Ireland's Bitfin 2014 Will Bring Together Worlds of Bitcoin and Finance

Organizers of July's Bitcoin Finance 2014 Conference and Expo, to be held in Dublin, Ireland, have announced an expanded lineup of over 20 speakers and a provisional outline of the schedule.

Bitfin is the first event to draw participation from the broader payments and financial services worlds, its organisers say, with speakers from Stripe, Realex, and Ocean Bank already confirmed.

"Bitcoin Finance 2014 will provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of digital currencies,” said Fergal Murray, founder of Bitfin, adding:

“Attendees will leave with a unique understanding of the opportunities and risks that digital currency presents to payments networks, financial institutions, corporations, and regulatory authorities.”

The speakers

The goal for the event, said Murray, is to consider the key challenges facing bitcoin, and the challenges bitcoin raises for the current financial and regulatory systems.

"Bitfin is an impartial forum to address technical, commercial and regulatory issues, highlight the most interesting new developments, showcase the most innovative new companies and consider the more profound economic questions raised by digital currencies."

The event will feature keynotes from Jeremy Allaire (CEO Circle), Colm Lyon (CEO Realex) and Greg Brockman (CTO Stripe), with other speakers to include:

• Nicolas Cary, CEO, Blockchain.info
• Moe Levin, VP Europe, BitPay
• Vladimir Grankin, chairman, Ocean Bank
• Bobby Lee, CEO, BTC China
• David Irvine, CEO, MaidSafe
• Sam Cole, co-founder, KnCMiner
• Karl Grey, founder, StartJoin
• Sean Neville, CTO, Circle
• Elizabeth Rosseillo, CEO, Bitpesa
• Jonathan Levin, co-founder, Coinmetrics
• Christian Papathanasiou, CEO, Global Coin FX
• Simon Dixon, CEO, BankToTheFuture.com
• John Beccia, general counsel, Circle
• Damian Crowe, CEO, Obillex
• Rainey Reitman, activism director, Electronic Frontier Foundation
• Brett Myers, CEO, CurrencyFair
• Brandon Goldman, CEO, Freshpay
• David Johnston, managing director, BitAngels Fund I
• Christina Gorlick, CAO, CloudHashing

The schedule

Day one will bring attendees up to speed on the bitcoin system, protocol, and economics and map out the entire ecosystem, according to Murray. Speakers will address regulatory and national security issues, and also consider the potential for digital currencies to strengthen global democracy, freedom and human rights.

Day two will dig deeper into specific areas, with sessions planned to include:

• Opportunities and risks with bitcoin for payment processors
• Increasing competition in financial services
• Improving controls and reducing systemic risks in the global financial system
• Opportunities and risks with bitcoin for retail, mobile and media
• Regulatory and tax implications of large scale pseudonymous payments networks
• Re-imaging the financial system: The long-term potential of block chain-type technologies
• Global Panel with eminent speakers from US, UK, Russia, China, and more

Filling a niche

There are now many bitcoin conferences globally, but they are targeted primarily at bitcoin enthusiasts, argued Murray.

However, there is a global need for a conference about bitcoin and digital money that "welcomes participation from payment networks, banks and financial institutions, and lights the way for the integration of bitcoin into the global financial and regulatory systems", he explained.

Furthermore, "Dublin is a beautiful location for a conference, and the Bitfin 2014 will create conversations and networking opportunities than simply could not happen anywhere else," concluded Murray, adding:

"Irish weather can be less than perfect; if you need to come to Dublin, July is the time to do it."

Bitcoin Finance 2014 will be held at the Royal Dublin Society from from 3rd-4th July. See an interactive map here.

Early bird registration – which offers a saving of €200 – ends today, Friday 23rd May, at midnight BST (4.00pm PST).

Dublin image via Bartkowski / Shutterstock.com