Blockchain Technology: Reshaping Financial and Economic Systems
Thursday, October 8, 2020 at 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET

Instructor: Merav Ozair, PhD

Blockchain technology is often confused with the cryptocurrency, Bitcoin. Blockchain, a subset of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), however, is not just cryptocurrency or bitcoin. Granted, bitcoin was the first project utilizing blockchain technology, and cryptocurrency was the first use case utilizing DLT. Since January of 2009, when bitcoin was first introduced, many projects have been implemented and tested with DLT, including those by prominent tech companies such as IBM, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Cisco – to name a few.

 

Slowly but surely, both regulators and established financial institutions are recognizing the potential benefits of DLT in facilitating financial and economic activities, and are employing DLT in a variety of applications:

• The Federal Reserve (Fed) announced, on August 8, 2020, the launch of FedNow by 2024, a project approved by the Board of Governors and aimed at transforming the US payment system. FedNow is a real time or near instant payment system that will be available 24/7, utilizing a consortium decentralized ledger system.
• Goldman Sachs, on August 6, 2020, appointed Matthew McDerm to spearhead their Digital Asset division. McDerm mentioned that, “We are exploring the commercial viability of creating our own fiat digital token.” He is already looking at how blockchain can create savings in the inefficient repurchase, or repo, market used by banks to lend money to one another, as well as the credit and mortgage markets.
• On July 30, 2020, the SEC signaled its newly found interest in actively monitoring the code-based blockchain contracts at the foundation of Decentralized Finance (DeFi), issuing a “DLT Smart Contract Analysis Tool” solicitation request. The SEC interest in investing in such a tool is an indication of their acknowledgment of the increased use of DLT technology and DeFi in financial systems.
• In May 2020, The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) announced the success of its DLT pilot project, Whitney, which examines the tokenization of the private market securities.

These examples of recent projects underscore that DLT’s potential benefits to change our financial and economic systems has been recognized by influential financial institutions and regulators. DLT might be perceived as a nascent technology today, but like the internet, it may soon reshape our economies, for the better.

Join us for this one-hour seminar and learn to:

• Explain DLT, within the context of financial markets and economic activities
• Identify the benefits of digital assets in facilitating financial and economic activities
• Discuss how established financial institutions, such as Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, DTCC, and many more, are currently implementing DLT
• Comprehend how regulators, such as the SEC and the Fed are implementing DLT and appreciating its benefits to financial and economic systems

Who Should Attend:

Anyone who wants to learn about blockchain technology, DLT and digital assets; and how they can be implemented and benefit financial and economic systems. This would include those who work in Operations, IT, Legal, Compliance, Middle Office, Research, Investment, Trading, HR, as well as regulators who work closely with various aspects of the capital markets and FinTech.

CPE Credits: Participants can earn 1.0 CPE credit.

Price: FREE

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Instructor Bio

Dr. Merav Ozair is a data scientist, quant strategist, and Crypto/Blockchain expert. She has 12+ years of experience in the global financial markets and market microstructure. She applies her unique expertise to investigating the blockchain ecosystem, digital assets, and crypto markets. She has developed innovative methodologies to evaluate digital assets and crypto markets – including cryptocurrency indexes, valuation metrics, ratings and tokenized products.

 

Dr. Ozair is the founder of Digital Novelty – assisting institutional investors navigate the Crypto Market for investing/trading decisions, utilizing in-depth research and analysis, proprietary indexes, metrics, ratings and proprietary valuation framework for digital assets and crypto markets.
She has instructed for 15+ years and is currently teaching at NYU. She also conducts workshops for financial professionals with a variety of organizations, including GFMI. She earned her PhD in Finance from Stern Business School at NYU.