Groundwork

What happens when you put students, professors, industry leaders & policymakers in the same room to talk about the future of decentralized finance? 💡That's Groundwork. Rather than another industry conference, Groundwork is designed as a place for open dialogue. With panels, roundtables and networking, this one-day forum in partnership with Blockchain Association explores how industry and academia should build better bridges for teaching and responsibly integrating DeFi into the future of finance. The event builds on the university initiative the 1inch team has been leading across the United States this year, including an open letter to universities co-signed by 20 leading crypto companies and ReDefine Money - the first book to tell the story of DeFi through the voices of its founders. Learn the system you're about to inherit. 📅 Main stage agenda: Welcome note [12:30] DeFi Then, Now and Moving Forward [12:40-1:10 PM] Policy 101: Who Sets the Rules for DeFi? [1:15-1:45] Curriculum 2.0: What Should Universities Teach About the Future of Finance? [1:50-2:20] Everything, Tokenized: What Happens When Assets Move Onchain? [3:00-3:30] Breaking Things on Purpose: How Do We Build Financial Systems We Can Trust? [3:35-4:05] From Campus to Company: Building Before You Have It All Figured Out [4:10-4:40] AI Agents & Autonomous Finance [4:45-5:15] 💬 Roundtables: Crypto 101: Wallets, Transactions & Your First Swap [1 PM, 3PM, 5PM] Beyond Betting: The Case for Prediction Markets [1:00-1:45] Who Makes The Rules? Policy, Protocols & Governance [2:00-2:45] Ride The Wave or Build The Wave? How to Navigate Web3's Constant Reinvention [2:00-2:45] Perpetuals 101: How Onchain Derivatives Actually Work [3:00-3:45] Where Do I Fit? Careers in Digital Finance [4:00-4:45] 🎤 Confirmed speakers: Orest Gavryliak, Chief Legal Officer, 1inch Brian Nistler, Head of Policy/AGC, Protocol Growth, Uniswap Ian Carroll, Director, Technical Talent Acquisition, Circle Coy Garrison, Senior Director and Deputy General Counsel for Crypto, Robinhood Lindsay Fraser, Chief Policy Officer, The Blockchain Association Jessica Martinez, US Policy Director, Fireblocks Michael Mosier, Co-founder, Arktouros Jason Gottlieb, Partner & Chair, Digital Assets, Morrison Cohen Julie Lascar, Director, Policy and Government Affairs, Digital Asset Erik Retting, Global Head of Policy & Government Affairs, Rain Kartik Talwar, Co-founder, ETHGlobal Karim Hassan, Enterprise Solutions Specialist, Dune Gregory Johnson, Adjunct Professor, NYU Ronghui Gu, CS Associate Professor Columbia University, Co-founder of CertiK Gilberto Nazario, Founder of Web3DC, Stand With Crypto - Maryland Chapter President Liam Glennon, Head of North America Financial Institutions, TRM Hugo Stack, Co-Founder of Mecone Alexei Falin, COO, Aile / ex Co-Founder of Rarible Derek Horstmeyer, Professor of Finance at George Mason University's Costello College of Business Blake Duncan, the Lead Agent Experience Engineer, Alchemy Robin D Hanson, Assoc. Professor, Economics, George Mason University Harry Crane, Professor, Rutgers University Casey Golden, Co-Founder & CEO, ZeroShadow Kate Laurence, Founder, Bloccelerate Shai Sand, Founder, Mom3ntum / ex CPTO FIFA Collect Robert Chen, Ottersec, CEO Fiona Brennan, Co-founder, Cara Global Marko Stojanovic, President, Blockchain & Fintech Club at Fordham Julie Bautista, Student, GWU Law Nevan Sujit, Student, University of Pennsylvania Steven Thornton, Security Research Manager, OpenZeppelin Adam Rak, Executive Director, Blockchain Security Standards Council Matt Snow, Strategic Partnerships, 1inch Tanner Moore, DevRel, 1inch Mary Pedler, Founder, INPUT 🍎 Students joining from:University of Pennsylvania, NYU, Berkley, University of Maryland, George Mason University, Indiana University, Yale University, Harvard, Fordham University, Georgetown University and more Thank you to our community partners: Maryland Blockchain Association DCDAO Web3DC And media partners: INPUT YAP Global