디센터 Decenter

With just 10 days remaining before the opening of the Asia Blockchain & Fintech (ABF) in Seoul 2018, the biggest Asian blockchain event is drawing keen attention both at home and abroad. Most notably, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, the symbol of Israel’s venture entrepreneurship, and Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, who has unveiled a plan to make Seoul a blockchain hub, will attend the “Fuze 2018,” the main event of the ABF in Seoul to be co-hosted by Seoul City and the Seoul Economic Daily.

Events to be held on Oct. 30, the first day of the Fuze 2018, include conference sessions 1 to 4 attended by blockchain leaders; EOS DApp Festa; the A to Z guide on token development strategy organized by Tokenomia; Decenter colloquium; roundtable with opinion leaders; and ABF Festa. The Fuze 2018 will take place at Shilla Hotel in Jangchung-dong, Seoul, Oct. 29-31.

The “Fuze 2018: Two Worlds Meet” will kick off with the welcoming speeches by Seoul Economic Daily Vice Chairman Lee Jong-whan and Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon at the Dynasty Hall on the second floor of Shilla Hotel. Olmert then will appear before the audience to deliver a speech under the theme “Imagine as much as you can and make it real: startups and blockchain of startup nation.” Chain Partners CEO Pyo Chul-min will take the platform to speak on what he experienced while running his startup under the theme “Dreams and challenges of people who create Korea’s blockchain.” He will have time to talk with Olmert then.

In the ensuing second session, EOS expert John Milburn will give a lecture on “Blockchain projects in developing countries” before a speech on “Three secrets of blockchain governance” by Thomas Cox, chief governance officer of StrongBlock. Koreans to be present in the second session include Block.one executive Chung Won-shik; In Ho, head of Korea University’s Blockchain Research Institute; Bank of Korea Deputy Governor Shin Ho-soon; and McKinsey Korea partner Kim Su-ho.

ABF Festa will take place on the same day to introduce promising blockchain projects all over the world. ABF Festa is a forum where blockchain projects from around the world will show off their cutting-edge technologies and the new world they dream of and participants can relish diverse programs in one place. Major crypto exchanges including DAYBIT that began its operation recently and China’s Bcoin and Israel’s blockchain startup Orbs will take part in ABF Festa.

Seminars will take place in ABF Festa too. Kwon Dan, partner at Dongin Law Group, and U.S. attorney Seo Duk-woo will give a lecture under the theme “STO (security token offering) success strategy and reverse ICO.” CTIA CEO Mitsuru Tezuka will speak on “Strategy on how to enter Japan.” Attorney Cho Won-hee from D’Light law firm and Chung Jae-wook, partner lawyer at Juwon, will discuss “ICOs and legal issues.” Participants hoping to have one-one-one meetings need to take part in the roundtable.

Specialized and segmented programs will also be available in the Fuze 2018. Tokenomia, a token development consulting firm of Korea’s blockchain company builder Chain Partners, will begin diagnosing startups wishing to conduct ICOs at 3 p.m. This is where companies planning to look for new business models by grafting blockchain onto their traditional businesses can receive advice on how to design token economies.

Investors in cryptocurrencies at home and abroad will have time to know about EOS communities. Experts on EOS, the third-generation blockchain operating system, will have in-depth discussions on EOS during the “EOS DApp Festa.” The fourth Decenter colloquium will also be held to discuss various legal issues and problems occurring in the course of commercializing blockchain projects.

On Oct. 31, the second day of the Fuze 2018, there will be conference sessions 5 to 8; Finance Forum 2018; Chain Partners’ project showcase; Blockchain Law Society’s symposium; roundtable with opinion leaders; and ABF Festa.

To begin with, StrongBlock CEO David Moss will deliver a lecture under the title of “Blockchain, the Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit.” Shivaji Das, who is responsible for the execution of all consulting projects in the Asia-Pacific region at Frost & Sullivan, will speak on “The convergence of blockchain; redesign the human paradigm.” Lee Jung-yeop, head of Korea’s Blockchain Law Society who is concurrently a senior judge at the Daejeon District Court, will take the podium to speak about “blockchain and legal problems.”

The second round of ABF Festa will take place on Oct. 31 to introduce promising blockchain projects all over the world. Participants can meet with Kim Suk-hwan, CEO of Yes24, who is leading a content-based blockchain project, and officials from Korea’s first blockchain project BOScoin.

In addition, Chain Partners’ research arm will organize the Crypto Finance Forum 2018 to look at the present and future of the crypto finance, prospects for blockchain OTC market and potential of digital assets. Chain Partners will also have time to introduce its various projects.

During the two-hour blockchain symposium to be held at the hotel’s Lilac Room, Koo Tae-eon, lead attorney at Tek & Law, will make a presentation under the theme “ Research into blockchain basic law.” He will give insight into high regulatory barriers startups face in the blockchain business field.

The ABF in Seoul is Asia’s largest blockchain conference to be supervised by specialized blockchain media Decenter and co-hosted by Seoul City, Seoul Economic Daily and Chain Partners. The ABF Expo will take place Oct. 27-28 at the Seoul Startup Hub, followed by the main event “Fuze 2018” and the concurrent event “ABF Festa” at Shilla Hotel Oct. 29-31. The ABF in Seoul will come to an end with the after-party scheduled for Oct. 31. Details on the ABF in Seoul and applications for participation are available at the website, Decenter Telegram and onoffmix.

/Eundong Shin Reporter edshin@decenter.kr