Blockchain Association Denies Upcoming Kampala Summit
The Blockchain Association of Uganda has distanced itself from an upcoming blockchain conference in Kampala, saying it is not sure of the authenticity of the organizer Streakk.
The Kampala Blockchain Summit is scheduled for Tuesday, January 17, at the Sheraton Hotel under the theme ‘Unlocking the potential of your crypto.
But according to the association’s leader, Kwame Rugunda, they cannot guarantee the safety of their members.
“Having preliminarily reviewed Streakk, our industry view is that Streakk presents a number of red flags and those who participate in them do so at their own risk. Therefore, the Blockchain Association of Uganda hereby disassociates from the Kampala Blockchain Summit,” Rugunda said in a statement issued Friday.
“Our opinion is based on a preliminary review, and the association is holding further technical consultations with Streakk. If these ongoing consultations lead to a change of opinion, we will communicate this to the public, until then, however, this is the association’s opinion. Those interested in further research should review its white paper, smart contract and token economy,” he added.
But one of the summit organizers, Edwin Zziwa, accused the blockchain association of playing politics and being biased.
“How can they claim that they are not sure of the authenticity of Streakk, but they have not yet finished their consultations?” he wondered.
“These are really baseless allegations [of authenticity]. We are transparent. Our company is agreements with governments and strong institutions to expand the blockchain industry worldwide. This is what we are coming to do in Uganda,” he added.
According to the Streakk website, the company was founded by Suki Chen, who is described as passionate about blockchain and has helped launch five successful Blockchain projects, helping them raise over $600 million.
But according to Ruganda, given the increasing fraud in the blockchain innovation ecosystem in Uganda, it is their duty to protect all users.
“The blockchain and cryptocurrency industry has attracted global interest, with several companies offering various innovative services, while others masquerade as crypto businesses but in reality use crypto rhetoric and marketing gimmicks to run scams and defraud citizens. Such new scams in Uganda have included OneCoin, Dunamis and D9 among others. More will continue to emerge and therefore we urge Ugandans to be vigilant and always do their own research,” he added.
According to crypto data firm CoinGecko, there are more than 12,000 cryptocurrencies and 630 exchanges worldwide.
