UT-Austin Professor Poised To Explain, Demystify Blockchain

AUSTIN, TEXAS — The McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin will host Texas McCombs Presents: Blockchain is Not What You Think It Is on Friday, effectively answering everything you ever wanted to ask about the public ledger of cryptocurrency transactions but were afraid to ask.

Cesare Fracassi, director of the McCombs School of Business Blockchain Initiative and associate professor of finance, is scheduled to hold court during the talk slated for Friday, Nov. 30 from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.

The discussion is open to the public, but registrations have reached maximum level. Walk-ups will be admitted on a space-available basis, officials said. The venue is the Robert B. Rowling Hall, Crum Auditorium, RRH 1.400, 300 W. Martin Luther King Blvd. Parking will be available in the AT&T Conference Center Garage.

Those attending the talk, school officials say, will learn the following:

• How permissioned and permission-less blockchains work, and how they differ.

• The latest evidence on user adoption, and on the important step from use cases/proof of concept to production.
• A framework on how to respond when your boss asks whether blockchain is good for your company.

So what exactly is blockchain? Funny you should ask, as UT-Austin offers some information on that below:

BACKGROUND

Blockchain is a digitized, decentralized, public ledger of all cryptocurrency transactions. It provides authentication of transactions and assets, transparency and immutability without sacrificing privacy, and it provides security without the need of an expensive intermediary.

Blockchain has attracted attention across a variety of fields such as financial services, supply chain, real estate, currency, health care, social and environmental initiatives and the sharing economy. It is considered a disruptive technology that has the potential to transform how business is conducted, much like the internet. Yet blockchain also poses significant policy, technological and adoption challenges.

In June 2018, McCombs received a $2 million gift from the distributed-ledger currency exchange company Ripple to establish the McCombs Blockchain Initiative, a new effort to engage students, faculty members and the public in exploring and advancing the global blockchain ecosystem, officials added.

Those unable to attend or gain admittance are advised the presentation will be videotaped for later posting on both the business school's Big Ideas site and YouTube channel.

Fracassi joined the school in 2009. To read his bio, click here.

Get Patch's Daily Newsletters and Real Time Alerts

>>> Photo of Cesare Fracassi via The University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business