In partnership with RCI Bank and Services and under the patronage of the French Secretary of State for Digital Affairs, the The Big Block Theory conference was attended by over 150 participants from academic research, major companies and start-ups. At the event, nine researchers opened blockchain technology[1] up to a broader audience through concrete presentations of its use at companies.
The first The Big Block Theory conference, focused on academic research on the blockchain, was held on April 3. The aim was to build relationships between experts in academic research and major companies and start-ups with a view to enhanced collaboration.
Jean-Christophe Labarre, Director of Innovation and Partnerships at RCI Bank and Services, kicked off the conference by explaining how the blockchain is a key technology for the banking sector and how our company is contributing actively to identifying cases of use for blockchain technologies through the R3 and LabChain consortiums and our proofs of concept.
Pitches on specific cases of use for the blockchain
Nine researchers then made ten-minute presentations of their blockchain-related work on scientific, technical and legal issues. For example, Christine Hennebert, a researcher at CEA LETI, a research institute for electronics and information technologies, showed how the blockchain could favor the sharing of renewable energy, and photovoltaic energy in particular, by ensuring the security of peer-to-peer transactions. Axel Moinet, a doctoral student at Université de Bourgogne Franche Comté, explained how the blockchain could serve as a solution to new issues in safety and data protection in the Internet of Things (including smartphones and connected watches).
All these presentations confirmed RCI Bank and Services' intuition that blockchain technology is able to respond today to the challenges of businesses across all sectors.
Find out more:
- Read all the presentations in the conference handbook (in French)
- Want to know more about the blockchain? Read our Insights article.
[1] The blockchain can be seen as a general accounts ledger shared by all stakeholders without intermediaries. Everyone can record and carry out transactions in the ledger in a secure and transparent manner, doing so without the need for a central control body. As such, the blockchain offers a range of possibilities.
