UW President Reeves to Help Open 2026 Wyoming Blockchain Stampede

University of Wyoming President Shane Reeves will welcome attendees at the ninth annual Wyoming Blockchain Stampede Wednesday, Sept. 30, at UW.

Reeves will join Caitlin Long, honorary chair and CEO and founder of Cheyenne’s Custodia Bank, and emcee Tyler Lindholm, former state legislator and Americans for Prosperity state director, in opening Wednesday’s program.

The Wyoming Blockchain Stampede is presented by the UW Center for Blockchain and Digital Innovation (CBDI) and features public sessions showcasing state, national and academic experts in blockchain and innovative technologies.

This year’s event will commemorate the late Steve Lupien, CBDI’s Ada Lovelace Director, who died this summer following an illness.

Activities begin with a public meeting of the Wyoming Legislature’s Select Committee on Blockchain, Financial Technology and Digital Innovation Technology Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 28-29, in the Wyoming Union at 13th and Ivinson streets in Laramie. Committee meetings begin at 8:30 a.m. each day in Room 212. An agenda can be found at wyoleg.gov/Committees/2026/S19.

An industry networking event and dinner honoring Lupien will take place Sept. 29 starting at 4:30 p.m. in the Business Building atrium.

The Wyoming Blockchain Stampede is free and open to the public. Preregistration is required for the Tuesday night dinner and to receive a pass for the Wednesday lunch. Visit www.uwyo.edu/stampede for registration and event information.

Doors open Sept. 30 at 8 a.m. for registration check-in, followed by a light breakfast. Welcoming activities begin at 8:45 a.m., with panel presentations to follow at 9 a.m.

Scheduled speakers are Dan Conway, chair of the US Blockchain National Body and leader of the Global Business Blockchain Council; Ben Cook, UW College of Business senior assistant dean and CBDI interim director; Anthony Apollo, executive director of the Wyoming Stable Token Commission; Jeremy Bishop, Wyoming banking commissioner; state Sen. Chris Rothfuss, co-chair of the Legislature’s Select Committee on Blockchain, Financial Technology and Digital Innovation Technology; Julie Hill, dean of the UW College of Law; Eric Alston, a UW assistant professor of Law; Tyler Gentry, founder of NEED-AID; Dalton Gregory, a UW graduate and co-founder of Plentitude; Rylan O’Bryan, Wyoming Business Council portfolio analyst and Wyoming Venture Capital Program senior associate; J. Christian Barlow, founder, and John C. Barlow, co-founder, RWAP; Marc Kenton, a CBDI faculty member, technology entrepreneur and cybersecurity executive with over 25 years of experience in information technology, investment and business development; and Jacob Paul Hochard, the Knobloch Associate Professor of Conservation Economics in UW’s Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources.

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon and U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis are scheduled to make pre-recorded video remarks.

For more information or interest in becoming a Stampede sponsor, email blockchain@uwyo.edu.