Israel, and specifically Tel Aviv, at the forefront of blockchain technology Israel – a strong player in blockchain technology 1. Cyber security and cryptography play a key role in the Israeli defense establishment; as such, the military serves as a potent incubator for these fields. 2. There are numerous Israeli entrepreneurs and startups that are currently developing a wide range of blockchain applications. The dynamic nature of weekly blockchain meetings and the close cooperation between the science, innovation and finance sectors, function as a powerful driving force behind the blockchain industry in Israel. 3. The “Israeli Factor” – Israel is well known for its entrepreneurial spirit and booming startups scene, successfully introducing many cutting edge technologies to the world. 4. Israel is uniquely geographically positioned to serve as a gateway to numerous markets. Providing easy access to Europe as well as to Eastern Asian and African countries, Israel is ideally located for conducting business with foreign markets. 5. Israel's relatively small size (approximately 20,000 sq. km), provides for a highly concentrated business arena. Consequently, due to their fairly close proximity, it is very easy for companies throughout the country, to interact and collaborate with each other. Israeli universities with blockchain research pioneers Professor Adi Shamir, internationally recognized cryptographer expert, Turing Award winner, and Israeli Prize for Computer Sciences recipient Prof. Eli Ben-Sasson, leading computer science researcher and developer of zerocash protocol, whereupon users can exchange bitcoins without revealing any personal information Senior lecturer Dr. Aviv Zohar, author of several blockchain publications, including a proposal that would increase the transaction speed of bitcoin exchanges without compromising security concerns Senior lecturer Eron Tromer, expert in cryptography and information security, and head of the Lab for Experimental Information Security Bitcoin activity within Israel • 10K to 15K Bitcoin owners in Israel (worldwide estimate: about 10 mn.) • 4 Bitcoin ATMs located throughout Tel Aviv • About 150 - 230 businesses accept Bitcoin in Israel with almost 50 brick-and-mortar stores accepting Bitcoin as payment in the city, including kindergartens, tattoo parlors, lawyers, a car repair shop, and about 15 bars and restaurants in Tel Aviv • 2015 Bitcoin events hosted in Tel Aviv: (1) Inside Bitcoins Conference - 350 participants attending lectures of key Bitcoin experts and discussing the cryptocurrency ecosystem (2) Bitcoin Hackathon - 100 participants building decentralized apps (3) Weekly Bitcoin embassy meetings The Israeli Bitcoin Association (IBA) is a nonprofit organization The Bitcoin Embassy in Tel Aviv is the central hub of a large with a mission to ensure that the people of Israel will benefit as community of people and entrepreneurs, hosting lectures, courses, much as possible from Blockchain technology. tutorials, and collaborative work on Blockchain related projects. 15