The future of Bitcoin, the new prospects of crowdfunding, innovation throughout the fin-tech sector: the month of April is full of appointments, both in Italy and abroad, to observe the sector’s changes and discuss its possible evolutions.
As was foreseeable, a lot of attention is centered on Bitcoin. Notwithstanding the fact that the world of virtual money has been hit hard with declarations of bankruptcy by the MtGox platform, interest in this currency is still high and continues to grow. It is not by chance that the events dedicated to the cryptocurrency are numerous. Here is a list of a few of them.
Bitcoin Expo (11-13 April, Toronto)
Even the cryptocurrency has its Expo. It is in Canada, where the top experts on Bitcoin will reunite. From Elizabeth Ploshay, of the Bitcoin Foundation (a non-profit company created to promote use of the new currency), to Charles Hoskinson, founder of the community for the improvement of the virtual money, the Bitcoin Education Project (BEP).
Inside Bitcoins (7-8 April, New York)
From Canada to the Big Apple, where there will be over 90 appointments between super experts and Bitcoin evangelists from over 26 countries to analyze current and future scenarios for the peer-to-peer money. The focus will be on three particular themes: the relation between the Bitcoin community and Wall Street, the level of security of the virtual money, and the startup ecosystem that is being created thanks to the new currency.
Bitcoin Barcamp (12 April, Turin)
Italy is also involved with the Bitcoin Barcamp in Turin. It will be an occasion to get updated on technologies, benefits and risks of the cryptocurrency. One-hour sessions with in-depth discussions are set with four different macro-areas: Bitcoin in general, technical aspects (network protocols based on cryptography, mining, security), economic, and regulatory aspects. Among others, the president of Bitcoin Foundation Italia, Franco Cimatti, and Marco Ciurcina, president of the Association for free software and member of the Creative Commons Italia team, will both be participating.
Deft Conference (11 April, Milan)
There is even a space for contemplating the virtual currency during the third national Deft system (Digital Evidence & Forensics Toolkit) conference. A side event organized by the Tech and Law Center (the research center on digital technologies and legal applications promoted by the University of Milan, University of Milan-Bicocca, University of Insurbia, and the Polytechnic Institute of Milan) will, in fact, be dedicated to the origins, the current state, and the possible future of the Bitcoin protocol and the mathematical currency. The mentors will be IT consultant Giacomo Zucco journalistCarola Frediani.
But Bitcoin is not the only future for money and payments. And this is why a discussion at international fairs is underway on how the entire finance and technology sector is changing.
Ifintech (8-10 April, Istanbul) In Turkey, the most dynamic country in the Middle East along with Israel regarding the finance sector, the debate is on over which technological innovations will have the most impact on the organization of banks as well as on the habits of consumers. Among the events, there is a conference dedicated to how new POS will be capable of reducing costs for operators and improving the customer experience for users, and a seminar concentrated on global trends regarding payments and transactions.
As for the kermes dedicated to new forms of financing for innovative projects, the meeting point will be in Florida at the One Spark festival for crowdfunding (9-11 April, Jacksonville). Over these five days, over 150,000 campaign creators for low-cost financing, investors, and browsers will arrive from all over the world. The projects to be presented will come from varied areas (science, innovation, hi-tech, art, and music) and vie for the prize worth 310,000 dollars (225,000 euros) and investments in capital and direct contributions by participants for 3.25 million dollars (2.35 million euros).
Acquisitions, financing, and transactions are becoming increasingly digital and tend to be made while on the move with smartphones and tablets. And how much the mobile economy is worth in Italy is the theme of Mobile & App Economy: verso il 2% del Pil (1 April, Milano). The event will present the study by the Mobile & App Economy Observatory, sponsored by the School of Management at the Polytechnic of Milan in collaboration with the Startup Observatory and Polihub. At the center of the study is the identification of the principle mobile markets, the dynamics of mobile startups active in the national and international sectors, the dynamics of mobile startups active nationally and internationally, current trends and possible future scenarios. Andrea Rangone, Professor of Business Strategy at the Polytechnic of Milan, Marta Valsecchi, research manager, and Guido Argieri, telco & media director at Doxa, will be participating.
