Blockland Solutions Conference is underway at the Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland – Crain’s Cleveland Business

Futurist author Jeremy Gutsche kicked off the second annual Blockland Solutions Conference Monday morning, Dec. 9, explaining how blockchain technology has the potential to disrupt the way companies and professionals do business.

"When we think about why blockchain is needed, it's to control and understand transactions in the world of human interaction once we start mechanizing and moving at a much faster pace," he said, challenging the audience to recognize that there is "more potential in our grasp than ever before" and that the pace of change is accelerating because of technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain.

Blockchain is a decentralized, digital technology whose built-in security allows digital information to be widely and safely distributed. It provides the basis for digital currencies like Bitcoin. Advocates contend it will be used for such things as tracking how assets move through a supply chain, from producer to dealers to buyers, more securely than other technologies.

The conference, at the Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland, is the brainchild of auto dealer-turned-tech entrepreneur Bernie Moreno, whose Bernie Moreno Cos. have largely moved out of the auto business and into blockchain investing. He sees the two conferences he has led as the beginning of an effort to put Northeast Ohio at the forefront of blockchain thought leadership.

On Tuesday, Dec. 10, an announcement is expected on the next step in the creation of City Block, the revamping of The Avenue at Tower City into an entrepreneurial and technology center. In July, Moreno's company and Bedrock Detroit LLC, the Dan Gilbert company that owns the ailing shopping center that fronts Public Square, announced a plan for a $110 million, 350,000-square-foot "entrepreneurial center" that will include corporate office space, co-working areas, cafes and a public plaza at the Huron Road entrance to The Avenue.

Gutsche closed his presentation by cautioning attendees to not simply look at the emerging technologies for their business value but also to consider how they can be used to make the world a better place.

"It's an exciting world, and you should be excited because here we are, innovators in the greatest period of human history," he said. "And the rate of change isn't only faster, it's accelerating."

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Blockland Solutions Conference is underway at the Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland - Crain's Cleveland Business