One of the world's largest crypto conventions is happening today in Singapore. Although it started on the 11th of September, these two days (13-14) will be the major period for the week-long event.
And tickets have been sold out!
Apparently, this is record-breaking in terms of numbers (over 10k attendees, 80% of attendees are from 115 countries), making it the biggest international gathering of the year.¹
But what exactly is it?
TOKEN2049
This is a premier crypto event held every year bringing together the bright minds and leading voices in the crypto industry. In previous years, the events were held in Hong Kong (2018-2019), London (2021-2022), and Singapore (2022 and this year).
Founders and executives of leading crypto, digital, and Web 3 firms and projects come together for a wide range of activities - hundreds of independently arranged and organized meetups, hackathons, workshops, networking opportunities, fireside chats, parties, and even Formula 1 Racing.²
Accordingly, this is more than just an event.
It is very significant and important as it gathers and unites thousands of attendees (over 10k) including 300+ speakers, 400+ sponsors, 5,000+ companies or brands, exhibitors, entrepreneurs, builders, global crypto enthusiasts, industry insiders & leaders, international media, investors, and developers. - mostly influential figures, decision-makers, opinion leaders, projects, and companies in different Web 3 ecosystems.
With hundreds of main and side events, these people discuss and share their minds and "shine a light on global developments, while taking a unique and widening perspective on the ecosystem and its vast opportunities."³
"TOKEN2049 brings together crypto-native and institutional minds to produce high-quality and engaging discussions." - Santiago R. Santos, Web3 Investor
Here's a quick preview of last year's event in Singapore
Courtesy of Token2049.
Agenda
These people discuss and share their opinions, ideas, and insights on a vast range of topics including "Web3 gaming, DeFi, Metaverse, Convergence of AI and Crypto, Scaling Blockchains, Regulation, Global Macro, and a lot more."⁴
There are various schedules and participants can choose which events they are going to attend and learn from different panelists - most of whom are "the most influential and established opinion leaders in the space, who play an instrumental role in shaping up the ecosystem."⁵
There are 3 main stages - Kucoin Main Stage, NexSpace Stage, and OKX Main Stage, each with its own time schedule, agenda, and sets of panelists.
The above screen capture, for instance, are the first speakers today in the OKX Main Stage and their corresponding topics.
Speakers
Some of the notable speakers are big names in the industry including Balaji Srinivasan (The Network State), Changpeng Zhao (Binance), Daniel Ricciardo (Formula 1 Driver), Sam Altman (Worldcoin and OpenAI), Dan Morehead (Pantera Capital), Su Zhu (Three Arrows Capital), Emin Gun Sirer (Ava Labs), Jeremy Allaire (Circle), Joseph Lubin (Consensys), Jenny Johnson (Franklin Templeton), Sandeep Nailwal of Polygon, and Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss of Gemini.⁶
There will be fireside chat discussions, one of which is happening later today, September 14 from 12:35 to 13:00 (UTC+8) and CZ of Binance will be taking part. Balaji Srinivasan - Founder, investor, and author of The Network State will be moderating.⁷
Personal Conclusion
TOKEN2049 is like a crypto or Web 3 or Blockchain fair (if I can term it that way).
With such a large event that includes exhibitions and discussions, I believe there are a lot of new projects to be introduced, collaborations, and what else. Perhaps we will hear or read about them very soon considering that there are international media groups attending.
This year's event will culminate with Singapore’s iconic and largest Formula 1 Grand Prix weekend party called AFTER 2049 "which will feature exhilarating views of the night practice race."⁸
The next premier TOKEN2049 crypto event will be held in Dubai on 18-19 April 2024 and booking is open now for a 50% discount on pre-early bird tickets ($199). Speakers include Yat Siu of Animoca Brands, Annabelle Huang of Amber Group, and Aleksander Leonard Larsen of Axie Infinity.
I would imagine events like this would be a great time and place to showcase projects and innovations in the crypto space. And that actually made me wonder, would any of Hive's bright minds and developers consider attending next time? Just a thought!
[For infotainment only. Sources: Cointelegraph / TOKEN2049 / Asia TOKEN2049 / Binance / X]
Lead image created on Canva. Logo/image from TOKEN2049. No copyright infringement intended. 13092023/10:02ph