The Malta Independent on Sunday
PKF participates in ‘Unleashing Innovation in Blockchain’ conference Amsterdam
PKF executives recently attended a two-day blockchain conference held in De Rode Hoed in Amsterdam. The well-attended conference was addressed by global industry specialists such as ING Bank, Tui Group, Pfizer, Ing Bank, Bosch Group, ABN Amro Bank and Dutch Blockchain Coalition.
The event was organised by Global Executive Events, a leading provider of high quality corporate events with its headquarters in the Netherlands, with FinanceMalta acting as facilitators.
The conference was chaired by Alexander Wied , Partner Blockchain Evangelist working for Project Partners Germany. His specialisation as a consultant includes the identification of highvalue use cases, shaping strategies and the delivery of business solutions based on Ethereum. Alexander introduced the speakers and informed the audience about the fast-changing world of Blockchain and its powerful force of disrup- tion and thirst for innovation. He also spoke about the use of technologies involving blockchain and how this has created a number of challenges and opportunities for both European countries and beyond.
The list of topics discussed during the two-day event covered many aspects, including the use of smart contracts, compliance changes, AML, legal implications assuring the delivery of value, quality standards, trust policy and security. The speaker from the giant pharmaceutical firm Pfizer discussed innovations in healthcare, especially regarding patient records and the integration of medical records with inventory control.
Another speaker discussed the scalability for public smart contract chains and the exciting features of Ethereum. Speakers from Dutch banks discussed the regulatory costs when management decides to take blockchain technologies onboard and how best to generate interest among banking staff to embrace the new digital infrastructure.
Dr Marilyn Formosa from PKF joined a panel discussion about Malta that discussed the recent promulgation of three laws covering all aspects of virtual financial assets and innovative technology arrangements. The discussion also touched on the licensing requirements for VFA agents and issuers and the obligations for the preaudit of distributed and decentralised software by licensed system auditors.
Dr Formosa touched on the need for more staff training to increase the number of blockchain professionals. Malta is definitively looking forward to welcoming newcomers specialising in blockchain that are able to follow in the footsteps of giants such as Binance, which recently showered praise on the island’s friendly legislation.