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Collin Canright

New Horizons in Cryptocurrency

What’s on the horizon for cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies? It’s a question on a lot of people’s minds, and there’s a potential for more than a good profit margin for financial professionals who come to the right answers: a potential paradigm shift in payments, investing, and the way we use the internet itself could be on the line.

For its April talk, the Chicago Payments Forum consulted an expert on this subject – Lamont Black, a Ph.D. Associate Professor of Finance in the Driehaus College of Business at DePaul University in Chicago. Black has become something of a regular fixture for a wide range of financial institutions in recent years, with a particular focus and expertise in all things crypto.

Black suggests that a real understanding of what’s next for crypto is built around an understanding of what cryptocurrency is – a more complicated question than it may seem at first blush. He suggests three major subject areas: cryptocurrency as money, as an asset, and as a platform for application development.

“The thing about crypto as it relates to money is that the original idea of Bitcoin was as digital currency, peer-to-peer electronic cash,” Black said. “I’d like to point out we’ve transitioned from physical cash to electronic payments, but it’s still heavily intermediated. What would it look like to have purely digital cash that is peer-to-peer?”

Some institutions have made leaps in this area – payments giants Visa and Mastercard are rolling out a program to support converting crypto into fiat currencies – but Bitcoin’s extreme volatility in particular still makes it a dicey prospect for wider adoption, and one that almost always relies on that intermediary step of conversion to a more common fiat currency like the U.S. Dollar.

But other concerns about crypto, or that Bitcoin has no intrinsic value? Increasingly less of a concern for financial professionals, suggests Black:

“I would argue no money has intrinsic value, so bitcoin being digital has no real bearing on value,” Black said. “The U.S. Dollar and the Fed… I think people are starting to have a few doubts about the dollar as it relates to inflation. You start showing pictures of the CPI index and inflation over the last 40 years, and you start to show, whoa, we are now 7.9% inflation. That’s going back all the way to the 1980s since we’ve seen numbers like that. Where is this headed? Could we wind up in stagflation?

“This is a great opportunity to raise questions about the central bank model. Central banks manage fiat currency, but there are times with monetary stimulus that some of that can start to get out of hand.”

An area of arguably more interest for financial institutions, in particular, is looking at cryptocurrencies as an asset class – and looking beyond bitcoin into Ethereum applications and NFTs.

“Understanding the technology in an Ethereum-based NFT, the asset itself is unique,” Black said. 

“It’s not just about cool pictures or fads, but a digital record of ownership. This whole wave we’re seeing of the creator economy using NFTs, using these digital platforms, to provide proof of ownership, is super interesting, and can be way more than just cryptocurrency.”

The potential for solving the problem of digital scarcity, and creating real ownership, would be a major feather in the cap for the creator economy, though major problems of fraud in the space will have to be addressed before that potential can truly be realized.

But perhaps the most potentially transformational aspects of cryptocurrency aren’t about crypto at all, but about the underlying blockchain technologies powered by currencies like Ethereum, with their programmable capabilities and the platforms they could empower.

“Even things like Metaverse and Web3, I think these are partly buzzwords, but also potentially watershed moments we’re seeing in our generation,” Black said. “As the economy digitizes, what does it look like to build these digitally native economies, like Second Life? This is not Facebook rebranding as Meta, this is Metaverse built on blockchain. Those are different things.”

And as Web3 continues to develop, Black argues that it could have effects far beyond the financial, and perhaps help us as a society reclaim that thing that seems almost entirely forgotten in an age of digital surveillance.

“We talk about how the internet is a system of data collection, data monetization, and the tech giants starting through personalized advertising are collecting information about you,” Black said. “I think the narrative around privacy used to be, ‘if you want privacy you must be a criminal.’ Privacy, in the national dialogue, is starting to emerge as something that we value. A lot of the internet is making money off of observing your behavior. If we can start to use that cryptographic technology to create a different system for browsing, for using decentralized applications using private keys, I think this could be a real paradigm shift where it’s no longer just transferring value through the internet, but how we use the internet.”

