The focus at the event was mainly on infrastructure.
Korea Blockchain Week (KBW2024), one of Asia’s premier blockchain and Web3 conferences, attracted participants from all over the world from September 1–7 in Seoul.
The event, which was co-hosted by the venture capital firm Hashed and organized by FACTBLOCK, highlighted advancements in Web3, blockchain, decentralized finance (DeFi), and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Talks and side events focused on the developing relationship between blockchain technology and conventional finance, with particular emphasis on exchange-traded funds (ETFs), stablecoins, and asset tokenization. This is a summary of the topics that were discussed over the course of the week-long event.
Focus Is on Infrastructure
Speaking with participants at KBW2024 in Seoul, a few intriguing themes emerged as the main topics of conversation and get-togethers.
Burnt Banksy, an XION core contributor, told Cryptonews that “Chain abstraction, modularity, alt Layer 1s reign prominent” and that the event is primarily focused on infrastructure because the market is down.
For those who are not familiar, blockchain modularity refers to the capacity to divide various system components into discrete, individually programmable components. The application layer and the underlying blockchain infrastructure are divided by the chain abstraction process. Still, one venture capitalist disagreed about Layers 1s taking center stage.
“We observed a contrast in the infrastructure sector. New Layer 1 or Layer 2 and middleware initiatives were less prominent, suggesting a potential saturation point in this area,” said Kenzi Wang, the co-founder of Symbolic Capital, told Cryptonews.
Hot Topics: AI, DePIN
DePINs, or decentralized physical infrastructure networks, and artificial intelligence (AI) are two more buzzworthy emerging fields that are generating excitement among the cryptocurrency community.
Decentralised ownership and management of physical infrastructure in the real world, such as transportation, storage, and telecommunications, is the goal of blockchain-powered networks known as DePin.
DePIN projects encourage people or organizations to donate resources, like bandwidth, storage, or energy, in exchange for tokens or other rewards, as an alternative to depending solely on a single centralized entity.
New and developing categories like AI and DePIN are drawing a lot of interest at KBW2024, according to Wang from Symbolic Capital, who works closely with Sandeep Nailwal, the founder of Polygon. These events are also drawing good attendance.
“This suggests growing curiosity and potential opportunities in these newer blockchain applications,” said Wang.
VCs out in Full Force
At the KBW event, venture capital firms were present in full force, actively looking for new investment opportunities and interacting with up-and-coming startups in the cryptocurrency and financial technology fields.
“The conference saw a higher proportion of venture capitalists and business development representatives from established projects compared to previous years. At the same time, there was a relatively smaller presence of new projects and individual developers,” said Wang.
TON the Talk of the Town
Unquestionably the place to be, the TON team threw the best party at KBW, bringing in influential people and major players in the industry for a night to remember.
“Notably, the TON ecosystem events experienced a significant uptick in attendance, particularly from newcomers. This surge in interest is reminiscent of Ethereum’s momentum in 2020 or Solana’s in 2021, signalling potential growth in this space,” said Wang.
The growing significance of digital assets was highlighted by Hochan Chung, head of marketing at Gomble Games (formerly the head of marketing at CryptoQuant), who said, “The daily relevance and penetration of digital assets and tokens seem more important than ever these days.” The numerous accomplishments of TON-initiated projects (NOT coin, DOGS) demonstrate that regular Telegram usage has a significant influence on drawing in cryptocurrency investors.”
Chung also attended KBW and noted that this trend extends beyond tokens, adding, “The same logic can apply to other sectors such as stablecoin. It’s a logical progression for PayPal to initiate PYUSD, with multiple stablecoins being launched.”
Attempted Revival: NFTs Are Not Dead!
It is no secret that NFTs have been having a difficult time lately due to a decline in sales and a decrease in interest from investors and collectors. NFT adoption has been hampered by market saturation, erratic demand, and worries about long-term value.
“NFTs have long been ridiculed by overpriced JPEGs for a long time, and the hype never recovered since 2021. However, the NFT communities have built resilience over time despite the never-ending bear market,” Chung told Cryptonews.
Chung continued by emphasizing the NFT projects’ two true strengths. First and foremost, there are the communities; second, there is the power of intellectual property and digital asset rights that the communities and their holders have jointly established. This implies that if one of the communities manages to successfully expand for NFT projects outside of its closed community, there is a huge opportunity.
“I believe that right now NFT projects are comparable to Marvel or DC comics in the 90s with the great fan base and trials of multi-platform applications. Eventually, it’ll be mainstream like how Marvel made it in the 2010s,” said Chung.
Seoul Solidifies Position as ‘Prominent Asian Crypto Hub’
KBW2024 embraced cultural and artistic components in addition to technical sessions, organizing events that fused blockchain with tech culture, music, and art.
All in all, KBW2024 confirmed Seoul’s standing as a major worldwide center for blockchain innovation, with prominent business figures investigating the game-changing possibilities of decentralized technologies.
The event paved the way for blockchain’s future in both the East and the West, with talks ranging from AI integration to the revival of DeFi.
The premier IMPACT conference, which included notable figures from the industry like Brad Garlinghouse, Richard Teng, Arthur Hayes, and Vitalik Buterin, was the high point of the week.
“Korea has become such a prominent Asian crypto hub that this year, one is able to only attend side events all week and still have a full schedule of interesting meetups and activities,” said Elias Tazartes. co-founder and co-CEO of Kakarot.
Cool Swag, Good Vibes
Now the fun part. At the KBW conference, there was a giveaway of orange burrito bags that was so popular that attendees had to stand in line for hours to receive them.
There was a buzz among conference attendees when the colorful, whimsical design quickly became the most sought-after giveaway of the occasion. This was by far the best swag at KBW; it was a distinctive item that everyone wanted to wear. The bag evolved from a freebie to a focal point that represented the event’s vitality and inventiveness.
Market Across co-founder Itai Elitzur smiled and assured me that if cryptocurrency experiences another bear market, there is always a backup career to think about.
The CEO of Ripple, Brad Garlinghouse, broke news during the event when he discussed the company’s legal victory over the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), saying the regulator has no realistic way to contest the core ruling.
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Mark Karpelès, the ex-CEO of the notorious cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox, made additional announcements, such as the opening of EllipX, a new European exchange with its headquarters located in Poland.
During KBW2024, Karpelès made an announcement stating that the exchange will launch later this month. After a difficult past, Karpelès is determined to rejoin the cryptocurrency space.
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After KBW2024: Next Stop – Token2049 Singapore
Attendees are now focusing on Token2049, which promises to be even bigger and faster-paced and taking place in the thriving tech hub of Singapore, following the excitement of KBW2024 in South Korea.
The event is anticipated to garner even more interest from the international crypto community thanks to its incredible lineup of speakers, projects, and networking opportunities. Meeting Jai Pratap of Cryptonews, who will be covering the event, will be one of the highlights.