BlockchainUA conference is one of the main Blockchain events in Ukraine. For two years already, a powerful community has been formed here, which freely discusses novelties in the field of decentralized technologies. On September 14, the Blockchain`s adherents gathered again to share their experiences and exchange ideas on the development of the Fintech industry.

International experts from different parts of the world attended the conference. The NEM project was one of the Gold-sponsors of the event. NEM representatives Steven Chia and Jeff MacDonald performed in Kyiv as invited guests. We were able to chat in an exclusive interview with the founders and ideological inspirators of the NEM Foundation.

Jeff McDonald has been Vice President of the NEM Foundation for a long time. In spring Jeff decided to focus on NEM business partners and devote more time to designing and developing the ecosystem of the project. At the conference, the speaker`s theme was: “More than Just Timestamping: Proof of the Chain of Custody, Update, Authenticity and Reputation”.

– This is my first visit to Ukraine and for me everything is very interesting. DistributedLab and Pavlo Kravchenko have done a tremendous job in organizing this event. I especially prefer to attend events where worthful people organize something great! It concerns not only ICO themes, pumps or dumps, but generally created an ecosystem for exploring the true possibilities of the Blockchain.

– What projects for the NEM Foundation development are you interested in?

– Interesting projects that change the world, so I am particularly interested in supporting them. I am very pleased that we are working with Government bodies in need of decentralization, who want to vote in a Blockchain. The Ukrainian Government is interested in distributed voting testing. The next couple of days I will often talk about it. Incidentally, this is probably the most exciting project that is being developed in Ukraine.

– What is the topic of your speech at the conference?

– Today, I have been talking about how we can use Blockchain for voting, because this technology allows you to make these things transparent and trustworthy in a variety of ways, and not just send money to someone. We can use Blockchain to identify in a poll or for a Land Registry or game creation.

– What Ukrainian projects do you know and which of them may have interested you?

– I`m not familiar with Ukrainian projects because, I`ll stay in Ukraine for a short time and have just started studying local projects. I am extremely happy to be here. NEM has a deserving community in Ukraine, and Anton (the leader of NEM Ukraine) is developing it actively. There is a fit Blockchain hub, where many people work, but I didn’t have time to explore their activities deeper.

You have the experience in religious studies, And nowadays some people say: “The bitcoin is my religion”. A lot of people believe that bitcoin and cryptocurrency can change the world. Do you agree?

– You know, it’s funny because religion often involves determining the truth of what God is, and Blockchain also deals with the truth – the truth of what is going on. Religion is the search for the truth about what is happening not in this world, but the Blockchain is about the truth in this world. So they are very different. But it seems to me that we shouldn`t consider the Blockchain as a religion. People who say so mostly just rejoice for their money. There are always people who worship money. But Blockchain itself is just an agnostic technology that can change something.

– What are the perspectives of the cryptocurrency and Blockchain?

– The situation with cryptocurrency looks like we are in a big bubble now. Look at the Blockchain. The best programs were built on this technology, but they practically are not applied. But these technologies cost billions of dollars already. This is an obvious bubble that will become larger and larger. It cost millions of dollars for the Internet, and the Blockchain will cost trillions.

– Will human participation in the technical sphere be important, or we are already moving on to full automation?

– My opinion is that Blockchain will be especially useful for IOT and robots. Robots, for example, cannot use MasterCard or Visa on their own; therefore, IOT is ideally suited for this part. If you bring some values to the IOT, and it will be fully automated, you can sooner or later get into a fraud situation. Blockchain ideally suits to use some means for automation. Tokenomics will become more popular when people really engage in real cases.

Another important guest from the NEM Foundation, Stephen Chia, shared his impressions immediately after a speech on “NEM. Features for the future”:

– I came to tell how companies can implement the Blockchain technology. I see a growing interest in Blockchain technologies all over the world every day. Different countries are thinking about how to use this technology in different business spheres beneficially. People should think less about the cost of cryptocurrency, but more about the implementation of the technology.

 

– What meaning has the concept “New Economy Movement” for you?

– First, it was a decryption of the project. Today, NEM is a world-renowned project that does not need to be decoded. Quite a lot of projects already use our Blockchain, companies integrate solutions. If people concentrate more on how to use technology rather than on hype, then quite interesting things can come out of it!

– NEM develops in different parts of the world. Where is the greatest need to implement the NEM Blockchain for development?

NEM is already very popular in 6 regions around the world. And here, for example, in Europe, in particular, in Ukraine, we are just beginning to create a powerful community and support of its participants. For those who are just beginning to learn something about cryptocurrency or want to get acquainted with our technology, I recommend reading a lot, learning about the use of Blockchain and conduct active online dialogues.