Coming to BlockCon: Liz Steininger

The Blockchain Convention, BlockCon, in Santa Monica this October is looking to be a phenomenal event with an amazing list of speakers already on board

In the days ahead we plan on doing interviews with a select few of the movers and shakers that will be attending to address the state of the industry

Today I’m speaking with Liz Steininger, CEO and managing director of Least Authority, a blockchain storage solution aimed at empowering individuals to protect their personal data from governments and corporate interests

Liz, thank you for taking the time for this interview. You’re coming to Los Angeles from Berlin, right? How is the crypto scene in Germany at present?

No problem. I appreciate the opportunity to speak to you

Yes, I am coming from Berlin. Crypto as in cryptography is amazing here and crypto as in digital currency, is growing. There are some interesting projects happening here. The Berlin tech scene, in general, continues drawing people to it

Switzerland, right next door, has certainly been very forward thinking and is fostering a hot crypto scene. Have you had contact with any of those efforts?

Yes, Switzerland is certainly putting forth effort to make it a welcoming place for cryptocurrency. It is interesting to see how the various countries are regulating cryptocurrency. It seems like we hear news on this every week, lately

yes, the media is starting to pick up on the crypto world, which I think is only going to add fuel to the fire. You used to manage a portfolio of projects for the Open Technology Fund before joining Least Authority. Why did you leave to concentrate on a single project?

Yes, being part of the funding selection and management process was a very good experience. I personally enjoyed working with the different projects and found it very fulfilling to help them progress their efforts, especially because they are doing such important work

One thing I have noticed over the years and different roles, is that many open source projects struggle to grow from proof-of-concept level development by a small team to an easy-to-use and fully supported tool that could be used by many people. These projects need more than…