We were at the World Blockchain Summit 2022, a global series of web3 platforms that have been held in over 19 locations worldwide. The event has unequivocally highlighted the power and future of blockchain technology and web3 for enterprise, government, investor, and startup adoption.
The World Blockchain Summit brought together the most influential blockchain and cryptocurrency stakeholders. The conference offered a venue for debate and discussion of the industry’s potential for revolutionizing businesses, governmental operations, and the social fabric of the world as we know it.
Bullish sentiment in the midst of a bear market
This year has been a whirlwind for the cryptocurrency space and the financial industry as a whole. Renewed fears of a global recession and interest rate hikes, coupled with the downfall of stablecoin TerraUSD and its sister currency Luna, and the recent implosion of the second largest centralized exchange, FTX, has rattled the crypto market and web3 ecosystem. This sparked a wave of naysayers spreading the pervasive claim that “bitcoin is dead” once again and that the adoption of web3 and cryptocurrencies has resulted in a lengthy list of economic casualties.
The truth, however, is always more nuanced. For every meme coin rug pull, there are countless legitimate projects supported by serious individuals and teams. The World Blockchain Summit provided an avenue to differentiate between the two.
Furthermore, the 23rd Bangkok Blockchain Summit gave enthusiasts and newcomers alike a chance to coalesce and talk about the upcoming stages of growth and trends in this burgeoning industry, enterprise, and governmental use cases, hear inspirational keynote speeches, participate in panel discussions, and network with leading figures in the space. Bullish sentiment was evident even in the midst of the crypto winter, as it was exciting to see many new faces, projects, and enthusiastic teams in the crowd this time.
Our team, industry experts, entrepreneurs, investors, and enthusiasts from across the globe arrived at the Athenee Hotel, situated in the heart of central Bangkok, with a renewed sense of optimism despite market conditions.
Despite sighs of crypto winter and the odd murmurs of FTX, most attendees seemed unbothered by the volatility. Throughout the two-day event, the ambiance and atmosphere were lively, and the main conference room was jam-packed with attentive attendees.
The World Blockchain Summit showed the power of the web3 movement by enriching aficionados and newcomers alike. Focus on curation of speakers, events and exhibitions made it an incredible experience.
Ajeet Khurana, Founder of ReflexicalConnecting with investors and industry experts
Aside from the thought-provoking keynote addresses, we also had the chance to network with institutional investors, hedge funds, asset managers, and angel investors such as Bitkub Capital Group Holdings and Krungsri Finnovate Co. ltd who are searching for the most promising projects in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industries.
The summit brought in well-known industry experts and provided an opportunity for blockchain enthusiasts, natives, and leaders to network with IT executives, tech entrepreneurs, and blockchain developers. In addition, the summit provided a platform for upcoming projects to display their latest innovations and use cases. ShipFinex, a digital exchange revolutionizing the Trillion Dollar Maritime economy by using DeFi & web3 technologies, is one such initiative that was present at the summit.
A startup pitch competition
A pitch competition called the Startup World Cup was part of the World Blockchain Summit. It was open to startups and entrepreneurs looking to raise funds while tackling the world’s most pressing issues with innovative solutions and advancing the ecosystem. The winners of the regional cup awarded at the competition used it as a springboard to fly to San Francisco and compete against 30 other participants for the chance to win a million dollars.
The jury for the Startup World Cup Pitch competition included a distinguished panel with the likes of Ajeet Khurana (Founder of Reflexical), Aimee Lim (Co-founder and Head of Business Development at Yuzu Venture Partner), and Han Du (Lead Fund Manager at KuCoin Labs).
While many projects took to the stage and showcased unique concepts, Block Aero Technologies won the regional title. They impressed us with their peer-to-peer collaboration platform designed to use blockchain technology to solve issues in aviation asset management.
Discussion Topics
The Bangkok Blockchain Summit served as an example of the dedication to hasten the development, adoption, and growth of the entire Web3 ecosystem and the premise of the decentralized economy. Given the significant impact that blockchain technology adoption has had, and will have, on multiple industries on a global scale, topics discussed expanded across several niches within the ecosystem, such as:
- Regulation of crypto assets: We saw discussions on the regulatory oversight of the cryptocurrency industry following the recent meltdown of centralized exchanges.
- Digital asset solutions for businesses: included informative discussions on global VC trends, the hot industries, and the areas where capital is funneling to.
- DAOs: The discussions surrounding Decentralized Autonomous Organizations were thorough and highlighted the significance of the new web3 business model and the necessity of an open governance framework, free from the bureaucracy or hierarchy barriers of traditional centralized business models.
- Metaverse Opportunities, risks, and policy implications: Apart from discussions on how the metaverse is en route to transforming the way we live, learn, work, and play. We also heard informative panel discussions about who is monetizing from the metaverse and the steps to create an open, safe, and accessible metaverse.
- Bridging DeFi and CeFi: This included topics highlighting the use case of DeFi in light of the recent FTX meltdown and institutional adoption of this space.
- The Future of Web3: included insightful discussions on where we are at the current adoption curve of web3 compared to web2. Enlightening conversations on future web3 trends such as the metaverse, NFTs, SocialFi, the Play To Earn sector, Decentralized Finance, and Applications.
- NFT market overview: which saw panel discussions on topics ranging from trends, opportunities, and the future utility of NFTs in the web3 ecosystem.
Conclusion
By bringing together the top stakeholders and influencers from the blockchain, Web3, NFTs, decentralized finance, economics, investing, and venture capital space, the latest World Blockchain Summit in Bangkok highlighted that the time to build is now, during a bear market when things look weary from the outside but progress is happening behind the scenes. Everyone in attendance had a takeaway from the summit. The event demystified the promising future for web3 and its underlying technology, blockchain, to a broad audience made up of local businesses, tech entrepreneurs, investors, government authorities, IT leaders, and emerging startups. On display at the World Blockchain Summit in Bangkok were all the telltale signs of growth. For that reason, this industry and movement are here to stay.
