The Exponential Finance Summit at the New York Marriott Marquis in Times Square, hosted by the Singularity University and started on June 7, is ending today. You might be still in time to catch the live stream. Otherwise, stay tuned for our coverage of the most interesting points.

“Exponential Finance will help attendees navigate the rapid pace of change taking place in the financial sector due to exponential technologies,” said Will Weisman, Executive Director for Summits at SU. “We’ll share tools that will help participants stay at the forefront and understand where to invest, how to protect their assets, and what it will take to remain competitive and successful in this new economy.”

Co-founded in 2008 by Ray Kurzweil, now Google’s director of engineering, and Peter Diamandis, founder and CEO of the XPrize, the Singularity University (SU) is a unique educational and business community focused on exponential technologies able to tackle the world’s biggest challenges.

Exponentially accelerating technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), advanced biotech, quantum computing, and robotics, described for example in the works of SU co-founder Ray Kurzweil, promise to bring faster and faster change to all industries. The SU runs educational programs, conferences, incubators, and labs, to help accelerating corporate and social innovation.

Of course, blockchain technology is a perfect example of exponential acceleration in financial technology (fintech). In 2015 and 2016, blockchain fintech was prominently featured at Exponential Finance. This year as well, the conference program is packed with blockchain-related topics, and starts with a pre-summit technology bootcamp on blockchain and distributed ledger technologies.

Other interesting blockchain-related talks include “The Boom Of ICOs & Token Offerings – Has Blockchain Tech Unlocked A Pandora’s Box For Venture Capital’s Disruption,” by DLT Education president Robert Schwentker, “Blockchain,” by BitNation partner Toni Lane Casserly, “Blockchain in Insurance,” by Deloitte principal Eric Piscini and The Institutes CEO Pete Miller, and “Taking Blockchain To Production – An Ongoing Perspective,” by Nuco CEO Matt Spoke.

Blockchain fintech is accelerating exponentially indeed. But it can be argued that financial applications, directly related to digital money and transactions, represent only the tip of the blockchain iceberg, and the most interesting future applications could be those that leverage the power of distributed ledgers in other industries such as AI, robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), and self-driving cars.

“To have a contract with someone, you need to trust them, and you need to have an enforcement mechanism,” noted Amin Toufani, Vice President of Strategic Relations and Director of strategy at SU. “Blockchain technology is showing us a path to where you can bypass both. Enforcement is automatic and your can trust you counterparty. What if your car offered some bitcoins to the car in front of you? And if and when the cars clear the lane the contract is settled? Enforcement is automatic, you do not need to trust the cars in front of you.”

To me, the potential to play a critical role in visionary developments with a potential to make the world a better place is the main appeal of blockchain technology.

Toufani’s opening talk, titled “Exonomics,” explored unifying themes among disruptive trends in business strategy, financial markets, cryptocurrencies, economic policy, and risk management. Stay tuned for our continued coverage next week.

Picture from Wikimedia Commons.