University of Wyoming President Shane Reeves will welcome attendees at the ninth annual Wyoming Blockchain Stampede on Wednesday at UW, the Laramie Boomerang reported. The event brings state, national and academic experts in blockchain and innovative technologies to Laramie for public sessions.

Reeves will join Caitlin Long, honorary chair and the CEO and founder of Cheyenne’s Custodia Bank, and emcee Tyler Lindholm, a former state legislator and Americans for Prosperity state director, in opening Wednesday’s program.

What the Wyoming Blockchain Stampede Covers

The Wyoming Blockchain Stampede is presented by the UW Center for Blockchain and Digital Innovation, known as CBDI. This year’s event will commemorate the late Steve Lupien, CBDI’s Ada Lovelace director, who died this summer following an illness.

Panelists speaking at a technology conference
Panelists speaking at a technology conference. Illustrative stock photo via Pexels.

Activities begin with a public meeting of the Wyoming Legislature’s Select Committee on Blockchain, Financial Technology and Digital Innovation Technology on Monday and Tuesday in the Wyoming Union. Committee meetings begin at 8:30 a.m. each day in Room 212.

An industry networking event and dinner honoring Lupien will take place Tuesday starting at 4:30 p.m. in the Business Building atrium. The Stampede is free and open to the public, though preregistration is required for the Tuesday dinner and for a pass to the Wednesday lunch.

Blockchain is increasingly moving from experiments into core finance, as institutional capital pushes blockchain into real infrastructure.

Speakers at the Wyoming Blockchain Stampede

Doors open at 8 a.m. Wednesday for registration and a light breakfast. Welcoming activities begin at 8:45 a.m., with panel presentations to follow at 9 a.m. Scheduled speakers include:

  • Dan Conway, chair of the US Blockchain National Body and leader of the Global Business Blockchain Council
  • Ben Cook, UW College of Business senior assistant dean and CBDI interim director
  • Anthony Apollo, executive director of the Wyoming Stable Token Commission
  • Jeremy Bishop, Wyoming banking commissioner
  • State Sen. Chris Rothfuss, co-chair of the Legislature’s blockchain select committee
  • Julie Hill, dean of the UW College of Law, and Eric Alston, a UW assistant professor of law
  • Tyler Gentry, founder of NEED-AID, and Dalton Gregory, a UW graduate and co-founder of Plentitude
  • Rylan O’Bryan, Wyoming Business Council portfolio analyst and Wyoming Venture Capital Program senior associate
  • J. Christian Barlow and John C. Barlow, founder and co-founder of RWAP
  • Marc Kenton, a CBDI faculty member, technology entrepreneur and cybersecurity executive with over 25 years of experience
  • Jacob Paul Hochard, the Knobloch Associate Professor of Conservation Economics in UW’s Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon and U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis are scheduled to make pre-recorded video remarks.

Wyoming’s Place in Digital Assets

The Wyoming Blockchain Stampede lineup reflects how the state has built institutions around digital assets, from a stable token commission to a legislative committee focused on blockchain and financial technology. Market data providers are also expanding in the space, as with S&P Global’s investment in Kaiko.

Registration and event details for the Wyoming Blockchain Stampede are available through the CBDI. Organizations interested in sponsoring the Stampede can contact the center by email, according to the report. Wealth firms tracking these developments may also weigh how wealthtech choices will separate firms.