The highly anticipated TOKEN2049 event made its debut in Dubai last week and the tickets were sold out well in advance of the opening day. TOKEN2049 Dubai is the premier crypto event, bringing together the most prominent leaders and founders from across the global Web3 ecosystem. As many as 300 TOKEN2049 side events were listed ahead of the gathering, but the final number must have reached 400.

TOKEN2049 was very busy from the off, featuring well-known company leaders, industry celebrities, and significant influencers in web3, fintech, and crypto circles.

It was great to meet many familiar faces, as well as new contacts from around the world and from the UAE. The event’s significance attracted all the big brands and notable names, either as exhibitors or sponsors.

A massive tropical storm, the worst in over 75 years, brought its own challenges to the week. It caused considerable damage in the UAE and particularly disrupted air traffic just days before TOKEN2049 began. Fortunately, human catastrophe was largely avoided, although material damages were high. On the opening day, there were disruptions that impacted the event. The main one being that many of the participants were unable to make it as planned or only until the afternoon of the first day. A staggering 886 flights were cancelled and traffic was very difficult due to an overflow of water in the streets.

A massive tropical storm, the worst in over 75 years, brought its own challenges to the week. It caused considerable damage in the UAE and particularly disrupted air traffic just days before TOKEN2049 began. Fortunately, human catastrophe was largely avoided, although material damages were high. On the opening day, there were disruptions that impacted the event. The main one being that many of the participants were unable to make it as planned or only until the afternoon of the first day. A staggering 886 flights were cancelled and traffic was very difficult due to an overflow of water in the streets.

Despite all this, those participants who made it were enthusiastic and active. The show was very busy and from the expected 10,000 participants due to attend, the figure was approximately 8,000 – even though many smiling faces were clearly tired from the journey to reach the destination. Those inside the  Madinat Jumeirah were treated to excellent talks from Roger Ver, Founder Bitcoin.com, Pavel Durov, CEO Telegram, Arthur Hayes, CIO Maelstrom, and Balaji Srinivasan Founder, Investor, Author The Network State.

My participation proved very productive, and there were ample networking opportunities across many different events and contexts. These provided the chance to introduce Xprizo and what we do, also exploring potential collaborations, partnerships or other mutual interests.

Amongst the many meetings, I met with our lawyer Ms Kokila Alagh from KARM Legal Consultants, M2 Exchange, CEO Stefan Kimmel. I spent a good portion of time based at the booth of Dubai Blockchain Center together with our partner Dr. Marwan Alzarouni. Here I was able to introduce Xprizo offering and its fintech application to many of the new contacts, but also updating our journey so far to many old business acquaintances.