Puerto Rico Blockchain Trade Assoc. looks to grow in ’23
The Rico Blockchain Trade Association focused its efforts in 2022 on grassroots outreach initiatives with government, associations, and community leaders to pro-actively engage on all levels with the communities.
From offering workshops to government agencies and collaborating on legislation, educating on blockchain basics beyond crypto, and working on a government use case, to hosting meetups and even setting up and fundraising for the PRBTA Relief Fund to help families after Hurricane Fiona, “the PRBTA has been active throughout the year,” said Executive Director Keiko Yoshino.
“[The year] 2022 was a massive year, we were able to change the hearts and minds of community and opinion leaders, continue earning their trust though our education initiatives and solidified our commitment to Puerto Rico in challenging times,” she said.
“We’re committed to continue expanding or educational offers to be accessible for everyone not only in Web 3, but also adding Act 60 education for Puerto Ricans, many of whom are eligible for 72 out of the 73 incentives,” Yoshino said.
Looking ahead, PRBTA is building alliances with associations, government agencies, and education institutes to further web3 adoption for 2023.
“Our focus this year is on web3 adoption and Act 60 education. We hope to generate buy support of web3 through use cases, like Filecoin, a decentralized cloud storage service that costs 95% less current centralized cloud solutions on market. Additionally, we want to work with universities to develop a web3 talent pipeline and connect students to job opportunities on island,” Yoshino said.
In 2022, PRBTA’s CryptoCurious educational initiative hosted more than 60 free workshops and meet ups both in person and online offering valuable information about blockchain technology, cryptocurrency, NFT’s and even how to set up your own wallet.
More than 3,500 people attended these workshops having the opportunity to network with industry leaders in the topics creating an inclusive community. CryptoCurious expanded its outreach by launching its Podcast “CryptoCuriousWeb3XP” in which experts in different areas explored the ins and outs of the digital world.
As part of its social responsibility commitment to communities in Puerto Rico, the entity launched the PRBTA Relief Fund which, over the course of four weeks, organized more than 240 volunteers, and distributed more than $100,000 in food, water, and supplies aiding more than 4,000 families devastated by the effects of Hurricane Fiona.
The trade group also partnered with different organizations and associations in its commitment to educate on web 3 technology for the future.
Closing 2022, PRBTA hosted the “BUIDL Here” conference during the second edition of Puerto Rico’s Blockchain Week with more than 300 attendees and a series of satellite events throughout the week for industries such as artists, restaurants, and Act 60 for locals.
During the conference, participants from the Hackathon 2.0 who were able to have the opportunity to advance Puerto Rico’s sustainability efforts by creating blockchain-based solutions using established protocols or creating their own by presenting their prototypes to industry experts and other stakeholders.
This initiative got the support from the Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust and the Department of Economic Development and Commerce (DDEC, in Spanish).
