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London Blockchain Conference – Recap Day 3

The theme for the third day of the conference was driving competitiveness and innovation with blockchain

Welcome to the London Blockchain Conference – the year’s biggest Bitcoin and blockchain event. The conference is taking place at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in London from 31 May – 2 June 2023 and aims to showcase the true potential of BSV blockchain (BSV).

This includes the various business applications including transparency, efficiency, performance, scalability, and cost-effectiveness. The conference will feature a business strategy and a technical stage over three days, with over 100 speakers and 24 hours of sessions and panel discussions planned.

The theme for the third day of the conference was driving competitiveness and innovation with blockchain. As organisations gain traction leveraging blockchains for strategic business advantage, we will see a new competitive landscape appear. The intelligent enterprise will understand how blockchain technology will fuel shifts in the value chain and ultimately see peer-to-peer focused business models.

Where authenticity matters, blockchain will be transformative, which is why an early understanding of this technology is paramount to success. As companies transfer to the digital medium, they are all fighting for the same space. Blockchain is radically transforming traditional business models in countless ways. This is the driving force that keeps organisations ahead of the competition.

The third day of the conference looked at the advancements in blockchain and how attendees can gain a competitive advantage with blockchain technology to further drive innovation within their industry and organisation.

Gaining a competitive advantage with blockchain technology

Below is a recap of each major technical panel discussion on day three.

How a ‘Digital Gold’ system should really work

Schiff opened the final day of the conference by talking about taking the gold standard to a new level by incorporating it with blockchain technology. He noted that the US has a dramatic debt problem and is currently running an average deficit of more than $2 trillion a year and that this has been exacerbated by a currency which is no longer pegged to gold.

He added that inflation is likely to spiral upward in the coming years and that this could upend the current monetary system as the dollar could potentially lose its status as the global reserve currency.

To address these and other issues, the US should readopt the gold standard going forward and one of the ways that this can be achieved is through blockchain and Bitcoin, he said. ‘With blockchain, you now have a monetary system that is far more capable than the monetary system you had before moving away from the gold standard.’

Schiff added that this does not necessarily need to be driven by the government but could first be driven by the private sector as has historically been the case.

Building Blocks: Transforming humanitarian cooperation through Blockchain

  • Houman Hadid (Head of Emerging Technologies at the United Nations)

The global humanitarian landscape has become increasingly complex, and people in need often receive assistance from multiple organisations. Without shared information among different organisations on who is assisting whom, and with what type of support, people can inadvertently receive more or less than they need.

To address these issues Hadid introduced Building Blocks – the world’s largest humanitarian use of blockchain technology. It allows organisations to work together, coordinate efforts and stretch resources farther, helping serve more people, more effectively than before.

Building Blocks is a privately managed blockchain network that connects various humanitarian organisations assisting. The programme has adapted blockchain technology for specific humanitarian needs, including complex programme designs. Humanitarian organisations assisting the same people can channel assistance to the same blockchain account, where it is coordinated.

From the same account, people in need can access a variety of items allocated by different organisations, such as cash, food, education or health. This way, collective assistance is coordinated and equitable. People’s access to support is also simplified and more convenient.

Building Blocks capitalises on the unique features of blockchain, particularly its neutrality – all organisations using the platform are equal owners and managers, with no hierarchy. In addition, many different humanitarian applications can be built using the network.

The Philippines – The Golden Digital Era’ throughout

Countries worldwide are looking for innovative ways to stand out from the crowd and lead regional economic recoveries following the setbacks of the past few years. The Philippines, in particular, shows promise at achieving this, with new President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. singling out the growth potential of information and communications technology.

This panel – which featured academics, business executives and government leaders – unpacked the different ways that the Philippines. This included an overview of:

  • How the government plans to use blockchain for data management and digital transformation;
  • Various educational and job opportunities;
  • Streamlining foreign investment rules to promote growth;
  • Introducing ease of doing business regulations;
  • The introduction of a blockchain hub in Bataan;
  • A new Block Dojo office in the Philippines.

The presentation also saw the official launch of the Philippines government’s ‘super app’ which provides access to government services and information online at both the local and national level.

How Teranode enables unbounded scaling

Jones opened his presentation by noting that the way Bitcoin’s creator envisioned it, it would one day serve as the infrastructure for web3 services. By functioning as an ‘edge-to-edge electronic value system’ it would overcome numerous inefficiencies and blockers for streaming services, Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) and data privacy. However, if all of these transactions are going to fit onto a single blockchain it needs to scale.

Teranode is BSV blockchain’s solution to the challenges of vertical scaling by instead spreading the workload across multiple machines and employing SPV (section 8 of the Bitcoin white paper). This horizontal scaling approach enables network capacity to grow with increasing demand through the addition of cluster nodes, allowing for Bitcoin scaling to be truly unbounded.

Jones explained how Ternaode has developed and changed since its inception as well as the current roadmap for the technology. Developers and partners who are interested in learning more about Teranode and its unbounded scaling features are encouraged to sign up for the newsletter here.

Digital Signatures & Identity in Bitcoin

In this session, Price gave an overview of digital signatures, the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA), and how identity ties to digital signatures. Digital signatures are cryptographic constructs that provide a method to authenticate and secure digital data.

