Fintech and the Emerging Ecosystems Exploring Centralised and Decentralised Financial Technologies

Dr. Alex Zarifis conducts research and teaches on the practical applications of technology in business. He has held positions at several prestigious universities, including the University of Cambridge (UK), the University of Manchester(UK), and the University of Mannheim (Germany). Currently, he serves as a Research Affiliate at the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF). Alex has contributed to large-scale research projects funded by the EU and UK governments at institutions such as the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany and Loughborough University (UK). Notably, he played a key role in developing the world's first government-recognized university degree program on blockchain technologies.

Prof. Xusen Cheng is a Full Professor of Information Systems in the Department of Economic Information Management at the School of Information, Renmin University of China, Beijing. He earned his PhD in informatics from Manchester Business School at the University of Manchester in the UK. Previously, he served as the Assistant Dean of the School of Information Technology and Management at the University of International Business and Economics in China, as well as Chair of the E-business Department. His research focuses on trust development in virtual teams, collaboration process and system design, sharing economy and e-commerce, and the integration of behavioral and design issues in information systems. His work has been published in prestigious journals such as MIS Quarterly, Journal of Management Information Systems, and European Journal of Information Systems.