Blockchain experts who convened for a three-day conference plana campaign to fight misconceptions about the technology, which theysay is unfairly perceived as insecure and susceptible to criminalactivity.

Attendees at the conference, called the Muskoka Group, alsoagreed last week to conduct research to advance the blockchain anddevelop a strategy for government leaders to adopt the technology.The group also will seek to show that the blockchain can be appliedbeyond financial services and offers more than just opportunitiesto save money.

Don Tapscott, co-author of the book “Blockchain Revolution,”hosted the meeting with his son and co-author Alex Tapscott at hisfamily's summer compound in Lake of Bays, Ontario. The groupincluded some of blockchain's biggest backers, including peoplewith ties to IBM and JPMorgan. They considered ways to improve thegovernance and oversight of the technology behind the digitalcurrency bitcoin as a way to fuel the industry's growth.

“Perhaps this is the beginning of some new collaborations thatare specifically intended to advance the health of the blockchainecosystem and in doing so, to ensure that this technology fulfillsits far-reaching potential,” Don Tapscott said in an interview.

The blockchain, the software code that supports cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, can enable banks, investors, andother market players to transfer assets and record transactionswithout an intermediary. Seen as potentially revolutionary forfinancial services, the technology could change the way Wall Streetoperates by reducing third-party costs, increasing transparency,and speeding up transactions.

Tapscott said he expects an expanded group to hold anothermeeting “in the not-too-distant future.” He hopes to receivefunding next week to launch the Blockchain Hub, a repository forintellectual property and know-how related to the technology. Itwill help link various networks working on the blockchain anddigital currencies.

People attended the session as individuals, not asrepresentatives of their organizations, Tapscott said.

They included Jim Zemlin, executive director of the LinuxFoundation; Brian Behlendorf, executive director of the HyperledgerProject, a blockchain supporter group that includes InternationalBusiness Machines Corp., Airbus Group SE and JPMorgan Chase &Co.; and Ana Lopes, board member of the World Wide Web Foundation.Participants with blockchain industry ties include former deputyWhite House press secretary Jamie Smith, now chief globalcommunications officer of BitFury Group Ltd., and Joseph Lubin,founder of startup Consensus Systems.

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