Like handwritten signatures, they confirm the authenticity of the data, but with the added benefits of ensuring integrity and non-repudiation. Non-repudiation, in this context, means that a signer cannot convincingly deny having signed the data.​

Price explained that a digital signature is created using a private key, registered to a specific individual or entity, linking the signature inherently to the identity of the signer. This establishes a robust mechanism for confirming identity within digital environments.​

‘However, the process extends beyond pure cryptography. The legal validity of a digital signature depends on compliance with regional laws. This necessitates stringent identity verification, proper management of cryptographic keys, and diligent record-keeping processes,’ he said.

Improving interoperability across applications by setting technical standards

The panel began by discussing why technical standards are a key step required to achieve optimal interoperability across applications using BSV blockchain. Brown noted that these written standards are essential in helping guide businesses and developers.

BSV’s Technical Standards Committee (TSC) aims to promote technical excellence and further increase BSV blockchain’s utility by enhancing interoperability through standardisation, facilitating industry participation in the development of global standards and ensuring technical standards are maintained and freely available.

Ladid noted that BSV has been designed with IPv6 in mind, making it defacto standardised. He added that there needs to be a distinction between ‘standards by default’ and those which are actually written and codified. He added that it is also important to understand where standards come from – whether that be at an international or governmental level.

Daugherty spoke about regulations and how they fit into the discussion around standards. He noted that, while discussions are currently ongoing, blockchain and crypto-assets are still relatively unregulated around the world. He added that it is vitally important.

Bitcoin Protocol and SV Node Updates

Murray’s presentation focused on what the Bitcoin Association is doing to actively steward the Bitcoin Protocol, with a specific focus on software updates. He began the presentation by explaining the role of the Association as stewards of the Bitcoin protocol.

He then went into detail about exactly who the Node software is for and how it works. Nodes are the essential Bitcoin core infrastructure. They not only propagate and mine transactions by appending transactions to the blockchain but also validate previous blocks.

Nodes process transactions, build blocks and compete to add new blocks to the blockchain.​ It also maintains the distributed ledger of all transactional activity on the blockchain.​ A Node is only considered a Node if it has successfully added a recent block to the blockchain.​ Murray added that the SV Node software is designed to be run by nodes.​

He then gave an overview of the changes introduced in the SV Node software releases over the last year and gave a roadmap of what to expect going forward. This includes the alert key mechanism​, support for free transactions​ and full protocol restoration.

Code-along sessions

In these back-to-back sessions, Everett, Langley, Liu and Gounder invited members of the audience to a 30-minute live coding session to get started building their first BSV blockchain app. This included an overview of the Project Babbage and sCrypt platforms and key insights on being a developer on Bitcoin.

The goal of both sessions was to create functional code that you can reuse to keep building on Bitcoin. The speakers noted that one of the key principles of encouraging Bitcoin development is removing as many of the typical pain points as possible. ‘Don’t make users learn a new programming language​. Don’t make users learn new tools.’

Blockchain Innovation Programme: Changing lives through BSV Education

The panel discussed how the Blockchain Innovation Programme and other traditional academic programmes are key to reaching Bitcoin’s full potential. The Blockchain Innovation Programme is a 10-week course aimed at encouraging people to become Bitcoin developers.

The programme is comprised of the primitive courses currently offered by the BSV Academy, including:

  • Hash Functions
  • Merkle Trees
  • Digital Signatures

The programme also offers the newer Intro to Bitcoin Development course which was developed by the Academy in 2022. While the course is open to everyone, a basic understanding of coding is helpful as users will be working with Golang and JavaScript throughout the programme. Students are also expected to have a basic understanding of Bitcoin theory.

The discussion then shifted to the broader work being done by the BSV Academy, the large appetite for education in countries such as China and Nigeria, and the different educational partnerships that the Association has around the world. The panellists also discussed some of the pain points around education, the importance of certificates and qualifications, and what more can be done to encourage people to develop using BSV blockchain.

Enhancing business efficiency and cost reduction: Leverage blockchain for inventory handling and just-in-time processes

Dr Wright closed the conference by discussing the practical business strategies for leveraging blockchain tech to enhance inventory handling and drive cost reduction in just-in-time processes.

He specifically pointed to applying blockchain solutions to streamline supply chain management and logistics operations. He pointed to four specific ways in which blockchain can impact this sector:

  • Enhanced efficiency: This includes streamlining inventory handling, reducing administrative overheads, and facilitating operating efficiency and innovation.
  • Streamlining just-in-time processes: This includes automating processes to enhance trust, reducing paperwork, and minimising errors in optimising just-in-time processes.
  • Transparency and traceability: This includes leveraging the blockchain to enhance tracking, tracing, auditing, and compliance in inventory and supply chain management.
  • Cost reduction: Dr Wright explained that blockchain technology can be used to reduce transaction costs, expedite cross-border payments, and operational efficiency.

Wright gave the example of a small business owner who has a small fleet of three trucks. This person is unlikely to build out and pay for a traditional database because of the admin and costs involved. However, blockchain is a perfect fit because of its incredibly low costs, immutability and instant transactions.

This example gives a clear use case and shows just how disruptive blockchain technology is. He noted that while the costs of a traditional database for a company like Walmart are small, blockchain can be a true disruptor in the sector by lowering the entry requirements for everyone.

‘This will lead to distributed markets where individuals can negotiate safely and securely without concern about fraud and lower transaction costs,’ he said. ‘Leveraging blockchain technology, we can enhance efficiency and innovation and allow anyone to engage in global trade.’

Ryan Brothwell

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