AIBC Summit provides perspectives for optimistic crypto future

The first AIBC Summit to be held in Dubai has seen promising insight for DeFI, NFTs and AI

The AIBC UAE in-person summit, held from the 25 to 26 of May, 2021 at the Intercontinental Festival City – Dubai welcomed a 4,500-strong international crowd to its emerging tech focussed expo. 

Long-term developments, recent innovations and complex interplaying factors were discussed by world-leading crypto thinktanks during the AIBC Summit of Dubai. The host emirate is perhaps the world’s most important hub for the future-driven industry, and will likely grow in importance and technological advancement. The Emirate Blockchain Strategy 2021 has endorsed crypto technology and is aspiring to implement blockchain technology into the majority of government functions.

“The UAE and Dubai are always at the forefront of innovation and blockchain and crypto assets still have huge potential for growth and innovation", Dr Marwan Al Zarouni, head of the UAE Blockchain Center stated.

The event was the first to be organized by the SiGMA group since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, and still adhered to strict hygiene restrictions. Sheesha Finance warmly received the delegates in the DeFi Launch Lounge, where the pitch event “The Battle of the DeFittest” set the tone for what was to come. The pandemic has shown the necessity of a digital alternative to analogue money, to enable contactless payment. His excellency Dr Sultan Ahmed al Jaber, Minister of State in the UAE, emphasized, “Innovation has never been more important than now, while the world is recovering from the global Covid-19 pandemic”.

Throughout the expo, delegates and the many honourable sheikhs that attended were able to witness enticing conferences, visit high quality workshops and engage in unique networking opportunities.

“Analogue money is dying”, Alex Lightman is certain. The CEO of Keemoji brought insight to the contest between several digital currencies to become the number one means of exchange. The rise of central bank digital currencies was considered as well, with the Chinese Digital Yuan having a head start. Privacy concerns will drive users towards DeFi however, will the US is lagging behind on their digital dollar project. Energy consumption will need to be handled in the case of decentralised crypto. Anna Melton, Founder of Bitcoin, discussed the benefits of the technology for both highly technological development with Jorge Sebastiao, Alex Davis and Jorge Sebastiao and Simone Mazzuca. Maltese Minister for the Economy and Industry, Silvio Schembri, praised the impact of Blockchain on the island nation’s economy.

The UAE has been the leading government to adopt DeFi, as was pointed out by Jaafar al Doori in his discussion with Mrinal Manohar, Saeed Hareb Al Darmaki and Jawad Ashraf. “Based on the meetings we had with government the level of adoption is high. Especially surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic. It was a wake-up call”.

In order to accelerate mass adoption, many speakers agree that transactions need to become easier for every one, with Patrick Lowry from Iconic Holding suggesting smart application design and more stable coins.

Banks are currently lagging behind in crypto regulation and transaction, as was discussed by industry experts Dave Pulis, Gordon Einstein, Oliver von Wollf, Nitin Nanda and Hadi Malaeb. Experts are certain that change will arrive, among others, Kevin Murcko explained how, when and where crypto will change baking in the Future of Banking workshop.

Brock Pierce, former US presidential candidate, emphasized on the benefits of crypto for humanity, appealing entrepreneurs to focus on improving the lives of billions, instead of focussing on making billions of dollars. His very own workshop designed for newcomers to the industry sought to educate anyone interest in their own possibilities to improve the world.

The investing side of Blockchain was discussed by names including Leo Smith, Sonny Mohanty and Nikita Sachdev. Self-proclaimed “KryptoGranny” Anita Kalergis and many of the speakers offered introductory workshops on newcomers interested in investment and trading as well.

Throughout the expo, stunning artwork such as oil painting "Head to Head" by Derek Mason and "Refresh" by Vesa were presented, as well as the otherworldy creation "AI" by Anastasia Machikhina.

Day one concluded with insights into emerging technologies, including decentralized AI and AI in medicine.

Daehoon Kim provided insights on the vaccine passport.

The speakers agree that AI will guide the paths of medical technology.

At 20:00, the AIBC Dubai Awards commenced in the Al Baraha Ballroom of the Intercontinental Hotel, honoring exceptional achievers of the Blockchain industry. Attendees and online viewers cast their ballots throughout the day.  Dr Al Zarouni himself was honoured for his countless contributions to the advancement of blockchain technology in the UAE. For creating the first crypto freezone of the world, His Excellency Dr Ahmed bin Sulayem was honoured as well. Surrounding the unprecedented efforts of the government of the UAE, his highness Sheikh Saqer bin Mohammed al Qasimi, a unique supporter of business and advancement of technology, was honoured accordingly. Read about the all the winners on AIBC News.

Day two kicked of with discussions on the emerging area of NFT, with successful NFT artists such as Amritha Sethi delving into the newly arisen use cases and capitalization opportunities. Worrisome thoughts were uttered towards the money driven conversion of any given content into an expensive NFT, while Fernando Matinho emphasized the intrinsic motivations of real artists to create their works. The chances for NFT art to have a beneficial impact on humanity are of high potential, and proposedly, the industry will need to find solutions on how to guide NFTs to a meaningful future, instead of money grabbing.

Many more dimensions of digital space are possible, with Geoffrey Farrugia exploring the smart city in his workshop “Smart Cities at their Core: From Digital Transformation to Smart Mobility”.

Often referred to as the Father of Blockchain, Dr. Scott Stornetta provided facts, opinions and forecasts on the development of the industry in his speech "Blockchain: The Long View".

Stefan Beyer, CEO of Cryptonics, showed the current security of DeFi to be in a desolate state, and urges institutions and companies to consider a review of contemporary methods. 

The future driven event also sought to provide starters with a launchpad and the opportunity to network and gain attention during workshops organized by tech leaders of Malta and the AIBC Start-Up Pitch.

After a short debate, the judges decided to grant the award of the best pitch, which will receive funding and be features on the sho “Meet the Drapers”, to Pallet Pals, a B2B blockhain platform for shipments. Their goal is “to make shipping as easy as booking a flight”. The Start-up managed to beat ambitious competitors including Bancambios and SolidBlock among other. Bancambios has created a cryptocurrency using proof of cleaning, demanding users to take proven action to fight environmental pollution. SolidBlock aims to facilitate Real Estate trading with cryptocurrencies, liquidizing the industry.

Efrem Borg from the Malta Digital Innovation Authority granted the business newcomers insight into his ramp-up approach for start-ups.

The afternoon saw several hot topics on the table. Mark Vernon from the Fintech Phillippines Association cleared the clouds shrouding stablecoins, which were heavily demanded by many of the speakers preceding him.

The CBDC race between East and West, crypto influencers and blockchain energy were discussed as focal points of the near future. Salim Ismail discussed the complex topic and its implications and applications in an exciting workshop.

Charles Donly presented the efforts of Neurothink, company driving mass accessibility of machine learning.

Further innovations altering the way the market works were discussed by Pranjal Bhardwaj, founder and lead of Ethereum India, Salim Ismail, founder and CEO of OpenExO and ExO worlds, Irina Lichtfield, president of Lumeria and Eloisia Marchesoni, founder of CEO of Def.ai Inc.

After many inspiring optimistic presentations by the various think tanks of blockchain, the relaxed atmosphere of the Intercontinental Hotel of Dubai welcomed the people of AIBC Summit 2021 to unique networking opportunities in a casual atmosphere.