The Frankfurt School Blockchain Center (FSBC): “Shaping a Digital Future in Blockchain” (Jan Carlos Janke – Lucerne University of Applied Sciences & Arts & Philipp Sandner, Frankfurt School Blockchain Center).

The blockchain industry is shaking up the traditional financial system and bringing countless new products and solutions to market. However, there are still many challenges to be solved. Companies are therefore taking the challenges into their own hands, reshaping the industry and designing new models for success. The Frankfurt School Blockchain Center sees its role here as offering motivated entrepreneurs, executives, and young professionals a wide range of educational opportunities, consulting, events, and industry insights so that these interested parties can help shape the industry with the right know-how and thus drive digitalization in Europe.

Authors: Jan Carlos Janke, Philipp Sandner

Introduction

The crypto industry and its innovations are steadily advancing. There are now exciting global developments, as can be seen in the example of El Salvador’s pioneering role, where Bitcoin was introduced as the national currency. Now, other countries are following suit, such as the Central African Republic and Panama, which are also introducing Bitcoin as a legal currency. Additionally, the number of startups in the crypto industry, as well as investments in Decentralized Ledger Technologies (DLT) and Decentralized Finance DeFi, is steadily increasing. Recently, topics such as Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) have also become very talked-about as they redefine the concepts of digital expression, culture, and ownership. However, it can also be observed that the rapidly evolving ecosystem makes it difficult for many to stay up to date with content.

The more the industry advances, the more often one encounters challenges that need to be solved together. Current industry challenges include

  • Resilience to hacks and security breaches,
  • clear guidelines for KYC/AML reporting while maintaining privacy,
  • Uniform clarification of tax regulations at the EU level,
  • reliable candidates for open jobs in the industry,
  • clear rules on how to enforce DAOs as a legal entity, and
  • establish reliable interoperability between Layer 1 ecosystems and real assets.

The challenge regarding Web 3.0 and cryptocurrencies in Germany is to drive digital socialization and develop expertise. Shaping technological progress is essential for Frankfurt am Main as a business location, for Germany, and Europe. The Frankfurt School Blockchain Center contributes to this by providing a platform for managers, start-ups, technology, and industry experts to exchange new insights and best practices. With our partners, we work on innovative concepts regarding Decentral Finance (DeFi), Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC), and digital transformation. FSBC’s portfolio spans research, consulting, education and events.

Philipp Sandner: “The future is decentralized: Blockchain will change our society, turn companies and the financial sector upside down, and also the way we deal with and live diversity in leadership and technology. It is now up to each of us to be part of this change.”

Jan Carlos Janke: “Blockchain, specifically digital identities and DeFi considering NFTs and DAOs will dramatically change the future. Either business areas will adapt to an ever-faster pace of change or disruption is inevitable. Accordingly, the Frankfurt School Blockchain Center aims to actively shape the industry.”

Goals and Projects of the Frankfurt School Blockchain Center

What is the Frankfurt School Blockchain Center? The FSBC is a think tank and research center primarily focused on exploring the impact of blockchain technology. In addition to general research and prototype development, FSBC organizes numerous educational opportunities for students and executives, including on-campus courses, workshops, and conferences.

What is the focus? Currently, FSBC focuses on crypto-assets, digital securities, the digital euro, tokenization of assets, Decentralized Finance (DeFi), and Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs).

Which projects? Specifically, we are hosting the Crypto Assets Conference (CAC), the DLT Talents program to train women in the blockchain space, the DeFi Talents program, and the NFT Talents program, which will launch in June 2022… We have also co-founded the Digital Euro Association (DEA), the International Token Standardization Association (ITSA), the digital asset consulting firm INTAS.tech, and the DEC Institute as an organization that certifies blockchain knowledge among executives.

The following are some of FSBC’s initiatives:

Master in Blockchain & Digital Assets begins by explaining how blockchain technology can be the foundational infrastructure for the financial and capital markets of the future. This includes crypto assets and DLT solutions for businesses. Students will acquire the necessary skills and technical foundations to lead purposeful and IT-driven organizations undergoing financial, digital, and strategic transformation. The program is therefore specifically designed to meet the needs of managers or professionals who want to remain fully employed while studying while acquiring expertise to develop their business.

TheBlockchain Academy is the Knowledge Hub of the Frankfurt School Blockchain Center and includes free access to many videos from the conferences and events with our partners.TheBlockchain Academy is the perfect complement for a career boost. It is a comprehensive 12-hour course that explores in detail the three critical aspects of successful blockchain projects. Technology, Application, and Implementation are divided into 13 sections and 65 topics in the Blockchain Masterclass and represent the first important step into the world of Blockchain with subsequent certification.

Crypto Asset Conference is a leading European crypto conference for building professional networks. This conference brings together a wide range of industry experts and thought leaders to discuss current trends in DLT, blockchain, and crypto-assets at the highest level through presentations, discussions, and pitches. These have seen a significant surge in popularity in recent years, both on a private and institutional level. Panel discussions will cover a wide range of crypto topics, including bitcoin, decentralized finance, digital securities, and their infrastructure, as well as the digital euro and digital identity in decentralized networks.

The DLT Talents program promotes ambitious women for leadership roles in the blockchain space, as the blockchain community is 90% male-dominated and the program aims to change that. The program is free of charge for female participants. You can apply to participate at this link.

The “DeFi Talents” program has recently been launched and supports young and innovative talents in the field of Decentralized Finance (DeFi). The program empowers motivated individuals to immerse and participate in blockchain technology and DeFi in particular. In this way, participants achieve the foundation for a successful career in the blockchain industry. The program is free of charge for participants. If interested in participating, simply apply here.

The “Digital Asset Management” seminar series is specifically tailored to executives who want to help shape the future of the financial industry. It was developed in cooperation with the ifb Group. The speakers of the seminars are leading blockchain experts and entrepreneurs in the field of blockchain. The program consists of four blocks, each covering technological, and legal aspects, as well as use cases and a practical consolidation. In the final colloquium, the use cases will be presented and discussed. In addition to the topic of blockchain, the focus here will also be on intensive networking between the participants and speakers.

The International Token Standardization Association (ITSA) has set itself the task of analyzing the dynamically growing field of tokens and developing approaches for standardization. The creation of a database that combines the analysis of crypto tokens, token identification, and classification data with market and blockchain data, and the definition of standards for global token markets is essential. Increasing transparency in the handling of tokens and understanding their categorization is the focus.

The Digital Euro Association (DEA) is a think tank focused on the digital euro in various forms: Digital Central Bank Currencies (CBDCs), stablecoins, and other forms are the topic. DEA’s mission is to contribute to public and policy discourse through research and education and to create a platform and community for policymakers, technology experts, and economists to discuss issues around digital money.

INTAS.tech is a digital assets consultancy combining broad and relevant expertise from business with science and technology. Here, the focus is on the integration and handling of digital assets for financial companies and digital asset strategy. INTAS.tech integrates digital assets along all dimensions of the entire value chain. This includes the design and technical implementation of a digital asset strategy, e.g. portfolio modeling,

The DEC Institute is a society and association founded and supported by leading academic institutions with a strong focus on blockchain technologies, including University College London, Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, Politecnico di Milano Graduate School of Business, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, and Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. The goal of the DEC Institute is to create a professional certification program for professionals working in the field of distributed ledger technologies and digital assets. DEC Institute has therefore launched the world’s first programs for charterholders in 2021, the Chartered Blockchain Expert 1 – CBX® and the Chartered Digital Asset Analyst 1 – CDAA®.

The newsletter supports through emails to find into the whole blockchain topic. Furthermore, it provides you with an overview of various presentations from the Crypto Asset Conference and reports on industry news.

The team of the Frankfurt School Blockchain Center is looking forward to a discourse on blockchain technology – from Bitcoin, DeFi, Smart Contracts, NFTs, Oracles, interoperability to the digital Euro, and other exciting topics.


About the authors

Jan Carlos Janke, double Msc. EADA and EBS, is an entrepreneur, investor, and research associate at HSLU, as well as was at FSBC at Frankfurt School. He is responsible for business development and is a project manager. He is the managing director of a PropTechs. Furthermore, he has several years of professional experience as a management consultant in the field of family office, as well as private equity. He is an expert in digital asset management with a focus on DeFi, blockchain, and smart contract-based financial markets.

Jan Carlos Janke is the project manager of the Swiss Digital Finance Conference 2022.

Prof. Dr. Philipp Sandner founded the Frankfurt School Blockchain Center (FSBC). From 2018 to 2021, he was listed as one of the “Top 30” economists in Germany by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ). He was also among the “Top 40 under 40” – a ranking by the German business magazine Capital. He was a member of the FinTech Council and the Digital Finance Forum of the Federal Ministry of Finance in Germany. He is also on the board of FiveT Fintech Fund, 21e6 Capital, and Blockchain Founders Group – companies active in venture capital financing for blockchain startups and crypto investment management.

Prof. Sandner’s expertise includes blockchain technology in general, crypto-assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, decentralized finance (DeFi), the digital euro, tokenization of assets and rights, and digital identity.

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