Mike McCoy wants to be the blockchain ambassador of Philadelphia

Mike McCoy, formerly the Philly-based “Campus Engagement Lead” at Brooklyn blockchain company ConsenSys, left his job to embark on a similar mission on his own: trying to get Philly blockchain startups off the ground.

“ConsenSys is an incredible project and incubator, it’s a great thought-leadership spot, but I want to help Philly,” said McCoy. “New York and San Francisco are peers on its own. We need a shot to get to the other tiers, we just need investors. We have the talent, we’re a world heritage city, and we have plenty of examples of how we can create the technology we need.”

Per the consultant’s count, who we first met in 2017 as Launch Academy’s talent manager, there are 34 Philly startups working the blockchain space, but the space is prime for growth.

“I’m trying to be the Philadelphia blockchain ambassador,” said McCoy, a Phoenixville native now living in Center City. “I’ll be working with them to get funding, getting money involved in the projects to make them self-sustaining.”

First order of business: organizing Blockchain for Social Impact Philadelphia, a local iteration of a Brooklyn-based meetup series, which was launched last year.

On Tuesday, July 10, the event will feature Ken Cottrill and Sherree DeCovny from Texas-based Chain Business Insights, which has an outpost in Bucks County’s Yardley, Pa.

Speakers from the blockchain research firm will share how blockchain technology is being applied in the food supply chain. The event takes place at 1776’s Curtis Center location.