Blockchains have increasingly become the subject of discussion amongst policymakers and technologists over the last year. In February, the European Commission established the Blockchain Observatory and Forum to monitor developments in this space, while in March, the Department of Finance produced a discussion paper, Virtual Currencies and Blockchain Technology. Designed with privacy and security in mind, blockchains have the potential to significantly disrupt the prevailing business model of the internet, as well as the body of law that has developed around it in parallel, with important implications for data privacy. The panel discussed these issues and the opportunities and threats arising.
About the Speakers:
Lory Kehoe leads Ireland’s ConsenSys hub. Prior to ConsenSys, Lory was a Director with Deloitte and set up and led Deloitte’s EMEA Blockchain Lab. He is a Qualified Financial Advisor, registered stockbroker and is an adjunct assistant professor in Strategic Management and Information Systems Strategy with the Department of Computer Science & Statistics in Trinity College Dublin.
Mai Santamaria is Senior Financial Advisor at the Department of Finance, and heads up the Financial Advisory team within the Shareholding and Financial Advisory Division. She was co-author of the department’s discussion paper on virtual currencies and blockchain.