It’s a broad topic, but it’s not hard to see why it’s exciting so many professionals. As we continue to accelerate into a digital world – or maybe even a Metaversal world – the potential applications will only continue to balloon out. In many ways, today’s pioneers are still just scratching the surface.

Canright Calendar

A View from the Plane

The Canright Calendar is a weekly email of networking events in Chicago. View all of our events here. Sign up for the list here. If you have any other suggestions you’d like us to consider, send them to Alexandra at alexandra@canrightcommunications.com.

WEEK OF 09-25-2023

At our featured events, hear from which universities Illinois’s entrepreneurs are emerging, turn your attention toward sustainable tech, and learn how to create wealth opportunities for the future.

Illinois Innovation Index: 2023 University Entrepreneurship Report Release
Thursday, September 27, 11:00 am – 1:30 pm
Jump Trading Simulation and Education Center, 1306 N. Berkeley Ave, Peoria

The Illinois Science and Technology Coalition (ISTC) hosts an event celebrating the release of their annual Illinois Innovation Index University Entrepreneurship report. The data within the University Entrepreneurship Report supports short- and long-term insights on Illinois’ innovation economy, allowing the report to be a cross-sector resource to predict future trends and inform new programs at the university, local, or state level. Hear highlights and insights from the report and engage in a conversation with Illinois leaders in entrepreneurship, policy, and innovation including keynote speaker John Vozenilek, MD, CMO at Jump Trading Simulation and Education Center and panelists Michael Stubbs, CPA, Peoria NEXT Innovation Center; Kristi Dula-Ferguson, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity; Doug Cruitt, MBA-HCM, Distillery Labs, and Andrew Ngui, Greater Peoria Economic Development Council.
Register

Chicago Climate Tech Week
October 2 – 6
Various locations across Chicago

Chicago is coming together to create the first ever Climate Tech Week hosted by TechChicago. As a city, we have an opportunity to focus our attention towards the opportunities, challenges and solutions towards achieving net zero emission and sustainable development worldwide. Main events include Industrial Climate Tech Summit by Nomadic Venture Partners, DeepTech Expo by Evergreen Climate Innovations, Energize NEXT: The Climate Software Summit by Energize Capital, and more.
Register

Building Wealth Today for Tomorrow 2023
Thursday, October 5, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Friday, October 6, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
UIC Forum, 1213 S. Halsted St., Chicago

Interested in becoming financially healthy, creating wealth opportunities for your children, preparing for retirement, jump starting your entrepreneurial journeys or scaling your business? Join the Chicago Treasurer’s Office for the 3rd Annual ‘Building Wealth Today for Tomorrow’ Financial Empowerment Summit. At this free event, learn how to get your financial house in order with a day-long educational event on all things Money, Money, Money. Join workshops and main stage conversations about homeownership for new and current homeowners, small business development and entrepreneurship, credit & money management, and retirement planning for the working class and entrepreneurs.
Register

Looking Ahead:

Talent Outlook 2023
Thursday, October 12, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm
Union League Club, 65 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago

Join the Executives’ Club of Chicago for Talent Outlook 2023 and hear from a panel of experts as they discuss the latest talent trends and topics. They’ll give their thoughts on the future of HR, and how companies can stay ahead of the pack in the hunt for talent. Head of North America for WTW, Imran Qureshi, will moderate this conversation. Speakers include Claire Borelli, EVP and Chief People Officer, TIAA; Michelle Hodges, VP Global HR & Talent Management, United Airlines, and Manika Turnbull, Senior VP & Chief HR Officer, Health Care Services Corporation.
Register

Global Cyber Security Initiative at MxD 2023
Tuesday, October 17, 8:45 am – 6:00 pm
MxD, 1415 N Cherry Ave., Chicago

