Dive Brief:

• Dozens of Austin-based blockchain companies, investors and proponents have formed a group, Austin Blockchain Collective, to promote and educate people about blockchain and cryptocurrency technology.
• The group will also work to highlight Austin's prominent position as a blockchain and cryptocurrency leader and promote collaboration among companies.
• The Austin Blockchain Collective is slated to officially launch next month at the South by Southwest (SXSW) conference and festival.

Dive Insight:

Although it doesn't have quite as much fame as Silicon Valley, Austin has become a hub for tech businesses. That includes blockchain-centric businesses, which industry leaders say exploded in the city last year thanks in part to new funding sources.

Blockchain became more of a household buzzword in the last year, but many people only know about it at a surface level and don't fully understand how it works. In fact, Austin's assistant director of smart mobility, Jason JonMichael, recently told Smart Cities Dive that, "There is a lot of good technical innovation in crypto that could have a lot of extensibility... but there is no one in the public sector that I’ve found yet that understands decentralized computing enough — blockchain — to figure out how we can use this."

Even those within the industry are constantly discovering new ways to use the technology and make it applicable to an array of other industries. Austin Blockchain Collective aims to provide education about these and other blockchain and cryptocurrency topics, as well as to dispel myths.

Launching at SXSW seems appropriate for this type of group, as the Austin-based festival and conference has become a highly sought after showcase of innovative technologies and cutting-edge ideas.