Given the sharp decline in the value of many cryptocurrencies since last year, including Bitcoin, some participants in the world of blockchain’s encrypted ledger technology are looking with dismay to a future where there is less easy money available in which to invest. Others, however, see stronger, more stable opportunities for future technologies.

“It’s during the down market that you can really focus on building real businesses that solve problems, that have some sort of foresight into how they’re going to make real money with a product that’s built and tested … maybe even enterprise grade,” said Hartej Sawhney (pictured), co-founder of blockchain security company Hosho Group Inc.

Sawhney joined John Furrier (@furrier) and Dave Vellante (@dvellante), cohosts of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the Blockchain Futurist Conference in Toronto, Ontario. They discussed the upcoming Hoshocon security conference, as well as why small nations are heavily investing in blockchain technologies.

From online gambling to cryptocurrency

While Sawhney attends hundreds of conferences every year, there’s never enough discussion around pure blockchain security, he pointed out. To address this need, his company has rented out the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas for Hoshocon, looking to create an event that’s a hybrid between Def Con (pure cybersecurity) and DevCon (mostly for Ethereum developers only). White hat hackers are welcome, and he hopes the conference will be an open discussion on all kinds of security issues and challenges that developers have run across in blockchain.

One of the main issues in cryptocurrency and blockchain tech is the matter of government regulations. As happens many times, technology has raced ahead faster than any governing body can put laws on the books. Currently the state of regulations across countries swings wildly between overt laxness (which can lead to investors losing millions) or complete bans (which can put a damper on technological innovation).

Sawhney has observed a race between small nations around regulation clarity. While large nations seem to move too slowly and are encumbered by onerous bureaucracy, small nations, especially island nations that have had a presence in online gaming, are on the forefront of clear regulations. He gave the example of Malta.

“For a small island nation that’s still technically a part of the European Union, they’ve made significant progress on bringing clarity on what is legal and what is not,” Sawhney said.

He hopes that larger nations can learn from the smaller ones, finding a level of regulations that protect investors and encourage innovation.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the Blockchain Futurist Conference.

 Photo: SiliconANGLE