David Washburn: nChain to ignite global adoption and use of Bitcoin

The CEO of blockchain research company nChain was among the keynote speakers to address the CoinGeek Conference in London in February, delivering a presentation on the latest developments in blockchain technology.

David Washburn spoke about the work of nChain and particularly the quality of the people working with nChain, who he described as some of the best bitcoin developers in the world. After his presentation, Washburn spoke to CoinGeek’s Johanna Botta about the latest projects under way at nChain.

After only around a year in post, Washburn described his job as “the best in the world,” citing the quality of the talent at nChain as key in his decision to join the company. Washburn said nChain is already the world leader in blockchain R&D, responsible for significant contributions to the development of the technology.

Speaking of the gravitational pull of nChain and its talent, Washburn said the company continues to attract the brightest and best in blockchain, due to its growing reputation for creating industry-defining IP.

In the interview, he followed up on the big announcement from his presentation—a project to develop a blockchain solution to the opioid crisis currently affecting people in the U.S. and elsewhere.

Washburn announced nChain had been working with U.S.-based healthcare software company EHR Data to develop the blockchain solution, which he said had the potential to change the world for those affected by the ongoing health crisis.

nChain believes individuals, companies and organizations of all sizes should be able to access, control and monetize their data, he said. The need is particularly acute in the healthcare sector, with sensitive information such as medical records traditionally held centrally, rather than on a secure distributed ledger.

According to Washburn, the solution in progress at nChain has the potential to revolutionize healthcare administration in the U.S. and beyond, by leveraging the unique benefits of blockchain technology to deliver more secure, more efficient results.

Speaking on nChain’s aims over the coming months and years, Washburn said it was the company’s mission is to ignite the global adoption and use of Bitcoin.