The Global Cyber Security Initiative Conference @ MxD on Critical Infrastructure, OT and Manufacturing will bring together C-level executives, thought leaders, CISOs, Compliance Specialists, Regulators, Academicians and many more professionals. Speakers include Dr. Federico Sciammarella, CTO, MxD; Glenn Kapetansky, CSO at Trexin; Bruce Coffing, CISO, City of Chicago; Adam Lewis, Director of Cybersecurity Architecture & Software Security, Motorola; Kevin McDermott, CTO, CookCounty Clerk Office, and more. The event is co-hosted with Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) and Pan Asian American Business Council (PAABC). Use code Canright2023 at checkout for discounted registration.
Register

National Hispanic Heritage Month
September 15 – October 15
Each year, National Hispanic Heritage Month offers the opportunity to celebrate the culture and contributions of Hispanic and Latinx people in the U.S. This year’s theme, Unidos: Inclusivity for a Stronger Nation, is meant to showcase the diversity of this population.

The day of September 15 is significant because it is the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September 18, respectively. Also, Columbus Day or Día de la Raza, which is October 12, falls within this 30-day period.
To learn more:
Hispanic Star
National Hispanic Heritage Month
HHM Q & A

Arts Corner
Canright account manager Alexandra Sulack is an opera singer and voice teacher. She curates arts and wellness recommendations for you.

American Psycho: The Musical – Kokandy Productions
Sept 14 – Nov 26
Join Kokandy Productions for an unforgettable evening filled with music, horror, and dark comedy at American Psycho: The Musical.

The Chopin Theater basement sets the perfect stage for this thrilling production. Immerse yourself in the captivating story of Patrick Bateman, a wealthy investment banker turned (maybe) serial killer, as it unfolds through mesmerizing 80s and EDM songs and electrifying performances from a stellar Chicago cast.
With its unique blend of satire and suspense, American Psycho: The Musical promises to keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. Don’t miss out on this one-of-a-kind theatrical experience that explores the darker side(s) of the American dream.
More Information & Tickets

If you have any other suggestions you’d like us to consider, send them to Alexandra at alexandra@canrightcommunications.com.

How to Market Wealth and Capital-Markets Technology Innovations

The complexity and maturity of a technology help determine the content used to market and promote it. And as with any marketing and PR campaign, the audience you want to reach and the purpose you want to achieve come first.

At Canright, our wealth-technology marketing content focuses on solutions and the value they bring to clients. Take a look at these projects we completed over the summer to see how we presented software applications that solve long-standing business and technology problems.

Greater Transparency in Reporting as a Technology Marketing Advantage

A Northern Trust press release covers new analysis features for its Front Office Solutions portfolio reporting platform—and how they make alternative asset valuations more timely.
https://bit.ly/NT-FrontOffice

Enhanced User Experience and Deeper Data Analysis

Creating PR for large enterprises is a team effort. We contributed messaging to this one for a new Northern Trust Insurance Accounting and Analytics application, which expands legacy-based reporting functions by moving to the public cloud.
https://bit.ly/NT-InsuranceAccounting

Total Cost of Owning and Managing Options Market Data

A new service of the SpiderRock trading and risk platform provides institutional investors with a system to buy accurate options data tailored to specific trading use cases. This white paper focuses on best practices to give useful information to potential clients while showcasing the firm’s expertise and leadership in options market data.
https://bit.ly/SpiderRockOptionsDataOwnership

Increased Business Competitiveness and Software Developer Productivity

Emerging technology solutions entail the most risk and, as a result, often require more detailed explanation. This is especially true when selling to business executives and technology leaders in an enterprise market. We developed this brief to educate potential customers and internal stakeholders on what infrastructure-as-code can provide to software development teams.
https://bit.ly/CanrightTechBrief-Serverless

Our clients work with the technologies that are determining the shape of business, commerce, and finance. We help them market and sell their ideas, innovations, products, and solutions through clear communications.

