January Newsletter

Welcome to the January NewsletterHighlights This Month

  • Leadership Update
    • GBA Board Elections
  • BMM Update
    • First Decentralized ID Solution Achieves BMM Maturity Level One
  • Events Update
    • Future of Money, Governance &the Law
    • Annual Achievement Awards
    • Blockchain & Infrastructure Conference
    • Blockchain & Infrastructure Monthly Webinar
  • Partner Events
    • Paris Blockchain Week
    • UN Internet Governance Forum – Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • Membership Update
    • Global Operations
    • Working Group Updates
  • Training Update
    • Blockchain Foundations (Free for Members)
    • Intro to Blockchain Maturity Model
    • Solving the Distributed Energy Dilemma with Blockchain (Free for Members)
    • Digital Asset Management Course (Washington, DC)
Leadership- Board Elections
Board ElectionsThere are currently three vacancies on the GBA Board. We will be hosting elections to fill those vacancies. For more information about the Board, serving on the Board or the elections, please log onto the GBA website and go to GBA Board of Directors Page. (only visible to logged in GBA members).

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BMM UpdateFirst Decentralized ID Solution Achieves BMM Maturity Level 1

Congratulations to EarthID, a decentralized identity management solution for their accomplishment! Read the announcement for more details. EarthID will be listed as a trusted blockchain solution by the United Nations Internet Governance Forum Dynamic Coalition of Blockchain Assurance& Standardization.

To find out how to have your solution listed, send an email to BMM@GBAglobal.org.

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Events UpdateThe Future of Money, Governance, and the Law
The Future of Money, Governance, and the Law is coming, May 2-3, 2024.The conference features an incredible lineup of speakers including:

  • Dino Cataldo Dell’Accio, United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF), Chief Information Officer (CIO)
  • Corey Then, Circle, Vice President of Global Policy
  • Don Tapscott, Best Selling Author and Blockchain Research Institute Co-Founder
  • Ric Edelman, Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals (DACFP), Founder
  • Kyle Hauptman, National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), Vice Chair
  • Markus Veith, Grant Thornton LLP (US), Partner for National Digital Assets, Blockchain & Web3 Industry
  • Dr David Utzke, IRS Criminal Investigations Cybercrimes HQ, Federal Agent & Digital Asset Fraud Manager (Retired)
  • Michael Henson, Perkins Coie LLP, Partner, Intellectual Property Practice
  • Paul F. Dowding, GBA Banking & Financial Services Working Group Leader
  • Gabriella Kusz, Association for Women in Cryptocurrency, Board Member
  • Stacey Ferris, GBA -Digital Asset Management Working Group, Co-Leader
  • Alice Etim, Winston-Salem State University, Full Professor of Management Information Systems
  • Nabeel Malik, Cryptolitics, a Cryptocurrency Hedge Fund, CEO

The Future of Money, Governance, and the Law will be THE conference for Digital Asset Management. Following the SEC’s approval of Spot Bitcoin ETFs, Bitcoin momentum is growing. SEC’s approval allows the mega custodial money houses to recommend and hold cryptocurrency for their clients. This change is going to open an entirely new industry for digital asset managers. Once again, the GBA is right in the middle of the action.

Tickets for The Future of Money, Governance, and the Law are available now.

Annual Achievement AwardsThe Future of Money, Governance, and the Law is also the home of the Annual Achievement  Awards.

Who do you recommend?

Nomination forms are open until February 29, 2024.

Blockchain & InfrastructureExploring AI & Quantum

Coming September 26-27, 2024, Blockchain & Infrastructure is GBA’s event for technology including healthcare, transportation, voting, energy, identity, supply chain, and communications. Remember, this event will happen about 1/12 months before the national presidential election.

Speaker Volunteer Applications are now being accepted.

Blockchain & Infrastructure Monthly SeminarsWorking Groups will present a one-hour Zoom Call highlighting their accomplishments called Blockchain & Infrastructure. This call, held every 2nd Thursday, is highly interactive and open to the public.

The Monthly Topics are:

  • January- Gaming
  • February- Healthcare & Life Sciences
  • March- Voting
  • April- Banking & Finance
  • May- Digital Asset Management
  • June- Identity Management
  • July- Cybersecurity
  • August- Investors & Startups
  • September- Artificial Intelligence
  • October- Smart Cities
  • November- Land Titling
  • December- Standards &Certification
Partner EventsParis Blockchain Week

Join Dino Cataldo Dell’Accio as he shares his experience building blockchain solutions for the United Nations with a global audience of blockchain pioneers at Le Carrousel Du Louvre in Paris on April 9-11, 2024.

For details go to the Paris Blockchain Website.

UN Internet Governance Forum (IGF)The GBA is planning to send members to the UN Internet Governance Forum in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on 15-19 December 2024. For more information visit the IGF Blockchain Assurance & Standardization Dynamic Coalition page on the GBA website.

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Member UpdatesGlobal Operations

The GBA is establishing partnerships around the world including BMM Assessment Partners (BAPs) in Central & South America, Europe, and the Middle East. We are partnering with educational institutions in India and Central America. We are also working with and supporting multi-stakeholder organizations like the United Nations.

Working Group NewsWorking Groups are on the move and developing BMM industry specific standards. This will allow WGs to generate income, improve GBA products, and gain the attention of the global community.
Working Groups are coordinating with Javon Swint to accomplish three goals.

