Dr. Lana Swartz, Assistant Professor in the Department of Media Studies at the University of Virginia spoke at the Filene breakfast this year about industries that are using the blockchain and why credit unions might want to consider its use, too.

Lana studies money as a communications technology, focusing in particular on the history of payments and new financial technologies. She’s been featured in The Atlantic and reached the status of “Bitcoin famous” when she appeared in a Netflix documentary on cryptocurrencies.

After the GAC talk, I sat down with Lana to get a better understanding of blockchain technology, in ordinary terms, through the example of how it has been used (or at least attempted to be used) by the music industry…

We discuss how it came to be, and what the driving force behind it really is, and why blockchain wasn't the solution that the music industry had hoped it would be.

Lana leaves us with her thoughts on a question worth pondering: “What happens when things like everyday payment systems are managed by silicon valley—do we really want them writing our terms of service?”

Learn more about the event mentioned in this interview at filene.org/trusttech