He invented the proof-of-work algorithm cited in the Bitcoin whitepaper. Dr. Adam Back @adam3us, Co-founder and CEO of @Blockstream and @bstrco, takes the Proof of Talk stage this June. Adam created Hashcash, the proof-of-work system Satoshi Nakamoto referenced as the foundation for Bitcoin's mining function. A contribution that placed him among the small group of cryptographers whose work made Bitcoin technically possible. His two-decade career as an applied cryptographer and security architect includes senior roles at Microsoft, EMC, VMware, and Zero-Knowledge Systems, alongside advisory work for many other companies on cryptography and peer-to-peer finance. He holds a PhD in distributed systems from the University of Exeter, and co-founded Blockstream, which today builds critical infrastructure underpinning the Bitcoin ecosystem. The Louvre Palace, June 2 & 3.