Going Beyond Buzzwords at the Yale Blockchain Conference

Earlier this spring, the Yale Blockchain Club hosted the second annual Yale Blockchain Conference at Evans Hall. The event drew over 250 attendees and featured more than 45 speakers, including founders, Fortune 50 executives, investors, academics, and builders. Discussions spanned sectors such as finance, healthcare, art, gaming, and AI, reflecting the transformative impact of blockchain technology across industries.

This year's theme, “Blockchain Applications Across Industries,” stemmed from our desire to demystify blockchain technology and broaden public understanding beyond industry buzzwords. Too often, blockchain is viewed narrowly—tied to speculative markets or technical jargon. At this year's conference, we explored how blockchain is being used to improve supply chain transparency, reimagine digital identity, and support artists, fashion designers, healthcare professionals, and global finance systems.

These conversations weren’t theoretical. They were grounded in real-world applications—from AI-integrated decentralized systems to blockchain-based solutions for logistics, asset tokenization, and municipal governance. We deliberately cultivated such conversations as part of our larger goal: to create a space in New England where blockchain isn’t siloed within tech circles but becomes part of the broader conversation about business, society, and innovation.

The conference concluded with our Startup Showcase, spotlighting ventures born from Yale’s own ecosystem, including CreditPhi, Morphic, and Solo—showcasing how students and alumni alike are pushing boundaries in credit systems, decentralized AI, and collaborative identity tools.

But this conference was not just about spotlighting cutting-edge tools or venture capital trends. It was about bringing people together: students from Yale and peer universities across Connecticut, faculty from various departments, alumni, and professionals with a shared curiosity for how decentralized technologies might shape our world.

The Yale Blockchain Club is committed to bridging communities and creating infrastructure for ongoing engagement—from speaker events to research partnerships and alumni mentoring. We hope this conference becomes an annual touchpoint for exploring blockchain as a force for innovation and for good.

Looking ahead, we’re working to transform this momentum into something even more accessible. Our vision for the coming year includes creating a “public square” for blockchain at Yale—a recurring, open forum where students from every background can engage with this technology, ask questions, and hear directly from expert panelists in fields ranging from law and policy to design and public health.

We want to find and support students already exploring blockchain—whether in classes, research labs, or independent projects—and connect them to the club’s growing network of alumni, mentors, and resources. There’s already a quiet wave of talent at Yale in this space. We’re here to give it a voice.

As AI continues to dominate headlines, blockchain is quietly gaining ground as the next transformative layer of the internet. The rise of decentralized AI (DeAI), tokenized governance, and programmable digital infrastructure is not speculative—it’s already underway. Our role is to prepare Yale’s community to understand, shape, and lead this nascent industry.

If you’re curious about blockchain, passionate about emerging tech, or simply want to meet students and professionals thinking about the future, we invite you to join us. Visit our website or follow us on LinkedIn to learn more about upcoming events, speaker announcements, and opportunities to get involved.