Wyoming Blockchain Stampede taps top leaders for annual gathering of innovators

The fourth annual Wyoming Blockchain Stampede and WyoHackathon, which began Sept. 21, at the University of Wyoming, aims to solve the insatiable appetite for curated, industry-led content regarding the disruptive blockchain space.

To register for the virtual and in-person conference, visit Wyoming Blockchain Stampede 2021 (www.wyohackathon.io).

Blockchains are very specific types of databases. According to IBM, blockchain is a shared, immutable ledger that facilitates the process of recording transactions and tracking assets in a business network.

According to UW, Wyoming is the place where companies that innovate on the blockchain will find support, talent and favorable legislation. Chairing the Wyoming Blockchain Stampede is Caitlin Long, CEO of Avanti Bank, who is credited with cultivating favorable legislation establishing the state as the progressive leader in blockchain policy. Long was the keynote speaker at opening ceremonies to officially kick off the six days of events.

While appearing on Sheridan Media’s Public Pulse program, UW’s Associate Vice President for Institutional Communications told listeners a little about the gathering of innovators and how the University of Wyoming and the Blockchain Stampede has become a driving force behind the technology. 

Industry leading keynote speakers include Gov. Mark Gordon (R-Wyo.); U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.); Charles Hoskinson, founder and CEO of Cardano; Vitalik Buterin, founder of Ethereum; Frederik Gregaard, CEO of the Cardano Foundation; Joel Neidig, CEO of SIMBA Chain; Jay Patel, founder of Edge196; Kui Wang, CEO of Bitdeer; Lane Kasselman, chief business officer of Blockchain.com; and Chris Snook, CEO of SDK Co.

The opening ceremony also hosted academic and governmental dignitaries such as Tyler Lindholm, state policy director for Lummis and a former state legislator who helped guide blockchain legislation; Rep. Jared Olsen (R-Cheyenne) and Sen. Chris Rothfuss (D-Laramie), current co-chairmen of the legislative Select Committee on Blockchain, Financial Technology and Digital Innovation Technology; and Steven Lupien, director of the UW Center for Blockchain and Digital Innovation (CBDI).

The executive producer of the conference — Rich Kopcho, co-founder of SDKco.io, a blockchain hardware and software company — says the conference has experienced exponential growth since its first year, reaching 190 countries and registering more than 5,000 attendees for the 2020 event.

Day 1

Sept. 21, 8 a.m.-8 p.m., was held at the UW Conference Center — The Startup Stampede, presented by EDGE196, will highlight the blockchain companies of the future. Startups will pitch their ideas at the event, where global investors will evaluate in real-time investment viability.

Sept. 21-22, 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m., The Wyoming Legislature’s Select Committee on Blockchain, Financial Technology and Digital Innovation Technology will hear testimony from the public on opportunities to improve the blockchain laws.

Day 2

Sept. 22, 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m., UW Conference Center — Future Forward with UW President Ed Seidel, who will discuss key opportunities ahead with the National Science Foundation Director Sethuraman Panchanathan.

Key panelists on Future Forward also include blockchain leaders such as Hoskinson; Patel; Neidig; Ben Goertzel, CEO of Singularity.net; Russell Cann, of Core Scientific; and Anoop Nanra, blockchain leader at AWS. Others include Ian Taylor, of the University of Notre Dame; Jeffery Downard, of Northern Arizona University; Daniel Conway, of the University of Arkansas; Jarek Nabrzyski, of Notre Dame; Mike Borowczak, of UW’s Department of Computer Science; Emma-Jane Alexander, of UW’s School of Energy Resources; Laurel Ballard, of the Wyoming Department of Education; Angie Schrader, of FlowState; and Gabrielle Allen, of UW’s Office of Research and Economic Development.

Gregaard will provide a 30-minute presentation on the foundations of work toward positive global change.

The daylong Future Forward session will be led and moderated by Cheryl Goodman, chief innovation officer of SDK Co.

Sept. 22, 5-8 p.m., Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center — The Sandcastle Invitational seeks the best and most promising blockchain startups the world over to compete for the top cash prize.

Day 3

Sept. 23, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., War Memorial Fieldhouse — The Stampede Law Conference will examine the new laws in Wyoming that impact blockchain and crypto businesses and help form the ecosystem.

Sept. 23, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., UW Conference Center — The Stampede Finance Conference offers a deep dive into the evolving world of finance; how blockchain technology is pushing decentralized finance; and what impact that will have.

Day 4

Sept. 23-24, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., UW Conference Center — The Stampede Business Conference is two full days of conversations helping attendees understand business opportunities of blockchain and use cases.

Sept. 24, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., UW Conference Center — DAO (decentralized autonomous organization) Day features technical workshops and speakers explaining what DAOs are and the role they will play in our future — also, how Wyoming is leading the way in terms of DAO legislation.

“DAO Day is a celebration and sharing of all of the community DAO experiments with ecosystems, philosophies and governance models. We’re celebrating the spirit of interoperability and acceptance for multi-chains and multi-protocols. We are learning from one another and those foundational DAOs who set patterns for success,” Kopcho says. “Moreover, we’re excited to share during the NFT-DAO session plans for granting more than a dozen cross-discipline scholarships to UW students.”

Sept. 24, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., War Memorial Fieldhouse — The Stampede Developers Conference features technical speakers and workshops to help attendees prepare for the WyoHackathon challenges and to introduce new technologies, concepts and emerging standards.

Days 5 and 6
Sept. 24, 5 p.m., and Sept. 26, 10 a.m., War Memorial Fieldhouse — The WyoHackathon presents challenges and bounties for developers, entrepreneurs and business professionals. Participants will use the weekend to come up with the best solution to the problems presented.