PRESENTED BY THE DETROIT BLOCKCHAIN CENTER, POWERED BY FINTECH CONSORTIUM IN PARTNERSHIP WITH DETROIT FINTECH BAY
Detroit Blockchain Center in partnership with the FinTech Consortium and Detroit FinTech Bay, will host the inaugural Detroit Blockchain & Fintech Pitchfest on Feb. 28 at the NextEnergy Center in Midtown.
During the pitch fest, 12 teams will each get five minutes to tout their startups. Those deemed to have the most creative, high-quality, and sustainable businesses will split a prize pool consisting of $30,000 worth of digital “tokens” from crypto ventures Worbli, Telos, Parsl, PixEOS, Murmur, and more, Zientarski says. Judging will be handled by EOS Detroit’s Brian Tutt, Fractal co-founder Anna Taylor, Benzinga CEO Jason Raznick, senior partners from the FinTech Consortium, and seven other judges. The event’s sponsors include Envestnet Yodlee and Worbli.
- Mystery grand prize from Envestnet and Yodlee
- $15,000 USD equivalent in WORBLI tokens
- $1,500 USD equivalent in pixEOS tokens
- $1,500 USD equivalent in Murmur tokens
- 10,000 Telos token Goodblock Good Grant for application development
- $3,000 in Google cloud credits
- More prizes to be announced once finalized
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have had mixed fortunes over the years, with prices often spiking and dropping rapidly. Despite that volatility, Adam Zientarski, policy director at the Detroit Blockchain Center, argues that banks and other financial institutions are starting to agree with crypto enthusiasts that it’s the wave of the future. “Banks have to innovate in the Internet age,” he says. “They’re becoming way more open to it, especially with JPMorgan starting its own cryptocurrency.”
He compares crypto to other emerging industries, such as medical marijuana. “People jump in with FOMO (fear of missing out) or to take advantage of the industry to make a quick buck. That’s why we saw the crypto bubble burst [in 2017] – a lot of ICOs (initial coin offerings) weren’t the best.”
Visit DETROIT BLOCKCHAIN & FINTECH PITCHFEST on February 28th, 2019 5:30 – 8:00pm NextEnergy Center 461 Burroughs St, Detroit, MI
