The World Economic Forum and its first cryptocurrency-focused global council (“the Council”) announced the release of its inaugural report, “Crypto, What Is It Good For? An Overview of Cryptocurrency Use Cases“. The report highlights use cases of digital assets that go beyond cryptocurrency and explore its impact on individuals, institutions, and society as a whole. The report includes insights from bank executives, NGO leadership, tech entrepreneurs, and investors.
Co-chairs of the recently appointed council, Meltem Demirors, Chief Strategy Officer of CoinShares, and Cuy Sheffield, Head of Crypto at Visa, have been working to establish the Council’s priorities and deliverables of the Council following its official start in October of this year. This invitation-only council is designed to build a community of 30 experts to share their resources and insights with the WEF’s larger network to advance the global understanding of cryptocurrencies.
The members of the Council include chief executives, risk and strategy officers from leading cryptocurrency companies, executives at financial institutions, leading technical, legal, and civil society experts, and academics who are focused on evaluating key challenges and opportunities within this space – and what it will take to achieve the key aims of cryptocurrencies. The Council will work on technical knowledge products for regulators and policy-makers enabling them to make informed decisions around the asset class’s governance, capacity-building initiatives, and other projects of the council’s selection and design.
Sheila Warren, who heads the WEF’s efforts on blockchain and digital assets, commented, “The WEF’s network of Global Future Councils helps us stretch our imaginations and harness innovation to shape a more inclusive future. This Council will move us toward greater awareness and understanding of the benefits, and risks, of cryptocurrencies, while helping to ensure that the benefits are ultimately made accessible to the entire global economy.”
Demirors commented, “Many of the conversations you’ll hear about cryptocurrencies, and much of what we aim to do in this council, is actually not about technology. Rather, meaningful analysis of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is about imagining what could be possible in the future with this new technology, which creates a new set of social, political, and economic tools. Our Council draws from a diverse group of individuals and aims to bring together these disciplines and perspectives to explain cryptocurrencies in a new way.”
“Cryptocurrencies have the potential to create new markets and forms of value exchange that can fuel growth in the global economy. This council is focused on finding ways to make cryptocurrencies comprehensible, accessible, and inclusive so that more people can benefit from the innovations that emerge through them,” added Sheffield.
