Blockchain influencers you should be following already

As blockchain innovation is seeping in from all corners of the world, we bring you the list with some of the most influential thinkers in the blockchain sphere. Read further for a list of blockchain influencers and decide on who to keep on your radar for good. Over the last few years, people from all walks of life - technologists, investors, policymakers, visionaries, etc. have wandered in to explore the blockchain space. And it’s quite a normal course of events, as the biggest institutions and businesses in the world, like Facebook or IBM, are looking into how this technology could improve or be an addition to their services. The following list of blockchain influencers is by no means comprehensive, and there are many influential profiles out there that weren’t included at the moment. But without further ado, let’s get to the list of people from whose insights we just can’t get enough:Dr. Daniel Diemers has a long career serving clients in the financial services industry across Europe and the Middle East. His professional path has evolved in organizations and companies such as Strategy&, Booz & Company, PwC, Swiss Finance + Technology Association, F10 Fintech Incubator & Accelerator and Blockchain Taskforce of Swiss Federal Council. Recently, he has switched roles and taken up the role of Board Member at FiCAS AG, a specialized crypto-asset investment firm from Switzerland. Daniel has experience over a wide variety of industries where blockchain technology could be a game-changer, such as retail and wholesale banking, private banking and wealth management, consumer finance, and insurance. Within these areas, his preferred themes are growth strategies, market entry/ regional expansion, digital innovation/ FinTech, operating model optimization, and risk & regulatory management. As the Dr. indicates, Daniel Diemers also has a distinguished academic track record during which he worked on collaborative, technology-enabled business models for knowledge management, and, more generally, on the social impact of new media. To follow Dr. Daniel Diemers and the important work he does in the blockchain ecosystem you can follow him on LinkedIn or Twitter.Dr. Philipp Sandner directs the Blockchain Center of Frankfurt School of Finance & Management. In 2018 and 2019, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung ranked him among the top 30 economists. He was also among the “Top 40 under 40” ranking of Capital, a German business magazine. As the short resumé in the first paragraph indicates, Dr. Philipp Sandner’s list of achievements is nothing short of impressive. He has profound knowledge in the fields of crypto assets (Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc.), tokenization of assets and rights and digital identity. He is also one of the leading figures of the digital programmable Euro initiative, which we have covered in more detail in this blog. As the head of the Frankfurt School Blockchain Center (FSBC), he supervises the activities of the think tank and the research into the implications of blockchain technology for the business world. One of their functions is to offer insights and advice to financial institutions, corporations and startups. Besides the research activity, the FSBC aims to be a platform that permits technology experts and industry professionals to share their knowledge and best practices with each. Philipp Sander has been and continues to be active in several European and Swiss Blockchain initiatives, such as the working groups of the EU Blockchain Observatory established by the European Union and Fintech Council (FinTechRat) of the Federal Ministry of Finance. He co-founded the German Blockchain Association, the International Token Standardization Association (ITSA), and the Multichain Asset Managers Association. As for his academic achievements, Philipp Sandner has been involved with the Technical University Munich, the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich and the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology as a research fellow. Too keep an eye on the Philipp Sander and his blockchain initiatives, check him out on Medium, Twitter or Linkedin.Dr. Guenther Dobrauz - if there’s anyone who knows about all the most recent regulations in the cryptosphere, it’s Guenther. He is the Leader or PwC Legal Switzerland, Partner at PwC Zurich, member of PwC’s Global Legal Leadership Team, PwC‘s Global Financial Services Legal Leader and former Global LegalTech Leader. In these roles he has gathered experience difficult to match in global legal practice applied to finance and new technologies. His main topics of interest are authorization, ongoing lifecycle management of financial intermediaries and their products and, above all, technological innovation and exponential technologies. Guenhter is a firm believer that moving towards a decentralization will help with the democratization of many resources and processes, but for it to be successful, it’s important to get the legal design right. Circular economy and sustainability are also goals close to his heart. He is a Law Doctor from Johannes Kepler Universität Linz and has also attended Harvard Business and Law Schools for venture capital and private equity and leadership in law firms programs, respectively. His long list of publications includes books on innovation and disruption, books on European, Swiss and Liechtenstein regulation and over 100 articles in international expert magazines. To be in the know of the latest in regulations that shape the blockchain sphere, follow Guenther on Linkedin or Twitter.Now is also your chance to learn under the tutelage of those influential minds. The Global Master's in Blockchain Technologies brings together an impressive representation of the blockchain influencers' generation who is shaping the present a future reality of the technology.