I introduced & moderated an Arizona’s Fintech Ecosystem & Opportunities Session at the SciTech Institute's Arizona STEM & Innovation Summit on 9/17/19 in Scottsdale, AZ. Arizona’s financial technology (fintech) sector is among the most promising and fastest growing in our technology community. There’s a broad and robust fintech community here developing and delivering a diverse range of products and services that have the potential of disruption for traditional financial services companies, supply chain/logistics, the securitization of data, and others blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT) applications. Arizona has shown leadership in breaking down regulatory barriers with the potential to inhibit fintech innovation and emerging business models accelerating the use of electronic signature & smart contracts, creating a fintech regulatory sandbox, and most recently a property technology sandbox. We discussed why Arizona is fintech friendly and heard from some great fintech companies based here.

1. Moderated by Mark Goldstein, International Research Center
markg@researchedge.com, http://www.researchedge.com/
See SlideShare at http://www.slideshare.net/markgirc
Arizona’s Fintech Ecosystem
& Opportunities Session

https://azscitech.events.idloom.com/stemsummit

2. Arizona as an Innovation Hub
FinTech: Electronic Signatures & Regulatory Sandboxes
• Early State legislation recognizing electronic signatures recorded on
blockchains & enabling validity of smart contracts. Subsequently
revised and refined. Arizona emerging as a choice location for
blockchain companies that develop apps based on smart contracts.
• Arizona’s Financial Technology (FinTech) Sandbox was the first in the
nation to create a state-level regulatory sandbox allowing limited
access to Arizona’s market for testing innovative financial products or
services under the purview of the Attorney General’s Office without
needing full state regulation. Seven current participating companies.
• Arizona’s Property Technology (PropTech) Sandbox signed into law
March 2019 to enable testing of residential real estate product &
service innovations (such as Offerpad, Opendoor & Roofstock).
• Municipalities are prohibited from regulating blockchain nodes &
mining in residential as well as commercial settings.
• Mature, versatile intrastate crowdfunding platform in place.
• Arizona Corporation Commission docket on energy & blockchain.
• Arizona Technology Council State FinTech Public Policy Positions
on: MTL Regulation, State Regulatory Reciprocity, Decentralization.

3. https://www.azag.gov/fintech/participants
Current Arizona
FinTech Sandbox Participants

4. https://blockchain.asu.edu/
https://health.asu.edu/center-
law-science-innovation
https://www.gpec.org/connected
-place/blockchain/
Energy and Society Group
https://sustainability.asu.edu/lightworks
/focus-areas/energy-society/
https://azblockchain.org/
http://blockchain48.com/https://www.meetup.com/
Desert-Blockchain/
http://desertblockchain.com/
Blockchain Connected Place
Arizona
Blockchain
& FinTech
Organizations
https://azbankers.org/
https://www.meetup.com/
Phoenix-Blockchain-
Meetup/http://energy-blockchain.org/
https://www.azcommerce.com/

5. https://www.coindesk.com/
arizona-smart-contract-
clarity-winning-startups/

6. https://www.americanbanker.com/
opinion/regulatory-sandboxes-
can-help-states-advance-fintech
…
…

7. https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2017/08/15/
arizona-edges-to-front-of-states-eyeing-
blockchain-technology/

8. Current Copy Available by Request from:

10. SciTech Institute - Arizona STEM & Innovation Summit
Arizona’s Fintech Ecosystem & Opportunities Session
Presentation Available on SlideShare at http://www.slideshare.net/markgirc
Arizona’s financial technology (fintech) sector is among the most promising and
fastest growing in our technology community. There’s a broad and robust
fintech community here developing and delivering a diverse range of products
and services that have the potential of disruption for traditional financial
services companies, supply chain/logistics, the securitization of data, and
others blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT) applications. Arizona
has shown leadership in breaking down regulatory barriers with the potential to
inhibit fintech innovation and emerging business models accelerating the use of
electronic signature & smart contracts, creating a fintech regulatory sandbox,
and most recently a property technology sandbox. Come learn why Arizona is
fintech friendly and hear from some great fintech companies based here.
Mark Goldstein, President, International Research Center (Moderator)
Jeff Weninger, Arizona State Representative for District 17
Jay Carpenter, Founder, Desert Blockchain Meetup
Bob Carroll, CTO, Dash Core Group
Guillaume Colombier, CTO, Sky Republic