Stefan Schulz

Blockchain Technology: What Is It Good for, Really?

Staci Warden, Elad Gil, Sandra Ro, Stefan Schulz, Bill Tai, Tomicah Tillemann

Milken Institute moderator Stacey Worden led a panel including Elad Gil, Sandra Rowe, and Bill Tai to define blockchain's superior utility in scenarios requiring trustlessness, open ledgers, privacy, or programmability, while arguing that centralized databases remain optimal for all other applications. The discussion highlighted transformative real-world adoptions ranging from Power Ledger's peer-to-peer energy trading and Bill Tai's $35 million real estate tokenization to Estonia's governance models and New York City's digital benefit wallets. Panelists concluded that overcoming regulatory fragmentation and data integrity risks is essential as the industry shifts from financial speculation toward building a global infrastructure for financial inclusion and automated asset management.