This series focused on the transformative power of emerging financial technologies and identify new opportunities in this rapidly growing field. The Fintech Innovation Series was hosted by SUNY and the Department of Financial Services.

Designed for students, entrepreneurs, and innovators of all backgrounds, this three-part webinar series convened New York’s nationally recognized fintech thought leaders to examine the current business environment, evaluate long-term trends and opportunities, and explore future fintech solutions.
Schedule
Recorded on:
Part I
Monday, March 29, 12 pm Eastern (60 min)
Blockchain and Digital Assets 101

Overview – Understanding the basics of blockchain and other digital asset technology can be challenging. Blockchain is an emerging technology, and blockchain-based networks offer the opportunity to develop new business and trust models across a whole bunch of different industries. Its ability to support multiparty collaboration around shared, trusted data and process automation across organizational boundaries brings benefits at many levels, starting with efficiency gains and culminating in reinventing how entire industry ecosystems operate. Blockchain and other digital assets offer the opportunity to revolutionize the financial world; where old processes and paperwork are replaced by newfound cooperation, innovation, and speed. The first part of the Fintech Innovation Series gave participants a crash course in blockchain and digital assets while exploring where these technologies are headed in coming years.

WATCH ON DEMAND  
Recorded on: 
Part II
Monday, April 26, 12 pm Eastern (60 min)
Entrepreneurship in Crypto and Decentralized Finance
Overview – One could easily make an argument that decentralized finance, or “DeFi” for short, is the one area of crypto development with the greatest potential for disruption by innovators and entrepreneurs. Currently, most currency and other money flows through central governments and banks. DeFi, using cryptocurrency, hopes to decentralize that, which would create a truly global monetary system uninfluenced by or dependent on any one sovereign government or entity. This is envisioned to eventually replace much of the traditional banking infrastructure as we know it today. However, DeFi proliferation remains hampered by some technical and structural limitations that are keeping it from having a true breakthrough moment. With all the attention and investment going into the space, DeFi is poised to be a major factor in global banking going forward. There's high interest, active technical development, and plenty of room for innovation. The second part of the Fintech Innovation Series explored entrepreneurship in crypto with an emphasis on how DeFi may enable the next wave of fintech entrepreneurs.

WATCH ON DEMAND
Recorded on:
Part III
Monday, May 24, 12 pm Eastern (60 min)

Risks in Crypto Innovation
Overview – With consumer interest at all-time highs, the crypto innovation space offers massive opportunities for innovators, entrepreneurs, and investors, from both Wall Street and Main Street, to make money. However, with this potential for outsize returns and the sector’s relative nascency, there come significant risks to the different sets of stakeholders operating in crypto. It is critical to gain a better understanding of what it will take to normalize crypto currencies and the risks associated with them while striking a balance to not stifle innovation but rather encourage the development of new technology in this area. These risks require regulations and structures in order to create more certainty in the market. The third and final part of the Fintech Innovation Series provided a non-technical overview of the major risks and the regulatory landscape for crypto innovation.

WATCH ON DEMAND
Speakers
Part I: Blockchain and Digital Assets 101

Paul Grewal
Chief legal officer


Coinbase
Bina Ramamurthy
professor and DIRECTOR

University at Buffalo
Blockchain ThinkLab
Sandra Ro
​​​​​Chief executive officer

Global Blockchain Business Council
Matthew Homer
Executive Deputy Superintendent
New York State Department of Financial Services
PART II: ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN CRYPTO AND DECENTRALIZED FINANCE 

Danling Jiang
Professor and Co-Director

Stony Brook University
Blockchain Business Lab
Stani Kulechov
FOUNDER and Chief executive officer
Aave
Aaron Wright 
Professor and director

Cardozo School of Law
Tech Startup Clinic
Maria Filipakis
Co-founder and managing partner
Topside Group 
PART III: Risks in Crypto Innovation

Michelle Bond
Chief Executive officer
The Association for Digital Asset Markets (ADAM)
Noah Perlman
Chief operating officer
Gemini
Richard Weber
general counsel
New York State Department of Financial Services
Hadar Borden
director
University at Buffalo
Blackstone LaunchPad and Techstars 
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