The rise of blockchain technology has led to an explosion of conferences and summits where leading stakeholders and influencers within the blockchain space congregate and share ideas. Following this tradition, prominent international organizations and around 3,000 attendees will gather at the Paris Blockchain Week which will take place from April 13th to April 19th, 2019. Several events, hackathons, and workshops will be hosted during the course of this program showcasing the French crypto-asset ecosystem. However, the major attraction of that week will be the Paris Blockchain Week Summit which will take place on April 16-17, 2019.

By slashing taxes on crypto earnings and introducing a new legal framework to guide ICOs and other crypto assets, France has signaled its interest in blockchain technology and has been able to attract fresh investors and improve trust within the industry. According to the French Minister of the Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire, the Paris Blockchain Week will serve to demonstrate the uniqueness and dynamism of the French blockchain ecosystem and show off Paris as the European capital of blockchain and crypto-asset fundraising.

The Paris Blockchain Week Agenda

Since France is one of the few G20 nations to enact a blockchain-friendly legal framework for cryptocurrencies, the Paris Blockchain Week is going to attract prominent names of the international blockchain and crypto scene. Some of the key speakers include Binance CFO Wei Zhou, IOTA co-founder Dominik Schiener, R3 CEO David Rutter, and Blockfolio CEO Edward Moncada. These individuals will present lectures that will touch on the latest breakthroughs in the blockchain industry and share their perspectives on three major topics: Technology, Investment, and Regulation.

Paris Blockchain Week Events

Some of the events scheduled to take place include:

An international conference which will open the week organized by the Ministry for the Economy and Finance

The Paris Blockchain Week Summit; more than 100 international speakers in Station F, the world’s largest startup campus, will gather at the two-day flagship event

The « Innovation in the Paris financial hub » summit organized by Paris Europlace

A forum hosted by the Fintech Chair of the Paris-Dauphine University

La Tribune Blockchain Summit: the finance of the future or the future of finance?

The Goals

The Paris Blockchain Week Summit hopes to nurture vocations and foster the development of the blockchain scene in France and Europe as well as encourage the best international blockchain projects to set up their activities in France and Europe.

France goes Pro-Blockchain

Aside from drafting legal frameworks for ICOs and cryptocurrencies, the French parliament has also called for further investment into the technology. A few days ago, French parliamentarians proposed a 500 million Euro budget to sponsor the development of blockchain projects across the country and help France to streamline many routine business processes.

During a presentation, Laure de La Raudiere, one of the lawmakers who proposed this bill emphasized that France shouldn’t miss the blockchain train.’

According to her:

“With the blockchain, we would like France to get ahead this time. France must define a state strategy around the blockchain.”

The Paris Blockchain Week Summit is a step in the right direction and could help steer the country into blockchain prominence. The summit is organized under the joint sponsorship of the Ministry for the Economy and Finance and the Secretary of State for Digital Affairs and is supported by a number of leading French institutions including Chain Accelerator, Paris Europlace, Capital Magazine, Gide 255, La French Tech, the French Digital Asset Association, Woorton, Datalents, Havas Blockchain, la Tribune, and the Fintech Chair of Paris-Dauphine University.