Blockchain CEO Nic Cary gave the afternoon keynote address at Inside Bitcoins New York on 7th April as part of a talk entitled ‘International Review: Bitcoin Stories from Across the Globe’.
This was the second keynote address of the two-day conference, expected to draw roughly 1,000 attendees, following Jeremy Allaire’s morning opening address.
The second annual Inside Bitcoins New York, a two-day conference featuring thought leaders in the bitcoin space, began its afternoon session on 7th April with a keynote address from Blockchain.info‘s CEO Nic Cary.
One of the most popular wallet services, Blockchain.info enrolled its one-millionth user on 6th January after having just 100,000 customers at the start of 2013.
The talk, entitled ‘International Review: Bitcoin Stories from Around the Globe’, sought to encourage attendees to think about the implications of bitcoin’s technology beyond traditional settings.
Explained Cary at the onset of his address:
“My hope is for us to take away from this that bitcoin doesn’t have a home. It doesn’t have a home in New York or San Francisco. There’s a lot of interesting things happening around the globe.”
Cary’s speech involved a number of anecdotal stories about how Blockchain.info’s core wallet product is being used around the globe, including in noteworthy projects such as fundraising for Washington mudslide victims.
.@niccary illustrates bitcoin’s potential: Almost $7k has been donated to Washington mudslide relief efforts via @blockchain #bitcoinconf
— CoinDesk (@coindesk) April 7, 2014
Global stories
Though Cary shared stories about Blockchain users in Algeria, Italy and China, it was perhaps his travels in Argentina that provided the most notable backdrop for showcasing bitcoin’s benefits.
Recalling a recent conference in Buenos Aires – which he called “ground zero for bitcoin” – Cary explained how the country is experiencing a 25% inflation rate, and that as result, a robust bitcoin scene has developed.
Said Cary:
“Almost everyone in that city is a money transmitter, they’re doing everything they can to get rid of their pesos.”
The result is that the city, according to Cary, has developed into one where merchants from cab drivers to dentists happily accept bitcoin, and that perhaps foreshadows the impact the technology will soon have globally.
Reaching the underbanked
Rather than speaking broadly about the challenges bitcoin will face to reach its goals, Cary spent most of his talk illustrating why he expects products like Blockchain to become widely adopted solutions to existing problems faced by global business owners and consumers.
His most memorable example involved a trip to Morocco with his sister, where he encountered a guide that led him on a two-day trip into the desert.
Recalled Cary:
“Our guide was watching the moon come up over the horizon. I was having this magical moment, when his iPhone rings and he checks his email in the middle of the desert. In that moment I realized this guy has access to as good or a better solution than the one offered by Wall Street.”
He added: “He may not know about bitcoin yet, but he will be able to do many things with it.”
About Cary and Blockchain
The CEO of Blockchain since 2013, Cary formerly served as the manager of customer operations at customer relationship management service provider PipelineDeals.
Founded in 2011, Blockchain has been moving to expand its services of late, launching a merchant app and acquiring bitcoin price app ZeroBlock.