By Ron Quaranta, Chairman, Wall Street Blockchain Alliance (WSBA)

On April 20, 2017, we were very proud to launch our inaugural “WSBA Innovation Spotlight”, sponsored by our friends at Capco. An exclusive, invite-only evening for senior executives from WSBA member firms, the event was designed to allow our members to engage in the deep, relevant conversation needed within financial markets to drive blockchain adoption and to really begin to answer the important questions that the industry needs answered. Questions that are now becoming about more than use cases or proofs of concept. Questions about things like governance & risk. Interoperability and integration. Reinvention and evolution. And ultimately, as I mentioned in my opening comments for the evening, it is about a re-examining of “how we do what we do” as an industry, that will allow financial markets to evolve in a blockchain future.
Our keynote address was by Ms. Joyce Shen, global director of emerging technology partnerships & investment for Thomson Reuters. She gave a wonderfully insightful commentary about the importance of innovation across financial markets, including innovation powered by the emergence of blockchain technology, machine learning, artificial intelligence and more.

We also had the opportunity for our guests to hear from WSBA Corporate members Calypso Technology, OTC Exchange Network and SmartLink Lab. Each in turn not only described their cutting edge work in the realm of distributed ledger technology, but at a deep level also educated our attendees about the challenges within their specific industry segments, such as FX trading, mortgage backed securities (MBS) and more.
Take away from the meeting was resoundingly positive, with some commenting that it was this type of intimate, senior level forum that will help drive blockchain adoption across global financial markets.
We look forward to our next Innovation Spotlight in June, and encourage financial markets professionals to secure their membership in WSBA as soon as possible.
To this end, in advance of our June event, WSBA blog post readers can join at the discounted rate of $299 per year, by applying here.
We look forward to your membership, and hope to see you soon!
Ron Quaranta
Chairman
Wall Street Blockchain Alliance
Take away from the meeting was resoundingly positive, with some commenting that it was this type of intimate, senior level forum that will help drive blockchain adoption across global financial markets.
We look forward to our next Innovation Spotlight in June, and encourage financial markets professionals to secure their membership in WSBA as soon as possible.
To this end, in advance of our June event, WSBA blog post readers can join at the discounted rate of $299 per year, by applying here.
We look forward to your membership, and hope to see you soon!
Ron Quaranta
Chairman
Wall Street Blockchain Alliance