CfC St. Moritz
St. Moritz ▪︎ January 11th-13th 2023
We were delighted to share knowledge and insights during the EdenBase Quantum Computing Roundtable at CfC St. Moritz. In addition, our Co-Founder Eric Van der Kleij enjoyed Chairing the highly curated digital assets and blockchain conference for investors and decision-makers, along with interviewing a variety of industry experts.
Roundtable: Quantum Computing. The Potential Impact and the Opportunities for Crypto, Business and Society
This is the first time Quantum Computing was discussed at CfC and the topic resonated hugely with the audience. Eric Van der Kleij and Daniel Doll-Steinberg introduced EQAL and explained why EdenBase, as a fund and an ecosystem, has hugely accelerated our attention to this particular frontier technology. Marta Piekarska-Geater, with a PhD and background in Computer Security and Privacy, gave a fantastic explanation of what quantum computing is as well as the challenges this exponential technology poses, helping us to understand when the danger zone for cracking standard encryption is approaching (potentially 2024!).
The roundtable was attended by and included contributions from Bill Tai (Chairman, Actai), Erik Vorhees (Founder, Shapeshift), David A. Johnston (Chief Strategy Officer, DLTX), Carolina Casas Forga (Co-Founder, Sangha Capital), Antonio Beja (COO, Consensus Capital), David Newns (Head, SIX Digital Exchange), Fred Thiel (Chairman & CEO, Marathon Digital Holdings) Staci Warden (CEO, Algorand Foundation) and Aurora Schwarz (Strategic Partnerships Director, Wintermute).
“Really good to see this important topic being covered by EdenBase at CfC St. Moritz” – David A. Johnston
Fireside Chat: Views of a Thoughtful OG Decentralist
A Bitcoin pioneer shares his views on the evolution of the industry from Satoshi to today. Is Bitcoin just an ultimate Proof of Concept for a blockchain-powered economy or is it still fundamental despite all the developments in the industry?
Moderator Eric Van der Kleij
▪︎ Erik Voorhees, ShapeShift
Erik Vorhees treated us to a unique, fascinating, almost emotional reflection of the process and the discussions that occurred while the cryptocurrency exchange platform, ShapeShift, began to adopt the principles of a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO), through to the point where he gave up any kind of control. In addition, he shared his investing focus, which is about deploying capital for returns into projects that describe the decentralised revolution.
“CFC is an investors conference and when moderating the fireside chat with Erik Voorhees we were given the rare, heartfelt opportunity to learn about the battle of conscience he faced together with his investors when they had to weigh the contradiction between his authentic decentralist values, the evolving regulatory requirements and not wanting to break the law. From the incredible feedback received, we know this resonated with so many in the audience and Erik was still answering questions in the Q&A bubble right through the break and into the next session. This kind of candour in a discussion is quite rare and I believe will help make us better investors.” — Eric Van der Kleij
Fun Facts: Erik Voorhees was skiing at 10 months - even before he could walk, and prior to Shapeshift Erik previously founded the bitcoin gambling website, SatoshiDice, which until 2014 was transacting more than half of all bitcoin transactions worldwide!
Panel: Taking Stock. Where Did We Come From and Where Do We Go - The Evolving Crypto Eco-System
We went from L1's to L2's, ICOs to IDOs, DAOs, DeFi, NFTs and more. This panel examines the crypto journey we have been on and helps us to explore the future.
“Brilliant to have interviewed such an amazing panel from the TradFi world who are pioneering the professionalisation of the crypto and DeFi industries.” — Eric Van der Kleij
Moderator Eric Van der Kleij
▪︎ Diana Biggs, 1kx
▪︎ Evgeny Gaevoy, Wintermute
▪︎ Mathias Imbach, Sygnum
UNLOCKING THE FUTURE OF FINANCE WITH WEB3 RAILS
Filling in missing link of Web3 infrastructure that will reshape finance and digital assets. What are the tools and rails needed, and what are the barriers and challenges still to overcome in this rapidly growing sector?
Moderator Eric Van der Kleij
▪︎ Nicola White, B2C2
▪︎ Andrew Kessler, Zenotta
▪︎ Joseph Cutler, Perkins Coie
▪︎ Brooks Entwistle, Ripple
In this panel we explored why establishing the Web3 rails has become a particularly long process. The speakers inspired us with case studies and solid articulation of the benefits, reassuring us that despite some of the perceived chaos in this industry we are still on track.
This panel had Eric Van der Kleij scheduling follow-up meetings with Andrew Kessler to learn more about Zenotta’s approach.
Panel: Lighting Up the Energy and Infrastructure Debate
Last CfC St. Moritz, this was an important topic - now it is at a crisis level. With demand for energy (ideally sustainable) and compute infrastructure set to grow exponentially, how is this impacting investment behavior and what opportunities does it bring?
Bill Tai and Fred Thiel, who contributed at our EdenBase Roundtable last year focused on crypto policy-making, shared insights on the panel “Lighting Up the Energy and Infrastructure Debate” alongside industry experts. Jemma Green shared how eSchools can become energy support and how the technology can foster new energy markets.
▪︎ Jemma Green, Powerledger
▪︎ Fred Thiel, Marathon Digital Holdings
▪︎ Bill Tai, Actai
▪︎ Kerri Langlais, TeraWulf Inc.
▪︎ David Johnston, DLTX
Last years EdenBase Roundtable comprised of a wide-ranging discussion covering the importance of well thought through policy recommendations and the potential of cryptocurrencies in providing energy solutions for societies.
About Crypto Finance Conference
The CfC St. Moritz is an intimate circle of selected opinion leaders and investors in the truly private and unique setting of the Swiss Alps. The application-only conference fosters a culture of true connection and deliberately admits a maximum of only 250 international UHNWI, family offices, funds, and institutional investors, uniting the traditional finance sector and the crypto industry in the heart of the snowy Engadin valley. During three days, opinion leaders and high-ranking representatives from governmental and supranational bodies, the private sector, academia, and decentralized organizations exchange their knowledge on digital assets, blockchain and traditional finance in various formats on- and off-stage.
About EQAL
EdenBase Quantum Applications Lab (EQAL) is an ecosystem and a hub established to enable collaboration between companies, technologists, researchers, funding partners and those interested in the future of this step change in technology to explore the applications of Quantum Technologies. EQAL’s mission is to enable all businesses and stakeholders to understand how to prepare to be Quantum-safe, and also be ready to take advantage of a Post Quantum world.
EQAL is a division of EdenBase operating within the EdenBase Hubs and ecosystem.
About EdenBase
EdenBase is a fund, hub and ecosystem supercharging the next set of Game Changers, powered by Frontier Technologies. By building a community and ecosystem, EdenBase supports portfolio companies to deliver responsible growth and valued impact to create a better future.