Blockchain North founder, Florent Thévenin, in conversation with the Vice President of the Canadian Blockchain Consortium (CBC), Jade Alberts, at the VirgoCX Kick-Off Party for the Blockchain Futurist Conference in Toronto, 2023.
Jade: The CBC is here to unite, educate, and bring the blockchain community in Canada together.
Flo: You operate what I would call the de facto national association for blockchain.
Jade: I think that’s fair to say.
Flo: With a growing membership, what are some of the trends that you’re observing in terms of your membership? In terms of the topics of discussion at events like this?
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That’s a very good question. We’re up to about 89 members now, and what we’re seeing is not only the federal government but provincial governments kind of want one voice.
We’re that company or organization that’s able to bring everybody together, put them in front of the PMOs office or the leader of opposition or in front of provincial governments, and make sure that they understand and educate the leaders of our country making the decisions on how to properly regulate this industry.
Is it working?
We think so. Obviously our home base is in Alberta and Premier Smith understands our industry quite well.
What’s the state of the Alberta crypto ecosystem today?
We’re very happy with Premier Smith getting a full mandate for it. She’s very crypto-friendly. We’re moving forward. We are just about to announce that we are going to be put on a provincial minister’s mandate, which is big for us.
What is your take on the state of crypto regulation and maybe even dare I say, government support, for crypto in Canada?
The one thing I love about Canadians is that, from what we see, our government officials are willing to listen. It’s not like the SEC where everybody just yells and screams and whoever’s loudest gets the press of the day.
When we have the Deloittes and Osler sitting at the tables, these government officials understand that this is already going on. People are using these organizations. They’re very credible organizations, and we’re having open discussions about how we should bring in regulations. That’s exactly how we want it.
Final message to wrap us up?
That’s a tough one. You know what? Be positive. Think crypto. Make sure that you follow the education that we’re giving at the CBC. You’re going to love what we’re doing.
