Token Forum Ushers In New Age of Blockchain Excitement in Seattle

Jonathon Gagliardoni hosted the first Token Forum Seattle on Aug. 9 at the Columbia Tower Club, bringing together a group of crypto industry leaders, experts and advocates for a deeper look into blockchain's most important topics.

Featuring panoramic 76th-story views of Seattle and over 200 blockchain and crypto enthusiasts, an event of this caliber was long overdue for the city and promises to be the first of many for the region.

Peter Vessenes, CEO of New Alchemy and the first chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation, gave the opening keynote address and spoke about his history in blockchain and how the inception of the Bitcoin Foundation began in Seattle in 2012.

According to Alexsandra Guerra of Nori, a blockchain company focused on climate change, communication starts with the why.

Lawrence Lerner, CEO of Pithia, a blockchain-focused venture capital group, pointed out that Shenzhen, China, is using blockchain as a legal tool to record evidence in trials; meanwhile, Dr. Williams provided the example of Estonia storing sensitive information on a blockchain to protect itself from potential Russian attacks.

Rep. Kilmer, who serves on the Washington State Congressional Blockchain Caucus, said the next step for blockchain is proper policy development and regulation.

Overall, if companies working in the space can continue to improve their products and clearly communicating use cases to the public and government representatives, blockchain technologies can make a tangible impact in the near future.

Despite the negative sentiment generated in the crypto bear market, the Token Forum demonstrated that blockchain is here to stay and that innovators, educators and legislators must continue to work together to build the future.

"We started Token Forum with the hypothesis that those in blockchain wanted a more intimate conference experience focused on advanced level content and directed peer networking. I feel humbled by the validation we received from our participants and speakers who loved our model. I am so excited for our next event on November 9, 2018 and so are our Forum members who have already purchased half of Super Early Bird Tickets for our next event."

With its tradition of innovation, from Boeing to Microsoft to Amazon, Seattle is now solidifying itself as a worldwide blockchain hub.