Inception- Forging the Momentum
It is 2018. The word ‘blockchain’ and ‘crypto’ were known only to the so-called ‘computer geeks’. Hashed, as one of the geeks in the space, decided to co-host the Korea Blockchain Week with Factblock.
We had no clue how we would run this, and what it would look like, but without a hesitation answered ‘YES’.
The thesis Hashed had, and still embraces as one of our core values that led to our answer, was simple but yet powerful.
“Blockchain is here to stay. We believe in the changes it will bring. And if momentum is not being noticed, we are going to forge the momentum itself”
KBW 2022- Momentum Forged
After five years of the long journey, KBW2022 was held. It was the moment when we realized that the ‘Momentum’ we were trying to forge was made.
The numbers were clearly showing the signs. The word ‘blockchain’ and ‘crypto’ was no longer for the computer geeks, but was a growing trend that became inevitable to face.
The number of participants attending KBW has nearly doubled since inception. A comprehensive conference with 50 sessions, featuring keynotes and panel discussions were successfully organized.
Not to mention over 120 renowned speakers from 100 blockchain projects and institutions being invited up to the stage, side events like Hashed Breakfast, Hashed Founders’ Night, Women in Tech, and the Global Symposium on Crypto Regulatory Harmonization facilitated networking and were vigorously contributing to the blockchain ecosystem’s expansion.
The surging crowd in the Hashed Founders’ Night was the concluding moment when we realized that the momentum we were aiming to forge was complete.
It was also the moment when Hashed announced the establishment of the ‘Platform Team’ to move beyond a simple investor, to become a true partner for our portfolio companies to provide support in all fields in need including PR, BD, talent hiring, value add services akin to a VIP membership.
The momentum we have forged not only pushed the limit of blockchain ecosystem expansion, but is now also providing invaluable opportunities for our portfolio companies to shed light on a global scale.
“Not only have they been helpful in Korea, but they’ve also been so helpful in kind of the broader impact region and have introduced us to various ecosystem players. I’ve been happy with the level of support and engagement we received from Hashed.” — David Gogel of dYdX, one of the speakers of “KBW 2022: IMPACT”
KBW 2023- Now We Differentiate
Following the success of KBW2022, the question we had to answer was: “Well then, what’s next?”
With crypto becoming mainstream, how do we, and our portfolio companies stand ahead of the curve? What would be the path to add NEW values that meant something for the crypto ecosystem? How could we support our portfolio companies with ways that were more than what we provided in the past?
Just like we started ahead to forge the momentum itself in 2018, we wanted to lead a driving force that provided the crypto ecosystem and our portfolio companies with new cutting edge opportunities and values.
Blockchain conferences Introducing various projects, showcasing the products were basically not enough. Now it was time to ‘Direct the Momentum’ in the right path for the whole ecosystem and for our portfolio companies.
In KBW2023, we decided to ‘DIFFERENTIATE’ by thematizing the whole conference into a big story.
Through dividing the whole conference, not by the sectors, but by the themes that needed answering, we arranged the sessions so that it enabled the leaders and innovators to openly discuss the questions that needed answering.
The speakers, including our portfolio companies, were provided with opportunities to share their recent thoughts and insights with other blockchain projects and to discuss the future path and roadmaps with each other to actually direct their momentum in a focused orientation on a public stage.
A total of 10 Themes were designed.
1. Fundamental Questions
The theme is dedicated to answering the fundamentals of crypto and blockchain.
What is ahead of crypto? Is sustainable blockchain games possible? What does Bitcoin mean to the world? What does decentralization mean? What’s the role of stablecoin in the crypto ecosystem?
Speakers Include: Jeremy Allaire (Circle), Vitalik Buterin, Arthur Hayes, Ryan Kim (Hashed), Hilmar Veigar Petursson (CCP Games) and Muneeb Ali and more.
2. Kingdom of Ethereum
The Theme is dedicated to discussing the past, present and future of ETH.
How will ETH change? What does the transition to POS mean to the industry? What is Distributed Validator Technology in ETH? What has, and what will shape the roll-up ecosystem?
Speakers include : Ed Felton (Arbitrum), Viktor Bunin (Coinbase), Isidoros Passadis (Lido), Collin Myers (Obol Network) and more.
3. Oil the Wheels
The theme is dedicated to discussing the questions that lie to foster the blockchain ecosystem and developers’ growth.
What will hybrid smart contracts do? Is the NFT royalty paving a new path or becoming an obstacle for the NFT growth? What developer tool kits will aid the development stage?
Speakers include: Sergey Nazarov (Chainlink), Pacman (Blur), Frank Degods (y00ts, Degods), Paul Kim (Notifi), Chi Zhang (ZettaBlock) and more.
4. Tech Unleashed
The theme is dedicated to discussing the recent trends and techs that have emerged in the blockchain ecosystem. Some maybe called radical, some maybe called revolutionary, and the discussions held will delve deep into the specifics and the futures ahead.
How does orderbook DEX work? What is zero knowledge and does it matter? Is privacy going to be an important keyword for blockchain? Does AI need blockchain or the other way around? Will the future be multichain?
