Is Boris really the emissary that blockchain needs right now?
With FTX in shambles, bitcoin on hold and the entire foundation of crypto finance in doubt, blockchain technology lacked an image boost. What distributed ledger technology needed, Singapore decided, were the rhetorical skills of former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to spruce up his battered image, and here he was at a glitzy gathering of the blockchain industry at a five-star hotel last week.
Blockchain in particular and innovation in general, Johnson explained, is always scary at first. “Humanity has been paranoid about this since the Titan Prometheus gave us the first flame,” he said, mixing classical reference and technological detail.
Johnson delivered the keynote address for the International Symposium on Blockchain Advancements to 80 or so crypto enthusiasts who had braved Singapore’s tropical thunderstorms to hear his insights. It felt fitting for the event in the same week that Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund Temasek faced scrutiny for plowing $275 million into collapsed crypto exchange FTX after eight months of due diligence failed to flag any major concerns. Clearly there was never enough paranoia or fear, said one nonplussed conference attendee after an hour of Johnson’s musings on Brexit, Australian submarines and his time at the Telegraph.
Beyond free canapés and macarons, the event was hard to read as anything other than a plea from the blockchain industry to be taken seriously. All sectors are entitled to seek the support of disgraced former leaders at times, but Johnson’s eulogy for Singapore Slings and his room at the famously expensive Raffles Hotel, along with his extolling the potential of blockchain to a half-full ballroom of men in suits, did not surprisingly was not the panacea for his ailments.
One delegate, who gave his name as Kai and said he worked at a local crypto depository startup, was thrilled that someone “so famous” was speaking. What about Johnson’s position on digital currencies and the potential of blockchain? “Oh, I don’t know about that,” Kai said with a nervous laugh.
A rare female attendee admitted that she was actually a journalist who was mainly trying to find out how much Johnson was being paid to chair the conference.
Against this backdrop, the former UK Prime Minister jovially assured the room of “blockchain pioneers” that they were in the right place, and went on to remind the audience that technology is “morally neutral”. He dwelt at length on how doctors falsely claimed in the early days of the railways that the rattling and shaking of trains was likely to cause sexual arousal, why the City of London is “the most productive place on earth”, and something obscure about nuclear power. -powered vacuum cleaners. But it was not obvious how these digressions would bolster his case for blockchain.
He eventually circled back to technology and cryptocurrencies. He said he has “seen some pretty shocking headlines about this whole venture and we need a way to hold people to account”. But no sooner had he broached the subject of recent events in the cryptosphere than he quickly moved on to topics closer to his heart: Brexit, the Ukraine war and green technology.
Then came his finale. “I would make a strong case that the UK will become even more attractive as a place to invest once we deliver on all the Brexit stuff.” On blockchain, he added, he could not comment further without more details.
The blockchain enthusiasts seemed less than thrilled. Some showed enough interest to take a photo only to be admonished by a man rushing over and hissing that there was to be no photography.
The interviewer valiantly tried to bring Johnson back to blockchain. What was his overall message to innovators in the industry? “Apart from Singapore, which is a fantastic place for innovation, come to London. Come to the UK. . . It is a wonderful country. . . it rains more in Rome, by the way,” he replied. “I look forward to watching the progress of the blockchain industry with fascination,” he added to rapturous applause.
