We covered the top panel picks of TOKEN2049 this year to find out what is the direction of the Web3 and cryptocurrency space.
TOKEN2049 was back again in Singapore for another week of debates and discussions around cryptocurrencies plus Web3, with leaders and projects in the crypto space flying into the sunny island for the conference.
Held amidst the backdrop of a seemingly bullish market, the atmosphere at TOKEN2049 seemed electrifying as projects, companies, and exchanges came out in full force with large booths and brand swag. With a plethora of sessions throughout TOKEN2049, here are our top panel picks from the conference.
Digital Culture: The Power of Web3 Communities
- Luca Schnetzler, CEO of Pudgy Penguins
- Alex “Zagabond” Xu, CEO of Azuki
- Zhuoxun Yin, Chief Operating Officer, Magic Eden
- Moderator: Amanda Cassatt, Founder and CEO, Serotonin
One of our top panel picks featured three leaders from key non-fungible token (NFT) projects in the space, the discussion highlighted the current state of digital culture, and the transformative role of NFTs in shaping online identities and communities.
While NFTs have left a significant mark on Web3, the technology is still in its early stages with much more potential to be unlocked. NFT projects have continued to push boundaries within the bear market, creating more utility for digital ownership, expression, and co-creation.
Schnetzler noted that NFTs are also redefining how people identify and contribute within digital spaces, to which he believes the next step of NFTs involves co-creating intellectual property where community participation and proper attribution are central, revolutionising digital entertainment and ownership.
The conversation also touched on how those who continued to build throughout the downturn are now setting the foundation for the future of NFTs. Although the NFT market has faced a 97% drop in trading volume since its peak in 2021, the quality of projects and platforms is improving, and core communities remain committed to long-term growth.
Xu took the opportunity to highlight that the volatility seen in NFTs is typical of the broader crypto market. While physical collectibles dominate today, the gap between physical and digital will inevitably narrow. The panelists agreed that while NFT volumes may be down, the technology is evolving rapidly, with brands like Walmart and Target entering the space, and projects like Doodles pioneering new forms of digital entertainment, making NFTs a cornerstone of digital culture.
Creating the Internet Financial System
Jeremy Allaire, Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO, Circle
Allaire’s session is seen as one of the key panel picks, thanks to USDC’s performance in 2024 which highlightsCircle’s development, and its status as the second-largest stablecoin in the industry by market cap.
To date, USDC is now available on 15 blockchain networks with over $35 billion in circulation, and Circle’s Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) has processed $6 billion in volume, making it a cornerstone for cross-chain applications in an increasingly fragmented blockchain ecosystem.
Highlighting USDC’s transparency and security, Allaire pointed out that its $36 billion reserves are held in important global banks and safe asset treasuries. The Circle Reserve Fund, managed by BlackRock and overseen by the SEC, provides daily transparency and regular audits, ensuring trust in the stablecoin.
Circle’s vision for the future ultimately involves a fully on-chain financial system, where USDC powers real-time cross-border settlements and AI-driven economies.
The Fourth Generation of Cryptocurrencies
Charles Hoskinson, Co-Founder and CEO, Input | Output
Riding on the high of Cardano’s successful Chang hard fork upgrade, Hoskinson, who founded the network in 2015, reflected on the third generation of blockchains like Cardano, Solana, and Algorand, which focused on scalability, interoperability, and governance.
He then introduced the concept of the fourth generation, which caters to the need for privacy and identity on-chain. While blockchain offers transparency, many real-world applications require selective disclosure of sensitive data, such as private business transactions. The fourth generation of blockchains will address these concerns, allowing users to maintain privacy while still benefiting from decentralisation.
To solve these challenges, Hoskinson highlighted the launch of Midnight, a new private smart contract platform that supports hybrid applications and enables secure, private transactions. Concluding his speech, Hoskinson reiterated that the fourth generation will bring real-world assets onto the blockchain, unlocking trillions in value and advancing the space through identity, privacy, and collaboration across blockchain ecosystems.
