruptive technology — as well as showcasing the world’s biggest brands who are putting Blockchain at the core of their enterprise transformation strategy.

The UAE Government launched the Emirates Blockchain Strategy 2021 to capitalise on Blockchain technology to push 50% of government transactions onto a Blockchain platform by 2021, with Smart Dubai spearheading the Emirate’s Blockchain transformation. The Future Blockchain Summit will hear from H.E. Younus Al Nasser, Assistant Director General, Smart Dubai and CEO, the Dubai Data Establishment, who oversees the Dubai Data initiative, one of the most comprehensive and ambitious data initiatives in the world, to achieve the opening and sharing of data between government and private sector entities in Dubai.

H.E. Younus Al Nasser, Assistant Director General, Smart Dubai, and CEO, the Dubai Data Establishment, said: “We are delighted to be holding the Future Blockchain Summit as the world slowly but surely emerges from the challenges we faced this year. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated a paradigm shift that had been taking place for years – smart technologies that were once considered ‘disruptive’ are increasingly becoming the norm. With lockdowns instituted in nearly every country on Earth, demand skyrocketed for advanced, remote, and contactless smart technology, such as Blockchain, making our summit today more relevant than ever before. We are proud to have championed the Dubai Blockchain Strategy and have delivered on building a holistic and empowered Blockchain ecosystem in Dubai.”

Future Blockchain Summit brings back live conference sessions, in-person training sessions

The Future Blockchain Summit 2020 will feature live conferences, technical sessions, interactive discussions and virtual live streaming, and will gather a selection of Blockchain leaders including Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, who have collaborated with and successfully become one of the first Dubai Government entities to join the DED Blockchain network of trade license and corporate registry; Shahada, the SaaS blockchain collaboration which can securely create, maintain, and verify academic credentials via a web platform and mobile application, a collaboration by Smartworld, the UAE’s leading systems integrator, and Grape Technology, the UAE tech startup; along with innovators including Justchain, BitJeem, Distichain and ABEY.

The Future Blockchain Summit will host a series of educational sessions - its 101 Blockchain Workshops - which will give visitors practical tips on implementing cutting-edge Blockchain strategies. Aly Madhavji, Managing Partner, Blockchain Founders Fund and Senior Blockchain Fellow, INSEAD, will discuss how early corporate adopters are achieving ROI with Blockchain.

Dotun Rominiyi, Blockchain Strategy, Emerging Technologies, London Stock Exchange will give an overview of CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies) and how they could shape the future of money in the digital age, while Dr Marwan Alzarouni, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Blockchain Center, will lead the ‘Bitcoin 101: What you should know by now’ session.

In addtion the Future Blockchain Summit will host a range of internationally recognised experts who will share their insight on how to capitalise on the latest opportunities presented by Blockchain.

Sean Reyes, Attorney General, State of Utah, the state’s top law enforcement officer since 2013, will discuss how to unleash the potential of merging blockchain with AI to build safer cities and more efficient government services as well as Tony Sun, Deputy Director, Blockchain Team, Ant Financial, will discuss Ant Financial’s vision to integrate e-commerce with payment solutions and sellers through its new trade platform.

With tokenomics accelerating market efficiency in digital assets, SME and trade finance, innovation to expand trade in new asset classes is gathering pace. An expert panel will explore the benefits, risks and obstacles of making intangible assets mainstream, featuring Dotun Rominiyi, Emerging Technologies Lead, London Stock Exchange Group; Dr. Marwan Alzarouni, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Blockchain Center; Aly Madhavji, Senior Blockchain Fellow, INSEAD and Ahmed Thamim, Researcher, UCL Centre for Blockchain Technologies.

An expert panel will dissect Blockchain’s resurgence in transport and logistics in the post-COVID era, and will explore how Blockchain can streamline the tracing of goods, automation of payment, to authentication of goods that may come to ‘save’ the supply chain. The panel will feature Mariam Al Muhairi, Project Manager, Dubai Future Foundation, who heads the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution UAE, a collaboration between Dubai Future Foundation and the World Economic Forum; Mark Balovnev, Partner, Accelliance, founder of ventures in finance, blockchain, and education in projects across the Americas, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East; Saqr Ereiqat, Consulting Leader, Government & Public Sector, IBM; Aly Madhavji, Senior Blockchain Fellow, INSEAD; Firdosh Sheikh, CEO & Co-Founder, drife, who co-founded a decentralised ride-hailing platform without the existence of a central entity; and Dr. Ali Loveys, Managing Partner, Health group & Chief Health Privacy and Security Officer, BTblock.

“After a year of missed opportunities, the Future Blockchain Summit is finally set to deliver the world’s Blockchain community with the in-person interaction that it desperately needs. Dubai has been a global pioneer in Blockchain adoption, and has already experienced the multi-faceted benefits that this technology can bring. The Future Blockchain Summit, will unite the world’s Blockchain ecosystem, helping to devise new strategies for deploying Blockchain in a post-COVID world,” said Thomas Loffler, AVP, Exhibitions, Dubai World Trade Centre, and Show Director, Future Blockchain Summit.