Consumers’ Research is currently hosting the second annual blockchain and bitcoin workshop at Mount Washington Resort, bringing together fintech industry representatives, regulators and legislators.

The conference takes place at a historic site in New Hampshire where in 1944, the agreement was signed that shaped the post-war financial system and established such structures as the International Monetary Fund. It started on Sunday 10 July and will continue until Wednesday 13 July.

Hosted by Consumers’ Research, the oldest consumer organisation in the US established in 1929, it gathered representatives of the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the US Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the US House of Representatives, Microsoft, Coin Center, MIT Media Lab, Chainalysis and others. The main goal of the conference this year is to provide guidance on consumer protection. Says Joe Colangelo, Executive Director of Consumers’ Research:

“Distributed ledgers have the potential to impact money, trade, and access to banking more than any development in generations. However, for the technology to realize its potential, consumers need to trust it, which means knowing that their privacy is protected and their wealth is secure. This collaboration will produce a model for bitcoin and blockchain-based companies that also addresses the concerns of regulatory entities.”

The first draft resulting from Bretton Woods 2016 will be shared with the industry leaders, policy experts and regulators that were not present at the current event, in order to build a consensus around consumer protection practices. The final document, taking into consideration all feedback, is scheduled to be presented at the Money2020 payments conference in October 2016.

The previous blockchain and bitcoin workshop hosted by Consumers’ Research in Bretton Woods in July 2015, was focused on the distributed ledger technology, its opportunities and challenges. An 85-pages white paper was presented at the North American Bitcoin Conference in January 2016, detailing possible uses of bitcoin and distributed ledgers, from financial transactions to smart contracts, micropayments and other applications, including non-economic.

Alexey Tereshchenko