Is Boris really the emissary the blockchain needs right now?

With FTX in shambles, Bitcoin in limbo, and the entire foundation of crypto finance in doubt, blockchain technology was in dire need of an image boost. What distributed ledger technology needed, Singapore decided, was the rhetorical skills of former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to burnish its battered image, and here he was last week at a glitzy blockchain industry gathering in a five-star hotel.

Blockchain in particular and innovation in general, Johnson explained, is always scary at first. “Humanity has been paranoid about this since the Titan Prometheus gave us the first flame,” he said, mixing classical references and technological details.

Johnson delivered the keynote address for the International Symposium on Blockchain Advancements to about 80 crypto enthusiasts who braved Singapore's tropical thunderstorms to hear his insights. It seemed a fitting venue for the event in the same week that Singapore's sovereign wealth fund Temasek was on trial for pumping $275 million into collapsed crypto exchange FTX after eight months of due diligence failed to uncover any major concerns. It's clear there has never been enough paranoia or fear, said one stunned conference attendee after an hour of Johnson's musings on Brexit, Australian submarines and his time at the Telegraph.

Aside from the free canapés and macarons, it was hard to see the event as anything other than a plea from the blockchain industry to be taken seriously. Every sector has the right at times to seek the support of disgraced former leaders, but Johnson's paeans to Singapore Slings and his room at the infamous Raffles Hotel, along with his paean to the potential of blockchain in a half-filled ballroom of men in suits, was unsurprisingly not a panacea for his woes.

One delegate, who gave his name as Kai and said he works at a local crypto custody startup, was thrilled to hear someone “so famous” speak. What about Johnson's position on digital currencies and the potential of blockchain? “Oh, I don’t know,” Kai said with a nervous laugh.

A rare female attendee admitted that she was actually a journalist who was mostly trying to figure out how much Johnson was paid to run the conference.

With this in mind, the former British Prime Minister jovially assured the room of “blockchain pioneers” that they were in the right place, reminding his audience that technology is “morally neutral.” He went into detail about how doctors in the early days of the railway falsely claimed that the rattling and shaking of trains was likely to cause sexual arousal, why the City of London was "the most productive place in the world", and something unclear about nuclear-powered vacuum cleaners. But it wasn't obvious how these digressions would strengthen his case for blockchain.

He eventually returned to technology and cryptocurrencies. He said he had seen "some pretty shocking headlines about this whole enterprise and we need a way to hold people accountable." But as soon as he broached the topic of recent events in the cryptosphere, he quickly moved on to issues close to his heart: Brexit, the Ukraine war and green technology.

Then came his finale. “I will make a strong case that the UK will become even more attractive as an investment location once we get all this Brexit stuff sorted.” He added that he could not comment further on blockchain without further details.

Blockchain enthusiasts didn't seem very enthusiastic. Someone showed enough interest to take a photo, only to be admonished by a man who rushed over and hissed that there should be no photos.

The interviewer tried valiantly to bring Johnson back to the blockchain. What was his overall message for innovators in the industry? "Besides Singapore, which is a fantastic place for innovation, come to London. Come to the UK. . . It's a fantastic country. . . by the way, it rains more in Rome," he replied. “I look forward to watching the progress of the blockchain industry with fascination,” he added to amused applause.

mercedes.ruehl@ft.com