Wanchain, a distributed financial infrastructure powered by cross-blockchain smart contracts with privacy protection, announced last week it has teamed with various Austin companies to form the Austin Blockchain Collective (ABC), which has a mission to advance blockchain-based education to the local community and grow the ecosystem and will engage with policymakers as it strives to advance Austin as a hub for blockchain innovation.

Wanchain reported that the initial participants of the ABC include Multicoin Capital, Capital Factory, Lighthouse Partners, Laurence Ventures, Factom, Decred, Steemit, TEN Capital Group, DecentraNet, AMSYS Blockchain, Austin.city, Algebraix Data, Williams Technology Group, SeriesX, UlaHealth, Kilroy Blockchain, Chain Business Insights, GovernanceChain, Hatch Crypto and Windmill Enterprise. The Executive Committee includes Pete Harris, Principal of Lighthouse Partners; Dustin Byington, President of Wanchain; Tushar Jain, Managing Partner of Multicoin Capital and Tiana Laurence, Managing Partner of Laurence Ventures.

While sharing more details about the hub, Dustin Byington, President of Wanchain and Executive Committee Member of ABC, stated:

“The founding participants of the Austin Blockchain Collective recognize the value of a thriving local blockchain ecosystem. Bringing Austin’s blockchain builders and businesses together is a foundational step towards making Austin the global blockchain force we know it can be.”

Pete Harris, Principal of Lighthouse Partners and Executive Director of ABC, then commented:

Austin has significant blockchain activity. The next step is to coordinate our efforts into a singular force that makes Austin a blockchain hub of international significance. The collective will increase community engagement with blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, growing a network of peers who will galvanize Austin’s leadership in the crypto space.”

Notably, benefits of participating in the Austin Blockchain Collective will include prospective increase in sales and lead gen activity, increased investor awareness and market awareness. Josh Baer, Founder and Executive Director of Capital Factory, added: