Today we’re launching a new blog where members of the OAX management team will share their thoughts on industry issues, give insights into different aspects of our work and generally keep you updated on what’s going on behind the scenes. First up is our General Manager, Amanda Liu.

The past couple of weeks saw two major conferences relevant to the digital asset community take place in Asia: Money20/20 in Singapore and TOKEN2049 in Hong Kong. I attended both on behalf of the OAX Foundation, and it’s clear that even in an industry as fast paced as ours, things are moving particularly quickly. This makes projects like ours all the more important.

These were my first conferences representing the OAX Foundation, and were a great way to introduce myself and the Foundation’s work to a wide range of people. It’s important that we do this as much as possible ahead of Consensus in May so we can make the most there of what is a truly global event for blockchain technology. But while regional, these latest were no less significant in their own right.

While I’ve been to many conferences in my previous banking roles, the energy and interaction amongst the delegates at both Money20/20 and TOKEN2049 really made them stand out. This was evident in the conversations I had with attendees, who came from across the banking and fintech communities, as well as from the media.

All the people I spoke to were interested in the OAX project, our aims and the progress we’ve made to date. Our proposition was made all the more compelling by the fact that payment channels, artificial intelligence and digital security were topics spotlighted again and again. So too was the theme of banks needing to speed up their technology development to cope with a financial industry being transformed by blockchain.

While these themes are nothing new to those of us at the heart of that transformation, both conferences put the situation clearly into perspective and highlighted our competitive advantage. What I think came across clearly was the need for everyone in the financial services industry to keep an open mind about innovation, and to look for ways to use it intelligently.

In fact, through the conversations we’re having at events like these, it’s becoming more and more evident that decentralized platforms are the future of digital asset trading. Many family offices and venture capital firms want to invest in digital assets, but they will only select those with the best governance and practices, managed by a strong and experienced team. This is where the OAX Foundation comes in, with our focus on delivering innovation combined with the highest standards of governance and transparency.

Conferences like Money20/20 and TOKEN2049 are an important opportunity for us to tell our story, gain the support of figures and organisations central to the industry, and be inspired ourselves. As we build up to Consensus in May, we’ll be taking every opportunity to promote the work we’re doing, further building support for our vision of an open, transparent and decentralized exchange for digital assets.