CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Leaders in cryptocurrency addressed the economic, legal, regulatory and taxation issues surrounding cryptocurrency during FinTank’s CryptoCon 2018, an all-day conference held in Chicago on Thursday, February 15th. Sponsored by FinTank, a leading financial technology incubator in Chicago, the conference was held at Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law.

Over 600 participants participated in sessions on topics including ICOs, bitcoin mining, the socio-political aspects of cryptocurrency, futures trading, and cryptocurrency exchanges. Speakers included Feng Han (co-founder of Elastos), Reggie Middleton (founder of Veritaseum), and John McGinnis (George C. Dix Professor in Constitutional Law).

Dr. Feng Han was the sole Chinese blockchain representative among more than 50 speakers from around the world. He opened his talk with an introduction to his research from Tsinghua University which focused on quantum mechanics and the blockchain, proving that a distributed system is the most efficient type of low entropy system.

Dr. Han characterized Elastos as an “open-source operating system that lets decentralized apps (DApps) run on any device,” and later clarified that in one sentence, “You own your data.” Dr. Han believes that data can and will become a wealth-generating asset, reinforcing that Elastos’s mission is “we will change data into wealth”.

Regarding the future vitality of the crypto industry, he emphasized that education is paramount. For this reason, Dr. Han has helped in the development and creation of the graduate course series, “Smart Economics and Blockchain” at Tsinghua University. R&D will continue to be a major focus for Elastos, with the establishment of Blockchain research centers at Columbia University and potentially Silicon Valley later this year.

At the afternoon session, keynote speaker Reggie Middleton discussed his own experience predicting the financial crisis and trading cryptocurrencies. Professor John McGinnis provided a socio-political framework for cryptocurrency and discussed some of its potential consequences. According to Professor McGinnis, in addition to its speculative value, additional value derives from its relative stability compared to unstable fiat currencies.

According to the CEO of FinTank, George Vukotich, “CryptoCon 2018 was an overwhelming success, with total turnout exceeding our expectations. I look forward to our blockchain event in the fall!”. For more information on FinTank events or membership, check out www.FinTank.org. Like FinTank on Facebook and Twitter: @FinTankOrg, @FinTankChicago.