TOKEN2049 Day 2 Recap: Diversifying the Crypto Market, Integrating Layer 2 Solutions, Tokenizing Staking, and More
The second day of the TOKEN2049 conference in Dubai brought together a diverse group of builders, traders, investors, and industry experts. Notably, many local individuals with significant wealth showed a keen interest in learning about and investing in cryptocurrency. Cryptonews was present to cover the event and had the opportunity to speak with various insiders about topics such as decentralized AI, tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs), and upcoming regulations.
One of the main discussions revolved around the crypto market branching off into two distinct streams. Additionally, attendees explored the concept of tokenizing trade, uniting Layer 2 solutions to address network congestion, and other related subjects. The conference also featured impressive shows, including a captivating fire performance.
During the second day, Matt Zahab, the host of the Cryptonews Podcast, conducted interviews with notable figures in the industry. These interviews included Alizee Carli, Director of Ecosystem at Casper Association; Jesper Johansen, Founder and CEO of Northstake; Scott Lawin, Co-founder and CEO of Candy Digital; Yuri Yurchenko, Chief Product Officer at Neon EVM; John Lilic, Executive Director of Telos Foundation; Sam MacPherson, Co-founder and CEO of Phoenix Labs; Karel Kubat, Founder of Union; Alex Goh, Founder and Chairman of EMC Foundation; Thomas Messerer, CEO of Silencio Network; and Veronica Wong, Co-founder and CEO of SafePal. Each interview can be accessed through the provided links for further insights.
Alizee Carli from Casper Association highlighted the importance of full auditability for AI interactions to comply with upcoming EU regulations by 2025. She emphasized the potential of blockchain technology to address this requirement and announced that Casper Labs and IBM are collaborating on a governance tool set to launch in the third quarter of the year. The association’s primary focus lies in real-world asset tokenization, particularly with cash and other financial products. They have been working on RWA tokenization protocols for the past 18 months and plan to introduce a native stablecoin in May.
Jesper Johansen discussed the innovative approach of tokenizing staking, allowing validator node infrastructure to be traded in the secondary market. He highlighted the distinction between this method and derivatives from a regulatory perspective. Johansen believes that the crypto market cap is currently splitting into two categories: permissionless, decentralized crypto and regulated crypto. Northstake has already initiated a pilot project with 3iQ, CoinFund, and CoinDesk Indice, and plans to launch the mainnet later this year.
Sam MacPherson reflected on recent developments in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space, particularly the launch of Ethena and Maker’s involvement in large-scale LPing. These developments have led to the tokenization of cash-and-carry trades, representing a significant advancement in the RWA sector.
Veronica Wong discussed SafePal’s plans for new partnerships and their focus on the Asia-Pacific market. SafePal recently collaborated with Swiss bank Fiat24 to launch a compliant and user-friendly on- and off-ramp that enables users to open a Swiss bank account within minutes and top it up using crypto or fiat. This partnership has addressed several pain points for users.
Yuri Yurchenko spoke about the benefits of Neon EVM, the only EVM on Solana, which offers parallel execution to address network congestion issues. He emphasized that users can trade on decentralized exchanges and interact with games without being affected by network congestion.
Scott Lawin shared Candy Digital’s plans to enter the gaming space and launch a global mobile game in the summer. The company aims to focus not only on NFTs as collectibles but also on their utility and versatility. Candy Digital recently partnered with Kakao Games and uses ticketing and NFTs to onboard users to Web3, allowing fans to be rewarded for digital engagements.
John Lilic discussed Telos Foundation’s collaboration with Ponos Technology to develop a hardware-accelerated zkEVM Layer 2 network. He highlighted the challenges of existing ZK technology and emphasized the importance of a holistic approach that considers both hardware and software aspects to ensure efficient functionality.
Karel Kubat highlighted the need to connect thousands of Layer 2 solutions in a decentralized and trustless manner to enable hyperscaling. Union aims to fulfill this role and has announced a partnership with Polygon to unify and aggregate different layers, ensuring a coherent user experience.
Alex Goh discussed the EMC Foundation’s goal of integrating AI with Web3 technology. The foundation is working on decentralized AI, RWA, and GPU-based DePin. Their vision is to enable open-source, decentralized AI models powered by distributed GPUs, ensuring that AI is not controlled by a single entity.
Thomas Messerer envisioned a future where Silencio Network’s product is used by billions of people, similar to weather apps. The team chose the DePIN route due to its ability to create value and provide more benefits compared to Web2 counterparts. Silencio Network’s app has a high retention rate of approximately 75% on a monthly basis.
The second day of TOKEN2049 provided valuable insights into the evolving crypto landscape, highlighting the potential of decentralized AI, tokenization, Layer 2 solutions, and other innovative developments. The conference showcased the industry’s progress and the growing interest of both local and international participants.