Driving Blockchain Technology: Cardano Foundation’s activities part 1
From partnerships to events, find out how the Cardano Foundation is promoting blockchain adoption
In joining the Linux Foundation as a Gold member, the Cardano Foundation has deepened its commitment to open source as well as to blockchain technology—an important step as we continue to champion blockchain adoption and support the progress of the technology itself.
Our membership with the Linux Foundation, however, was far from the only recent activity of the Cardano Foundation. In the last few weeks alone we have established a new partnership and participated in various different conferences and events, while also providing technical support for the exchanges in the run-up to the testnet hard fork.
May 2022
Switzerland welcomed blockchain and cryptocurrencies early on, bringing carefully considered as well as ever evolving regulatory clarity to blockchain. As a Swiss non-profit organization and the guardian of the Cardano Core Technology Stack, the Foundation is delighted to announce it has partnered with Home of Blockchain.swiss.
A private-public partnership under the patronage of Federal Councilor Ueli Maurer, Home of Blockchain.swiss aims to create global awareness of the many benefits Switzerland offers to foreign companies participating in the blockchain ecosystem. It held its first event at the House of Switzerland, in Davos, during the World Economic Forum (WEF) May 2022. To mark the occasion, it launched the Swiss Digital Asset Market Report 2022, compiling and analyzing figures relevant to the Swiss digital asset ecosystem. Alexander E. Brunner, President of Home of Blockchain.swiss, authored the report in collaboration with Switzerland Global Enterprise (S-GE), CV VC, the Asset Management Association Switzerland, and the Eastern University of Applied Sciences.
Councilor Ueli Maurer, Head of the Federal Department of Finance FDF, gave the opening address to this first ever Home of Blockchain.swiss event, focusing on the reality of blockchain in Switzerland and highlighting the need for collaborative team work. Participating in the event’s main panel, Frederik Gregaard, CEO of the Cardano Foundation, explained how the core value of a token rests on its utility and underlined the need to make blockchain accessible to all.
While the Foundation’s team was at the WEF Davos 2022, Sandro Knöpfel, our Head of Financial and Regulated Institutions, also took part in two panels on the topic of technology and climate: Securrency’s “Financial Innovation & ESG: towards new markets & new opportunities”, and the Green Accelerator’s “Climate Solutions & the Power of Technology in Safeguarding our Planet”. He was interviewed for FinTech TV by Anastasia Kinsky—Head of Programmes and Content at Global Digital Finance (GDF)—, a conversation during which they discussed the intersection of blockchain and ESG practices, and Knöpfel shared his highlights from the WEF.
With the lead-up to the testnet hard fork, our Integrations team entered a distinctly busy period. As part of the ongoing support offered to around 160 Exchanges, our team made sure the various Exchanges had comprehensive information about the upcoming feature changes guaranteeing that those who rely on their own UTxO management and address management code stand in a position to make the necessary updates to their software. For those Exchanges relying on the components and libraries maintained by us, our team coordinated with them to ensure that they upgrade to the latest hard fork compatible versions. A hard fork requires our Integrations team to not only share all this crucial information, but provide technical assistance where necessary, project manage the hard fork preparations, and conduct regular meetings to ensure the communications flow is appropriate for a smooth transition.
At the end of May, Mel McCann, Vice President of Engineering at the Cardano Foundation, also joined the Women in Tech Global Summit in Paris for a panel discussion on “Web3: a paradigm shift to the future of digital ubiquity”. McCann encouraged anyone to get involved in blockchain, even if they do not have the usual technical background. We at the Cardano Foundation believe strongly in this message and wish to encourage any woman interested to reach out to us. Blockchain offers a powerful space but it must be open to all if it is to gain true utility and forge the path to creating the architects of the future. This can only be achieved through a diversity of thought and an inclusive space that welcomes all.
June 2022
In the early days of June, Gregaard gave the opening keynote at the Crypto Valley Conference 2022, expanding on how blockchain can aid financial or social systems and foster trust. Gregaard and Knöpfel jointly hosted a masterclass on “Economic and environmental sustainability and the blockchain trilemma”. And shortly after this event, Knöpfel participated in the Andermatt Crypto Symposium, organized by Bitcoin Suisse, as one of the speakers in the panel “Why build blockchain & crypto tech in Switzerland?”, a well-received discussion that gathered the active interest of those present at the symposium.
Alexandre Maaza, Outreach Development Officer at the Foundation, attended VivaTechnology, in Paris—one of Europe’s biggest start-up and tech events. Maaza was a co-keynote speaker in the workshop “Lead a token-powered movement for sustainability transitions”, co-developed between the Cardano Foundation and Cardashift, where he described how the Foundation looks to empower people through blockchain.
Consensus 2022 by CoinDesk took place in Austin, Texas, also at the beginning of June. In the days leading to it, the Cardano Foundation—together with Input Output (IOG) and EMURGO—hosted the Cardano Community event, a major night showcasing the thriving and lively Cardano ecosystem. More than 1,200 people joined us there.
Our team was delighted to witness the shared enthusiasm of the attendees, and enjoyed the multifaceted and stimulating conversations about projects, future possibilities, and the work currently being done. The Cardano Foundation’s booth at the community event was a constant hive of activity. Similarly, Cardano’s booth at Consensus 2022 was one of the most visited on the show floor, continually welcoming a steady flow of guests, offering a glimpse into various aspects of the Cardano ecosystem, and giving our partners a voice.
The Cardano Foundation was also present at the networking dinner hosted by Home of Blockchain.swiss during the Consensus 2022 week. Furthermore, we supported IOG and EMURGO on their vastly successful side-events.
The influx of community members, business scouts, and blockchain enthusiasts at Consensus provided yet another insight into how the community and others perceive both the Cardano blockchain and the activities surrounding it. The tremendous amount of inquiries received constantly inspire us to continue our work. Indeed, the Cardano Foundation is committed to driving blockchain adoption forward on several fronts, not only joining key conversations but also directing discussions, providing essential technical support, and contributing to debates; be it on financial innovation, the potential of digital assets, or sustainability practices.