Contact me at (312) 281-6262 or collin@canrightcommunications.com to see how we can help you.

The Art of Gracious Networking

Growing up, I remember wanting to learn how to be social. I was shy, but I wanted to engage with people, be seen and be heard, and have good manners, to boot.

So I started reading Emily Post, who was basically the bible of good manners at that time, and then later moved on to Judith Martin’s column called “Miss Manners” in the late 1970s. Any questions I had on etiquette—how to write a thank-you letter, how to be a courteous guest—I would do my best to follow their lead. When I found myself thinking about networking and the next blog I would write, I realized there are a few things that matter most to me when meeting new people. First and foremost, I believe all people deserve respect. It’s one of my core values, and it’s why I care so much about good manners—all those guides to good manners took the lead from a belief in respect for others.

Years later, and my manners have served me well. I’ve grown, and I’ve learned how to engage more meaningfully with people in social situations. One of my biggest takeaways is that a gracious, interested conversationalist always has a step up in social situations. I strive to engage in that way. My my beliefs come from within, I still seek advice from other sources. My own personal development has been boosted by the leadership work I do at the Wright Foundation, which I credit for helping me better engage with others, be myself when I approach new people and be curious about those that I meet.

I’m still trying to learn to be as gracious as I can be, so I’m always thrilled to hear about tips on engagement and manners from other networking aficionados. Here are a few tips I enjoyed about being gracious from around the Web:

Three Gracious Networking “Do’s”

1. Make a point to say goodbye. 
agree with what Tamsin Lejeune, founder of Ethical Fashion Forum, told Marie Claire Magazine: “Making as much as an effort with your ‘goodbye’ as with your ‘hello,’ means people remember you for all the right reasons. It’s also a great way to show that you’ve valued speaking to them…”

For starters, it’s good manners, and it’s another way to acknowledge the people that you met. Saying “goodbye” is a bigger a deal than most people realize. I also call it classy.

2. Be generous. I loved what former presidential advisor Christine Comaford had to say about networking. “I do a lot of favors for people, because I believe in ‘palm-up’ networking,” Comaford told Tim Ferris, which she describes as a “networking to give” philosophy. Networking is about offering what you can do for people, not first asking what people can do for you.

3. Embrace learning opportunities. It’s important to remember that most people, when asked, want to help others. That’s why I liked what Mindy Lockard wrote in a blog post called The Gracious Girl’s Guide to Networking:

“Some of the best networking happens because we ask others to teach us. So often we think that by networking, we have to sell ourselves as the experts. But let’s be honest, there is very little humility in that.”

None of us are going to be experts in everything, so why should we be afraid to ask for help or advice? You never know what lengths someone will go to help you. It’s assuming others want to help and have good will for you.

Turn Conference Visitors into Engaged Prospects

Once the conference is over, the zoom meeting ended or the booths packed away, what’s next? It’s time to follow up with the people you met and the contacts you collected.

Banks and FinTech firms often like to talk about the latest products, platform, app, and everything they do. Don’t do it. Business executives really don’t care.

Instead, make your marketing follow-up personal: include links to stories related to what you learned at the show about the industry and its future. You’ll find those stories in the conversations you had and presentations you heard at the conferences.

Here’s how one company strategically used content from its event in its ongoing marketing follow up. To build a reputation as a go-to source of FinTech knowledge in wealth management, Morningstar:

  • Commissioned us to write a follow-up article on one of its FinTech forums to summarize the key points on how FinTech delivers value.
  • Hired a videographer to produce a story on the event experience, from the street in Lower Manhattan up to the Morningstar’s World Trade Center 4 offices, where the event took place.
  • Included interviews with panelists and attendees to provide further insights.
  • Posted the event coverage on social media and asked panelists to share it.

Take a look at the result: Morningstar FinTech Forum video

Get a marketing boost from your conference or event. Call Collin Canright at (773) 426-7000 or email him at collin@canrightcommunications.com.

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