In Blockchain We Trust: A Brief History of Blockchain and Digital Currencies (27th November 2018)

Time’s glory is to calm contending kings,
To unmask falsehood, and bring truth to light,
To stamp the seal of time in aged things,
To wake the morn, and sentinel the night,
To wrong the wronger ‘til he render right.

— The Rape of Lucrece, Shakespeare (1594)

Blockchain: “…is an incorruptible digital ledger of economic transactions that can be programmed to record not just financial transactions but virtually everything of value.” Don & Alex Tapscott, authors ‘Blockchain Revolution’ (2016).

Haydn Jones, co-author of ‘An Executive Guide to Blockchain’ with Maria Grazia Vigliotti, will give us an overview and brief history of Blockchain technology, its use for digital currency development and many other applications over the past decade or so, in his inimitable knowledgeable and humorous style.

Haydn will give us his view on the next 10 years of development of this ingenious technology and how it will potentially benefit and impact us all.

Haydn James, Founder & MD, Blockchain Hub

Haydn has over 20 years’ commercial, operational and transformation experience working for retail and investment banks (UBS/Deutsche Bank), a central bank (the Bank of England), a regulator, (the Financial Services Authority), a global management consultancy firm (A. T. Kearney) and a Japanese technology company (Fujitsu).

He brings depth in terms of operational knowledge, and breadth in terms of sector knowledge.

As to roles, Haydn has held senior operations and technology strategy roles. He has run Cash Management and Funding units, as well as FX and Equities settlement teams, alongside leading projects to re-engineer the underlying platforms.

He has worked in architecturally complex, data-rich environments, grappling with the challenge of reconciling legacy and leading-edge technologies and transforming operating models.

Operationally, he has run large, client sensitive platforms demanding high levels of availability. He has facilitated numerous technology and operational workshops, and presents regularly on fintech,digital, blockchain and digital currencies, most recently presentations in Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Nigeria and Chinese financial institutions.

He is currently the Founder and Managing Director of Blockchain Hub, a specialist strategy consultancy working on leading edge technologies including digital and blockchain strategies.

Haydn trained as an engineer at Manchester University (First Class), and was called to the English Bar by the Inner Temple. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Engineering and Technology, and Liveryman within the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists.