Blockchain Center

The Frankfurt School Blockchain Center is a think tank and research center which investigates implications of the blockchain technology, crypto assets and distributed ledger technology (DLT) for companies and their business models. Besides the development of prototypes, it serves as a platform for managers, startups, technology and industry experts to share knowledge and best practices. The Blockchain Center also provides new research impulses and develops trainings for students and executives. It focuses on banking, finance, mobility and, “Industrie 4.0”.

Conference “Tokenization of assets, securities, debt, equity: from issuance to trading” on September 23, 2019, in Frankfurt: We will hold a half-day conference in Frankfurt focusing on tokenization. Tokenization is the process of bringing existing rights and assets on the blockchain. At this point in time, tokens are mainly crypto assets such as Bitcoin or Ethereum. In the future, debt, equity, bonds, other securities, all kinds of assets and the Euro will be “tokenized” as will. First companies are tokenizing first assets beyond crypto assets. This event presents some of these companies and their projects.
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"Crypto Asset Conference 2020" from March 09 to March 10, 2020, in Frankfurt: The Frankfurt School Blockchain Center organizes the third edition of the Crypto Assets Conference. At the two-day event, +50 seasoned speakers and professionals from the emerging scene of crypto assets and the traditional financial industry meet to discuss the latest insights of the blockchain technology. The conference will cover a wide range of topics such as DLT in the financial sector, crypto currencies, ICOs, crypto funds, tokens of decentral business models, securitization and more. The Crypto Assets Conference is designed to provide participants not only with cutting edge discussions but also networking opportunities to explore new business models and jump-start their blockchain-based projects. The event blends together keynotes, different tracks and exciting talks lead by experts such as Dirk Bullmann (European Central Bank), Christoph Kreiterling (BaFin), Dr Martin Diehl (Deutsche Bundesbank), Michael Spitz (Commerzbank), Marcel Milde (Siemens), Jens Hachmeister (Deutsche Boerse), Dr. Shermin Voshmgir (Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien).
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Course "Certified Blockchain Expert" from September 25, 2019, to January 20, 2020, in Frankfurt: This course is designed for everybody who wants to acquire IT and business skills in blockchain technology. The course has an IT track and a business track such that it is suitable for both IT experts and business developers who seek to understand blockchain technology and crypto currencies. Among others, we focus on the Ethereum and the Hyperledger platforms. From an IT perspective, this includes writing smart contracts and decentralised applications (DApps). Further, from a business perspective, we provide an understanding of the variety of possible blockchain use cases and business models. The program consists of two 4-day weeks and a final term paper.
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Research

• Joint research projects with corporates

• Studies on blockchain applications

• Compiling technical whitepapers

Community

• Well established network in the DLT/blockchain ecosystem in Germany, Europe and Asia

• Organization of conferences, meetups, seminars and webinars

• Workshops for top managers and decision makers

Education

• Lectures about DLT and blockchain for bachelor, master and MBA courses

• Supervision of theses on various blockchain-related topics

• Certificate program to become a blockchain experts

• Digital Innovation and Fintech: dedicated bachelor program

Prototypes

• Development of prototypes in Ethereum, Hyperledger, R3 Corda, and IOTA

• Decision support with regard to (i) organizational and (ii) architectural IT decisions

• Support with implementation of blockchain solutions

Startups

• Advising startups on DLT/blockchain related topics

• Establishment of B2B or investor contacts for startups

• Support for marketing and public relations

MAMA is a trade body which represents asset management companies, investors, technology providers, service providers and ecosystem players interested in working towards a new vision for asset management using blockchain and other supporting decentralized technologies.
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The International Token Standardization Association (ITSA) is a non-profit organization aiming at the development and implementation of market standards for the identification, classification, and analysis of DLT- and blockchain-based cryptographic tokens, including the International Token Identification Number (ITIN), the International Token Classification (ITC) framework and the International Token Database (TOKENBASE).
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The Blockchain Bundesverband (Blockchain Association Germany) promotes the use of blockchain technology at the business location Germany. The association represents the interests of startups and companies that want to develop business models based on blockchain technology.
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The European Union Blockchain Observatory and Forum is a two-year initiative created by the European Commission in February 2018, aiming to support blockchain innovation and the development of the blockchain ecosystem within the EU.
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The Austrian Blockchain Center‘s mission is to establish itself as the one-stop-shop Austrian Research Center for Blockchain and related technologies focusing on the industrial application in areas such as industry 4.0 and IoT as well as financial, energy, logistics, government, and administrative applications.
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The International Association for Trusted Blockchain Applications, INATBA, provides users and developers of DLT a worldwide forum to exchange views and opinions with regulators and policymakers.
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The Crypto Country Association Liechtenstein is supporting the blockchain and cryptocurrency sectors in Liechtenstein. The goal is to organize the application and dissemination of blockchain-related matters as well as establishing quality assurance.
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Trust Square is offering a network of experts in the field of blockchain technology, bringing together entrepreneurs, businesses, investors as well as academics and researchers in an open and diverse environment.
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DEC DLT Education Consortium is a non-profit consortia project between academic and professional organizations for international knowledge exchange, education programs, professional certificates and industry research on distributed ledger technologies.
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The Convergence Alliance is a group of leading enterprise partners, venture capitalists, technologists, start-ups and academic institutions driving the innovation around Web 3.0 through working groups, research, hackathons, and an annual dev con.
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Selected publications

Comparison of Ethereum, Hyperledger Fabric and Corda: With this paper, we provide a brief analysis of the most notable differences between the distributed ledger technologies (DLT) Hyperledger Fabric, R3 Corda and Ethereum. Our intention is to give decision makers new to DLT guidance for what use cases Hyperledger Fabric, Corda and Ethereum are most suitable. Read more.

Application of Blockchain Technology in the Manufacturing Industry: The following paper shows both the high potential of blockchain for the manufacturing and machine tool industry in the future, as well as the challenges that occur with that technology. Several use cases of blockchain technology will be presented and discussed in this paper. Furthermore, we want to show the conditions under which blockchain solutions might be most beneficial and if blockchain will become a key technology to transform many industries. Read more.

Solving Challenges in Developing Countries with Blockchain Technology: Blockchain technology can solve development problems as it improves existing instruments and enables the development of new ones. Blockchain-based applications particularly address institutional weaknesses and financial inclusion because they restrict deception, corruption and uncertainties. In the future, the blockchain can also be a development vehicle empowering people directly and mitigating power asymmetries. Read more.

Blockchain Technology in the Pharmaceutical Industry: With this paper, we present a blockchain-based solution to increase supply chain security for the pharmaceutical industry. Supply chain security is one aspect that has recently won attention, when the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) has been implemented in the U.S. to, amongst others, fight the counterfeit drug problem. During the second “{Life Science} meets IT” hackathon in Heidelberg a team of enthusiastic young professionals and students developed a prototype solution that is able to guard people’s life with a patient-empowering blockchain solution and won the first price with their prototype LifeCrypter. Read more.

Identifying Leading Blockchain Startups on a Worldwide Level:The blockchain startup ecosystem is unique for the interconnectedness amongst startups from different industries. Startups are in many cases the drivers of innovations. A comprehensive understanding and overview of a particular startup ecosystem can therefore be beneficial to understand which products or services are really demanded by customers. Read more.

Selected past projects

• Development of e-mobility prototype based on the blockchain technology with INVERS
• Proof of concept (PoC) on trading loans using Ethereum
• Blockchain workshop with the Advisory Board of the Deutsche Bank
• Blockchain workshop with the Board of LBBW
• Joint workshop with Deutsche Bundesbank (6th Central Banking Workshop on “Blockchain Technology: Opportunities and Challenges”)

Conferences and seminars

• Crypto Asset Conference in Frankfurt (CAC 2019)
• German Blockchain Week (GWB 2019)
• East West Crypto Conference (EWCC19)
• Crypto Startup School (CSS 2018)
• Course "Certified Blockchain Expert" (more information)
• IoT & Finance workshop in cooperation with Bosch
• 3. Forum: Blockchain im Finanzbereich

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