Wade Preston brings a unique blend of nonprofit expertise, entrepreneurial spirit and technological innovation to his role with the Alabama Blockchain Alliance. Starting his career in church and para-church ministry, Preston’s journey led him to an economic development nonprofit in West Africa, where he witnessed firsthand the transformative power of transparent and equitable markets. Inspired by the potential of fair trade, Preston and his wife founded Prevail Coffee, a company dedicated to ethically and sustainably sourcing coffee directly from farms. His passion for creating transparency in the coffee supply chain sparked a fascination with blockchain technology, driving him to explore its applications and eventually work on coffee-related blockchain projects. When the Alabama Blockchain Alliance was founded, Preston’s expertise and vision made him a natural choice to help establish and grow the organization, championing the use of blockchain to drive innovation and equity across industries.
What is the Alabama Blockchain Alliance and how did you get involved?
The ABA exists to help educate citizens, lawmakers and regulators in the state about blockchain technology. We also advocate for sound policy surrounding crypto and help to empower entrepreneurs to grow successful blockchain-based companies and initiatives in the state.
What is your role with the alliance?
I serve on the board and am acting Executive Director. I am also the Chief of Staff at Defi Education Fund, a decentralized finance policy and legal advocacy non-profit based in DC. I work remotely from Montgomery and travel to DC about once a month.
How does the alliance benefit the business community and what are its goals?
Crypto is currently a 2.5 trillion dollar asset class. We project it to be a 50 trillion dollar asset class in the next few years. We seek to empower Alabamians to plug into this powerful new sector of the economy and leverage the benefits of having access to a democratized financial system that starkly contrasts with our current system which is often gatekept by wealthy and powerful institutions.
What is blockchain technology and how do different industries use it?
That’s a very complex question, but in short, blockchain is a freedom technology. It allows for people to have full freedom to transact without having to rely on permission from institutions and without having to pay those institution’s fees for the right to use their own money/property. Blockchains allow people to have full control over the digital property that they own and use it as they see fit without having to get permission from some large company or institution and without the threat of having access to their property revoked, arbitrarily.
Are you using it within your businesses?
Yes, we have piloted a program to accept crypto payments in USDC which is a dollar-backed stablecoin on the blockchain. We’ve programmed the payments in such a way that the percentage of the transaction that would have previously gone to the credit card company now goes to the coffee farmer via the blockchain.
What are the key features and components of blockchain technology?
Blockchain is the “internet of money”, if you asked someone in 1995 what is possible with the internet, it would be hard to imagine the world we live in today. That same sort of innovation is happening at a rapid pace, somewhat behind the scenes as it relates to data and finance. Decentralized apps (dApps) are being built on blockchains to facilitate all sorts of things, from insurance to record keeping (the California DMV recently put their car titles on chain) to art and so on.
How did blockchain technology evolve and what are the benefits?
Blockchain technology began with Bitcoin, a proof-of-work chain designed for decentralized, secure peer-to-peer transactions. While Bitcoin was originally designed as a transactional currency, its energy consumption and slower transaction times have propelled its evolution into a “store of value” often referred to as digital gold. Later, composable smart contract chains like Ethereum introduced programmability, enabling decentralized applications (dApps) to function kind of like “money legos,” allowing developers to build interconnected financial systems. This evolution brought benefits like enhanced transparency, reduced reliance on intermediaries, improved security and the creation of entirely new economic ecosystems. As an example, imagine if you bought a bag of coffee at a grocery store and when you checked out and paid, a portion of the sale went directly to the coffee farmer in Costa Rica, instantaneously. That’s what programmable blockchains can do.
What is the difference between a database and a blockchain and how is it different from the cloud?
A database is typically centralized, relying on a single server or cluster, whereas a blockchain is decentralized with data replicated across a network of nodes. This decentralization eliminates single points of failure, providing enhanced security and resilience, unlike the cloud. If you have a file saved on a cloud and those entities decide to delete it, its gone. This is not possible on a decentralized ledger like a blockchain.
What advice would you give someone who wants to learn more or get started in blockchain technology?
Don’t listen to overhyped influencers talking about making huge financial gains, those are often grifters. This is the early stage of a financial revolution and there is definitely an opportunity for financial gain, but I truly believe that being curious about the technology and the blockchain community is the best way to realize that opportunity. Start small and stay curious. Find others who are into it to help guide you. There are plenty of resources online. Download a crypto wallet like Phantom or MetaMask and explore. Buy a little bit of top-performing assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana. Have a little fun trading memecoins (but be very careful and don’t put in any money that you aren’t willing to lose). Buy some digital art or an NFT profile picture to use as your online/onchain identity. None of this is financial advice, of course. Invest in your own curiosity more than any crypto token.
Executive Order: President Trump signed an executive order to advance U.S. leadership in digital assets and blockchain technology. The order supports responsible growth in the industry, creates a working group led by the Special Advisor for AI and Crypto, calls for evaluating a federal digital asset stockpile, etc.
