By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The first 2018 Bahamas Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Conference is underway in Freeport, Grand Bahama. The conference is being held at the Grand Lucayan Convention Centre and is sponsored by ALIV.

Following the opening ceremony yesterday morning, chief ALIV commercial officer Gravette Brown was a panelist during the “How Can I Get Funded?” session.

She said: “We consider ourselves to be at the forefront in helping to support all efforts to deepen economic development of this important island and to our nation. It is one of the reasons why we’ve welcomed this opportunity to dialogue as a telecoms infrastructure partner in the necessary discussion around continuing the advancement of technology and other forms of economic development not only here in Grand Bahama but throughout the greater Bahamas,” she said.

“So why blockchain and cryptocurrency? Last year, we joined the Bahamas Financial Services Board as the exclusive telecommunications partner of their fintech (financial technology) working group. It is through our participation in this body we hope to continue to work with the foremost minds in financial services and law to help the country to prepare for the blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies.”

Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said that Grand Bahama is on the road to becoming the “Silicon Valley” of The Bahamas.

“We welcome the local and global community and are pleased to be the meeting place of investors and companies focused on blockchain, cryptocurrency and fintech solutions. We will closely follow discussions and the recommendations following this conference and implement other recommendations,” he said. “As we embark on a new era and establish this new pillar of the national economy, my government believes it is fitting that we base our technology hub in Grand Bahama and I also want to encourage Bahamian professionals and aspiring entrepreneurs to establish yourselves and your business at home.”

Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce President Mick Holding said blockchain technology is just as revolutionary as a period in the 1980s when technology was introduced to the financial sector.

He said: “At the Grand Bahama Tech Summit held in November of last year, Senator Kwasi Thompson Minister of State for Grand Bahama stated that his vision was to establish Grand Bahama as a Silicon Valley of the Caribbean. This conference over the next three days is a major step along that road.

“I will freely admit I am far from an expert on blockchain technology and, I know very little. But I did look at a definition by the authors of the blockchain revolution and they said the blockchain is an incorruptible digital ledger of economic transactions that can be programmed to record not just financial transactions but virtually anything of value. Blockchain continues to grow in important areas and professions around the world and I hope this conference is both informative and stimulating.”

The three-day conference focuses on attracting local and international investors, entrepreneurs and service providers interested in building relationships with blockchain technology companies to The Bahamas. It also aims to promote The Bahamas as a jurisdiction with established legislative framework, provide introductions for investors to seed stage and early stage companies focused on blockchain, cryptocurrency, fintech solutions and to present Freeport, Grand Bahama, as the ideal location to establish offices and global headquarters.

Other keynote speakers, presenters and panelists included Minister of State for Grand Bahama Office of The Prime Minister Kwasi Thompson, Grand Bahama Tech Hub Steering Committee chairman Donovan Moxey, Blockchain Foundry Inc chief executive officer Dan Wasyluk, Cryptocurrency Newsfeed president Aaron Wise, Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation chief executive Edison Sumner, and Coral Inc founder Kristie Powell among others.