Finovate 2015, one of the world’s largest FinTech gatherings, was held mid September in New York City, the same city where the conference was first held in 2007. For 2 days, 1500 innovators gathered at this demo-focused conference series focused on showcasing the best and most innovative new financial and banking technologies. Like in past years, Finovate attracted a high-impact audience of senior financial and banking executives. In addition to New York, the event takes place in different locations around the world throughout the year including San Francisco, London and Singapore.  The 24 events over the years have attracted more than 16,000 attendees.

A common question people have with regards to breaking into the tech sphere is if a Computer Science degree is necessary to do so. Data Scientist, Lesley Cordero, delves into this question while simultaneously making an important distinction between the desire to manage a tech company and the desire to program for such a company.

Bitcoin and blockchain, the digital ledger used for bitcoin, have been headlining news.  Bitcoin, once associated with illicit online transactions, is being recognized by big banks. Just this week State Street, one of the oldest banks in the US, made headlines as it set up its own innovation lab to deal with blockchain technology. JP Morgan, Credit Suisse, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, with more banks to come, backed  R3, a blockchain consortium.  To understand Bitcoin, blockchain and the crypto future we sat down with Tim Lee, founder of ArcBit bitcoin wallet, who has been dealing with the blockchain much earlier before the general public, or even large banks, heard about the Bitcoin or its digital ledger.  Tim comes from the start-up background - similar to the Bitcoin and blockchain founders and disruptors.  Byte Academy is excited to announce that Tim Lee will be doing a blockchain workshop October 16 in addition to other part-time classes.

On March 22, Byte Academy partnered again with Finovate Group on the second annual FinDEVr New York.   The conference, which is part of THE FinTech for developers event series,  had been held solely on the West coast for years before its 2016 New York launch. Participating companies showcased new tools, platforms, APIs and/or case studies designed to help developers create better, more efficient innovations. Last year FinDEVr was held for one day.  At two days, the conference was longer and larger -  an indication that the FinTech developer community in New York is booming strong.

We chose Python as the core language of our curriculum (and hope that you choose to learn it).  In addition to it being the highest paid coding language for recent coding bootcamp grads according to Course Report,  Python has many other unique, strong qualities.  Oh, and did we mention that the language is actually named after the movie Monty Python, a favorite of the Dutch founder? For more check out our Python program

Known as the “the Rocket Scientists of Wall Street” (as initially labeled by Investopedia) Quant traders or analysts -  "Quants" - maybe understandingly intimidating to many. However, as their returns increase, more are becoming aware of their power. Quants are a specialized set that cannot be ignored…

Writing a last will and testament is not usually an activity associated with millennials.  However, young people are thinking differently about protecting their families, and, in turn are "disrupting" the will industry like many others. And in doing so, they are dragging Gen Xers and Baby Boomers along with them.

Meet recent grad Stephane Gallet, whose background includes founding a travel company (based in Brazil) and aerospace.  Even before  graduating Byte's immersive blockchain  bootcamp program, Stephane was offered a role as Chief Technology Officer (CTO)/ VP Engineering at one of New York City's leading blockchain startups where he currently is loving his job.  (He even stops by to visit and collaborate with the team from his Alma Mater).

We are excited to have Elena Beloff, top rated New York Post and ABC Good Morning America corporate wellness coach (and hypnotist) team up with Byte's Wellness Program for a meditation session and intro to hypnosis on on the first day of October.

Blockchain technology is commonly misconstrued as being applicable only for cryptocurrencies. As a secure, immutable ledger technology, blockchain can be applied to many use cases in several industries. The very nature of blockchain makes it a secure application for use in transfer of value or as storehouses of critical information. Because of its flexibility, the finance industry is already looking at other use cases for blockchain, one of them being online payments. The transparency and simplicity of blockchain makes it easy for anyone with an internet connection to transfer and receive funds without having to pay exorbitant amounts in banking fees.