N.C. A&T to Host Sixth Annual National HBCU Blockchain, FinTech and AI Conference

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Sept. 17, 2025) – North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University’s Willie A. Deese College of Business and Economics will host the Sixth Annual National HBCU (historically Black college and university) Blockchain, FinTech and AI Conference on Friday, Sept. 19 and Saturday, Sept. 20.

This conference is designed to engage scholars, innovators, educators and industry leaders in explorations of the transformative convergence of blockchain, intelligent systems, data science, computational engineering systems, and quantum innovation across disciplines.

The two-day conference, which will take place in the Deese Ballroom at the Student Center, is being held in partnership with the National Center for the Study of Blockchain and FinTech at Morgan State University’s Graves School of Business.

Sponsored by Ripple, Coinbase and LF Decentralized Trust, this year’s theme, “Beyond the Ledger: Rewiring Systems for a Decentralized Future,” invites attendees to examine innovative research and case studies that reveal emerging technologies to shape a more advanced future. Each day begins with a networking breakfast from 8 to 9 a.m. followed by information sessions led by experts and researchers across many academic and industry disciplines to offer practical skills and insights.

The conference offers a number of tracks for exploration, including:

• Finance, Markets, and Business Applications – blockchain in accounting, AI/ML for forecasting, tokenization, smart contracts, FinTech for economic opportunity
• Technology, Infrastructure, and Security – quantum computing, cybersecurity, privacy and decentralized identity
• Computational Systems and Engineering Innovation – scalable data architectures, distributed systems, optimization algorithms, high-performance computing
• Sustainability, Ethics, and Regulation – ESG applications, ethics in autonomous systems
• Education and Pedagogy – teaching blockchain, AI and FinTech across disciplines
• Creativity, Culture, and Innovation – NFTs, the creator economy, cross-disciplinary teaching models

Collins Okafor, Ph. D., an associate professor of finance in the Deese College, will serve as the conference co-chair along with Ali Emdad, Ph.D., executive director of Research Centers at Morgan State’s Graves School of Business.

The conference is free and open to the public. No registration is required, but seating will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

For more information about the conference, contact Okafor via email at ceokafor@ncat.edu.