The Future of Blockchain Scalability: Layer 1 vs Layer 2
- Nikola Stojanow, Chairman, Aeternity Foundation
- Marek Olszewski, CEO, Celo
- Anurag Arjun, Co-Founder, Avail
- Joe Lau, Co-Founder and CTO, Alchemy
Layer-2s are the new Layer-1s in recent months, with interest in Layer-2 protocols growing exponentially. But does this help scale blockchains, or hinder the ecosystem’s growth? That’s what the panelists explored when they took the stage.
Another one of the selected panel picks, the discusssion debated on how scalable side chains could leverage Bitcoin’s infrastructure to improve security and consensus, according to Olszewski as he shared insights from Celo’s ongoing transition from L1 to L2, while explaining the technical challenges involved in decentralising and scaling a blockchain with over 700,000 active users. For Olszewski, L2 represents a shift toward “server-ification,” allowing blockchain ecosystems to handle increased demand through scalable architectures that decouple tasks from a monolithic supercomputer model.
Interoperability emerged as a critical focus, with the panelists agreeing that it will be pivotal for future blockchain development. Comparing blockchain evolution to early internet servers, they emphasised the need for smoother interactions between chains. Ethereum was highlighted as the closest analogy to Web2 servers, where verifiable computation is done off-chain. Rollups have advantages such as shared security and a thriving developer ecosystem, but fragmentation across chains and the need for standards to streamline cross-chain interactions were identified as significant hurdles.
Stojanow also underscored the importance of L1’s security as the backbone of blockchain ecosystems, while L2 chains enable scalability and a more accessible user experience. But he did acknowledge the trade-offs of L1, where any issues at the base layer cascade upward, making L2s reliant on the first layer.
The discussion concluded with the benefits of zkVMs (zero-knowledge virtual machines) and real-time proving, which promise to enable near-instantaneous atomic function calls between different chains. This technological advancement could become the “holy grail” of blockchain interoperability, bringing seamless user experiences and facilitating blockchain integration.
Emerging Markets: Crypto’s Gateway to Unlocking Mass Adoption?
- Matthew Graham, Managing Partner, Ryze Labs
- Martin Carrica, Founder, Mountain Protocol
- Gökhan Er, Managing Director, IOSG Ventures
- Ran Neu-Ner, Founder and CEO, Crypto Banter
Right off the bat, the panel explored the critical role emerging markets could play in fostering widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. One of our favourite panel picks, the discussion pulled out impactful case studies to drive home the point, and panel members quoted the failure of traditional financial systems in countries like Argentina and Turkey, pushing citizens to seek alternatives like stablecoins and Bitcoin in the face of rampant inflation and currency depreciation.
Graham emphasised that in many emerging markets, individuals are restricted by foreign exchange limits, making it difficult to transact in foreign currencies. He pointed to Argentina as a prime example where citizens, dealing with a rapidly devaluing peso, have historically relied on US dollars as a more stable store of value.
However, access to dollars has often been restricted, driving a black market where people pay premiums of up to 50%. Stablecoins have emerged as a disruptive force, allowing Argentinians to store value digitally and avoid the risks and premiums associated with the black market.
The conversation also extended to Turkey, where Gökhan Er, Managing Director of IOSG Ventures, detailed how crypto adoption has surged due to the Turkish lira’s 80% depreciation. In both cases, crypto — particularly stablecoins — provided a hedge against inflation, helping citizens protect their savings from the volatility of their national currencies.
While being a moderator for the panel, Ran himself feels passionately about the topic. He quotes how his family lost their wealth in Iraq due to political expulsion, and they were barred from bringing their valuables. This experience underscored the importance of borderless, digital assets like crypto, which offer the ability to transport wealth across borders without interference from failing financial systems.
The panel agreed that while adoption rates in these markets are high, particularly among younger generations, more education and infrastructure development are needed to fully unlock crypto’s potential. Emerging markets are primed for innovation in blockchain technology, and crypto has the power to transform financial systems in places where traditional banking has failed.
Read the second part of the TOKEN2049 2024 conference
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