On 19 March 2025, Professor Ismail Adelopo (Professor of Accounting, UWE Bristol) and Dr Xiaojun Luo (Senior Lecturer in Financial Technology, UWE Bristol) organised a workshop on blockchain technology exploring its use cases, opportunities, and challenges. The one-day event held at UWE Bristol attracted over 20 lecturers and students.
Blockchain technology (BT) is rapidly evolving, enabling decentralised, transparent, and borderless processes in industries such as healthcare, logistics, finance, and education. It holds vast potential to foster financial inclusion, open access, and innovation. However, challenges such as misuse for fraud and money laundering highlight the need for balanced regulatory frameworks and further research.
This workshop explored cutting-edge decentralised business models, discussed benefits and challenges, and addressed the employability gap in blockchain technology.
Steve Nicholls from ApdA (Association for Professionals in Digital Assets) discussed real-world blockchain applications and its future potential, while Lloyd Nethercott from the South West Cyber Crime Unit shared insights into cryptocurrency-related law enforcement investigations.
Dr Christopher Carr from the University of Exeter presented his work on blockchain-hub and OpenDAG, and Ben Bonner from Zero Citizen shared his industry experience on leveraging blockchain to revolutionize renewable energy accessibility.
Professor Ismail and Dr Xiaojun also presented their latest research on the relationship between cryptocurrencies and the stock market.
The workshop sparked engaging discussions and generated valuable ideas, making it a highly insightful event.
