The International Commodities and Derivatives Association (ICDA) is to hold a Blockchain Conference in the City of London in April 2016.
Pursuing the Association’s strategy of exploring new products and technologies for the global commodities and derivatives markets, the conference is a major step in helping ICDA's members and others to understand the potential application of the distributed ledger infrastructure.
The Association is keen to emphasise that this conference is not about technology but about the business ramifications for the whole industry. It will discuss who may win, and who may lose, in the shake-up from a profitability and business efficiency perspective.
The launch of the conference is in response to demands by the Association’s members, who include global brokers, bankers, investment fund managers, commodities trading firms, market information providers and service companies, as well as exchanges and clearing houses.
Dan Day-Robinson, Chairman of ICDA, says: “There is a lot of hype surrounding the Blockchain, but how and when will it change our businesses? Is this merely a means of capturing transaction flows by new players, or will it influence the entire financial ecosystem for commodities and derivatives trading in areas such as regulation, trade matching, transaction reporting and clearing and settlement?” he added, “I believe, whatever our role, that we need to understand the ramifications to be able to make our own decisions on how to participate in this technology step change.”
With major global players joining together to adapt and plan to what is seen by some as a revolution, the conference will be an opportunity for markets professionals, both client-facing and in operations to understand clearly what is going on and to assess the opportunities for business development.
ICDA’s Blockchain conference will take place at Banking Hall, Cornhill in the City of London on 19 & 20 April, 2016.