Speakers include: Illia Polosukhin (NEAR), Emin Gun Sirer (Ava Labs), Irene Wu (Layerzero Labs), Alex Gluchowski (Matter Labs), Sandy Peng (Scroll), Charles d`Haussy (dYdX), Mike Cullian (Archway) and more.
5. Way to Billions
The theme is dedicated to answering the questions that are needed for the blockchain mass adoption. Blockchain technology has surged as one of the key technologies of the future. How can we move toward the next stage of mass adoption?
How do we bridge the gap between Web2 and Web3? Does storytelling matter in web3 adoption? What is the role of wallets in user onboarding? Will Web2 tech companies step in the blockchain race?
Speakers include: Bjorn Wagner (Parity), Mo Shaikh (Aptos), Daniel Alegre (Yuga Labs), Robin Guo (a16z), Woo Suk Kim (Finschia) and more.
6. Digital Nation
The theme is dedicated to discussing the potential development of social structures related to blockchain. Decentralized social graphs, metaverse, AI world are to be discussed.
What is UBI? What properties does the metaverse bring? Is a decentralized social graph needed in our society?
Speakers include: Sebastien Borget (The Sandbox), Wilson Wei (CyberConnect), Alan Lu (Animoca Brands) and more.
7. What is On-chain?
The theme is dedicated to explore the rising demand of on-chain data, and to discuss the potential use cases and the limitations it embraces. The discussion also involves the recent trends on Bitcoin Ordinals and on-chain insurances.
Is market transparency achievable through on-chain data? How do we utilize on-chain data to make DEFI safer? How’s Bitcoin Ordinals data encrypted on-chain?
Speakers include: Ki Young Ju (CryptoQuant), Miguel Morel (Arkham Intelligence), Dan Held, Trevor Owens, Dan Thomson (InsurAce) and more.
Apart from the seven themed stages to discuss the recent trends and rising questions ahead of the blockchain industry, in this year’s KBW there will be 3 additional themes that bring about special differentiation to the Korea Blockchain Week.
8. Regional Taste
The theme is dedicated to discussing the recent adoption and trends emerging in the Asia blockchain market. Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia have been commencing as the new center of blockchain technology.
What is going on in Korea Web2 tech companies? How is the Japanese crypto ecosystem being built? Is the abundance of developer pool in India and Southeast Asia bringing shifts to the blockchain industry?
Speakers include: Won Jun Lloyd (Hyperithm), Thanh Le (Coin98), Giang Tran (Aura Network), Edison Lim (BasedApp), Ryo Matsubara (Oasys), Bo Geun Song (Krafton) and more.
9. Institutional Fever
The theme is specially dedicated to the B2B side of blockchain. Big tech companies including Starbuks and Meta have been approaching blockchain through various angles such as wallet, NFTs and more. Institutional adoption and trading has become prevailing throughout the industry.
How is B2B business done in blockchain? What are the big tech companies expecting? Is RWA a new trend? What are institutions’ views of crypto as a whole?
Speakers include: Yoan Turpin (Wintermute), Jae Min (Magic), Janine Yorio (Everyrealm), Dan Patterson (Sfermion), Joshua Lim, Diana Biggs (1kx), Pascal Gauthier (Ledger), Mike Belshe (Bitgo), Rune Christensen (MakerDAO) and more.
10. Code in Law
Last but not least, the Code in Law theme is dedicated to discussing the regulation and law making that has been emerging in the blockchain industry.
How is CFTC viewing crypto? What are the recent guidelines for crypto companies signaling? How can regulation be merged with code?
Speakers include: Caroline Pham (CFTC), Carole House (Former White House National Security Council), Jin Kang (Hashed) and more
We thrive to achieve three goals through the DIFFERENTIATED KBW 2023 explained.
As we’ve always been, we will once dedicate ourselves to be a builder beyond mere investors. As an ecosystem builder, and as a community builder, we aim to foster the growth of the blockchain ecosystem and provide the space and opportunities for the world leading experts to shed light on the questions that lie ahead of the blockchain ecosystem. We aim to provide the path to guide the momentum forged.
In addition, as a devoted supporter of our portfolio companies, we aim to maximize the exposure of our portfolio companies in the yearly event, and add new values that bring about positive changes to the portfolio companies. To achieve this, we have invited approximately 25+ founders and C-level executives from Hashed portfolio companies as speakers for the main conference, IMPACT.
Through the design of 10 themes to share a comprehensive storytelling of the past, present and future of the blockchain industry, we aim to provide the speakers and our portfolio companies to be the ones ahead of the curve to answer the imminent questions that need answers for the ecosystem as a whole.
Last but not least, through this year’s meticulously planned KBW event, we anticipate that South Korea will have an opportunity to gain greater recognition in the global blockchain industry. And we hope for the blockchain ecosystem to expand in a healthier manner and for portfolio companies to receive more meaningful value-add within it.
If you are curious about the whole story, the massive storytelling we are building, how about flying into Seoul and joining us for KBW 2023? We look forward to seeing you all in person this September!
