Blockchain and cryptocurrency is having a bit of a moment right now, and the Rhode Island Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Association wants to help educate Ocean Staters about the popular technology.
Frank Aiello is the founder of the group, which got started about four months ago with the help of another of Aiello’s colleagues. Currently, it has 135 members.
“The idea behind creating this associate to bring more innovation and creation to the region,” he said. Cities like San Francisco and Boston are often on the cutting edge of tech trends, with places like Rhode Island a bit behind. The Association wants to change that.
Aiello said his personal interest in cryptocurrency began recently, about eight months back. Since then, he realized that the public at large has a “big misconception about the whole space,” he said.
“A big misconception is that it’s used for drug trafficking or shady characters,” Aiello continued. “Having to explain this to someone is never that easy, because I’m not an engineer and I don’t have a computer science background. [But blockchain] is a way of interacting, or transaction on a global scale without any intermediaries, fully secure and fully safe.”
“It’s a tool to help a lot of Rhode Island organizations to become more innovative. That’s ultimately the goal, to see Rhode Island as a more innovative state.”
One of the ways Aiello added that he wants to use the Association to educate the public is through events, like its inaugural meeting at the Red DWG Library on Jan. 17. It’s described as “a panel style discussion and with key experts from the financial world as well as startups who are building applications and advising across the blockchain,” and an opportunity to discuss how the cryptocurrency can be utilized in different industries. Moderated by John Hargrave, publisher of the Bitcoin Market Journal, panelists include Navroop Sahdev, Nicholas Napp and Remy Carpinito, founder and CEO of Esprezzo and CampusTap.
It will be the first of many such events, Aiello added, with quarterly meetings to start and plans for monthly gatherings, “all featuring a big name in the space,” he said. “There’s a ton of talent, a ton of innovation in the Boston market, so that’s where I’m pulling my expertise from.”
Aiello said he hopes that eventually, organizations begin to adopt blockchain and its methodologies into their businesses. “It’s a tool to help a lot of Rhode Island organizations to become more innovative,” he added. “That’s ultimately the goal, to see Rhode Island as a more innovative state.”
An easy first step? "For organizations looking to get more involved in [blockchain], I’d encourage them to join the group,” Aiello said. “Folks who want to learn and invest, this is an investment opportunity like nothing we’ve ever seen before. The returns on it are incredible.”