  • Develop BMM Supplemental Standards. However, members of the working group are encouraged to take the Intro to BMM Online Course for the foundational knowledge to work on and develop these supplements.
  • Blockchain Resource Pages – Each working group is being asked to develop a resource page as a way to promote their members. For an example, see the Voting Resource Page.
  • Establishing Subject Matter Expertise(SME) criteria, training, and tests.

Below are some highlights of specific working groups.

Artificial Intelligence

The AI group has drafted the AI BMM Supplement, and it is now available for public comment. You can download it and provide comments on the BMM Documents Page.

Asset Management

This group has two projects in development. They are:

1)      Development of the Blockchain & Digital Asset Management Course. This course provides students with a comprehensive understanding of digital asset management. Students will learn the legal, financial, economic, and governance aspects essential for responsible digital asset management. Students will learn the principles and issues related to the management of digital assets enabling them to navigate jurisdictional variations and learn when to seek professional advice.

2)      Development of a BMM Token Supplement to evaluate the trustworthiness of a Token. This project will being done in coordination with the Mining & Cryptocurrency Working Group.

Banking & Financial Services

This group is developing blockchain training for banking & financial services based on the requirements described in the Banking & Financial Services BMM Supplement.

Blockchain Application Architecture

This group is responsible for implementing the technology used by the GBA. The BAA WG group currently has 6 projects. They are:

  • Establishment of a Decision Analysis & Resolution Process to select technology solutions for the GBA.
  • Establishing a GBA document & data repository
  • Establishing a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) System
  • Coordinating with CompTIA on the development of Blockchain Technology Training & Certification
  • The University of Chicago Tech Team is providing a team of approximately 15 Computes Science students to build technology for the GBA.
  • The GBA is exploring establishing a blockchain for the United Nations IGF Dynamic Coalition on Blockchain Assurance& Standardization

Gaming

The Gaming Group is about to release the Gaming BMM Supplement for review. They are looking for blockchain-based solutions to pilot the BMM Gaming Supplement. Who will be the first solution to have a GBA BMM Gaming Rating?

Governance (DAO)

This group is developing a BMM DAO Supplement to support the DAO currently in production by GBA member, GOSH, to support the UN IGF Dynamic Coalition on Blockchain Assurance & Standardization. The goal will be to perform a BMM DAO assessment as criteria to formally establish a permanent DAO.

Healthcare

The group meets every Thursday. To see the details log into the GBA website and visit the Healthcare Calendar Event. Note: You can only see the event if you are logged into the GBA website.  Please be sure to create your own calendar reminder. If you have any problems or questions, message marquis.allen@clinicalsquared.com

Housing

The GBA Housing WG meets on Fridays. Find out about the Housing Blockchain Network on February 2 & 16 at 1:00 PM to learn about this project.

Identity Management

The ID Management group has drafted the Identity Management BMM Supplement, and it is now available for public comment. You can download this supplement and provide comments on the BMM Documents Page.

International Organizations & Standards

This group is currently supporting the United Nations Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Dynamic Coalition on Blockchain Assurance & Standardization. This group has several active projects including:

Investors & Startups

This group is for individuals or organizations interested in starting a new blockchain project or entity or are seeking to scale their existing entity in the US or globally. It also includes individuals and groups that are interested in learning about new funding or investing in blockchain based initiatives. For details log onto the GBA website and go to Investor & Startup Calendar Event (only available to logged in GBA members)

Land Titling

This group is drafting the Land Titling BMM Supplement. Contact Muhammad Saleem for details.

Legal

This group focuses on developing informational materials and events to help people understand the legal impacts of blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies.

Quantum

Attend the kickoff meeting on January 31st at 2:00 PM (New York). Log into the GBA website and visit the Quantum & Blockchain Kickoff Meeting (members only).

Smart Cities

This group meets on the second Tuesday of each month from 6pm-7pm (New York). Visit the Smart City Event Calendar Page.

Standards & Certifications

This group is collecting the lessons learned and feedback from the first several BMM assessments and preparing to publish the next version of the BMM.

Space

This group will have their inaugural meeting on Jan. 31 at 1:00 PM (New York). For details log onto the GBA website and visit the Space Working Group Calendar Event.

Spanish

This working group is actively translating GBA assets like the BMM into Spanish and extending GBA benefits into the Spanish speaking world.

Universities & Colleges

This group is not yet active. However, we are looking for ways to engage with students and educational institutions.

Voting

The Voting Working group is currently working on the process and technology to execute the GBA Board Elections.

To see what all the Working Groups are doing, check out the Working Group News.

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TrainingOnline Training

Blockchain Foundations (Free for Members)

Intro to Blockchain Maturity Model

Solving the Distributed Energy Dilemma with Blockchain

(Free for Members)

Instructor Led TrainingDigital Asset Management Course will provide a comprehensive understanding of digital asset management. Students will learn the legal, financial, economic, and governance aspects essential for responsible digital asset management, including related principles and issues.

Go to Training Page for Schedule and Details.

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Communicate with GBAI hope you enjoyed this newsletter.

To send your news for next months’ letter, log into GBA and send your comments or your news to www.gbaglobal.org/feedback

The videos from Blockchain & Infrastructure are upon the GBA YouTube Channel. Make sure to subscribe to the GBA YouTube channel to have access to our videos and training.  www.youtube.com/@GBAorg.

That’s it for January.

As you can see, we’re keeping GBA on fast track for an action-packed year. I invite you to come along for the ride.

Until next time,

Gerard Dache’

Executive Director

Government Blockchain Association

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