Leading technology education company Galvanize is providing a place for Phoenix’s emerging blockchain community to congregate and collaborate as the technology and community grow together.
Blockchain, the verification technology behind cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, is quickly changing banking and supply chain practices around the world. The downtown Phoenix blockchain community is trying to get in on the technology early.
While blockchain is used to verify transactions for the now-famous Bitcoin, it also has a large realm of possibilities outside of cryptocurrency. One of these uses is in supply chain management. Leslie Pico, head of Phoenix Blockchain, a local group connecting blockchain enthusiasts, outlined one use as it relates to luxury goods.
Pico stated that blockchain could be used to combat counterfeit luxury goods, offering a secure way to verify authenticity of something like a Chanel purse.
“It could show from the conception of the purse, to the Chanel warehouse, to when it reaches the stores,” she said. “You could essentially take a QR code and see the life of that purse. No need for an authentication certificate or a person with a good eye.”
Blockchain essentially acts as a software platform for assets in the digital world through a perpetually growing list of records.
Blockchain is also transforming the real estate market. Pico works for Propy, an online platform that allows people to buy and sell blockchain verified real estate. This platform allows properties to be bought and sold using Bitcoin—about 10 properties in Phoenix currently are available to purchase using the cryptocurrency.
The blockchain community in downtown Phoenix is large and continuously growing. “When Myspace first came out, the people who capitalized were people who knew how to code. With blockchain, it’s exciting to see the level of individuals waiting to get involved in some way,” Pico said.
Before using the space at Galvanize, the Phoenix blockchain community was largely decentralized and struggled to find ways to meet and collaborate.
“Galvanize makes it easy to bring the community together. We never really had a central place to come together. Before, we were just working out of coffee shops,” Pico said.
Pico saw just how large the community had gotten when she hosted a Phoenix Blockchain meetup at Galvanize last month. The large event space at Galvanize that comfortably hosted their previous meetup of 100 people was overwhelmed by a standing room crowd of 300 at the latest meetup. So many people were interested in the event that they had to turn people away at the door.
Blockchain enthusiast, Nathan Enders, noticed how quickly the community has grown. Enders spoke at the latest Phoenix blockchain meetup to share his work using blockchain in the energy industry.
“I really see Phoenix as very quickly establishing itself, along with the state legislature and regulators, as being a leader in blockchain technology. From month to month at these events downtown, we’re seeing a doubling in attendance,” Enders said.
Enders thinks that blockchain can be used for energy to show consumers where their energy is coming from. He noticed that people are starting to care more about the source of their energy. Similarly, to Pico’s Chanel bag example, blockchain can be used to track energy directly from the source.
“For the longest time, energy was just energy. But more and more, consumers today are environmentally aware,” Enders said. “People are now starting to value electricity differently. They’re willing to pay a little more for renewable energy.”
As blockchain changes the way people bank, buy goods and even purchase electricity, regulations will have to change. Members of the local blockchain community say that the city of Phoenix has been welcoming towards them with a friendly business climate and a willingness to adjust policies to the industry’s needs.
“Phoenix is very progressive in becoming a hub for technology, in business with the government and doing things such as amending the electronics act last spring that recognized digital signatures,” Pico said. “We’ve become a very friendly sandbox for technology companies to come and grow.”
Contact the author at bpietsch@asu.edu.
