If Day 1 of the London Blockchain Conference 2025 set the stage, Day 2 at Evolution London lit it on fire. Across three buzzing stages – Visionaries, Innovation, and Insights – thought leaders, policymakers, and entrepreneurs shared how blockchain is reshaping finance, government, sustainability, and culture itself.
The key theme? Trust – how to build it, earn it, and scale it in a decentralised world.
Visionaries Stage: How to Win the Trust Wars
Elfried Samba’s Emotional Blueprint for Brand Building
Kicking off the day, Elfried Samba, CEO of Butterfly Effect and former Head of Global Social Content at Gymshark, took the Visionaries Stage to answer a crucial question: How do you win trust in the decentralised era?
His answer was simple but profound: “You scale for trust.”
Drawing from his experience turning Gymshark from a 24-person startup into a £1.4 billion global fitness empire, Samba emphasised that modern marketing isn’t about IQ – it’s about EQ.
“The brands that make people feel something are the ones that scale,” he said. “Facts and figures don’t move people. Feelings do.”
Samba dropped eye-opening stats that got marketers scribbling notes:
- 88% of people trust word of mouth.
- Only 30% trust brand messaging directly.
- 82% are more likely to trust a company when its executives are active on social media.
His advice to blockchain innovators? Humanise the message.
When Apple launched the iPod, they didn’t sell storage specs – they sold 1,000 songs in your pocket. “Blockchain needs that same magic,” Samba urged. “Sell the benefit, not the math.”
He closed with a rallying cry for the entire industry:
“Talk less. Do more. Earn trust through action.”
Visionaries Stage: Stablecoins – The New Money Revolution
After Samba’s call for authenticity came a deep dive into the evolution of digital money. Dr. Bernhard Kronfellner, Head of Web3 at Boston Consulting Group, captivated the audience with his session on, Stablecoins That Scale: Five Tests for Real-World Money.
His message? Stablecoins aren’t just the future of finance – they’re already here.
“The crowd has changed,” he said, smiling. “It used to be people in hoodies. Now it’s people in suits. That’s the first sign stablecoins have arrived.”
Kronfellner’s five tests for viable stablecoins:
- Additional Value – They must make payments faster, cheaper, and easier.
- Use Cases – Beyond trading, they need real-world functionality.
- Revenues – Sustainability depends on monetisation.
- Regulations – Compliance must be baked in.
- CBDC Coexistence – They must work with central bank currencies, not against them.
His analogy hit home:
“Stablecoins are the 20-lane mega highway for money, while traditional banking is still the pot-holed road.”
He compared the coming shift to Airbnb’s impact on hospitality – stablecoins will do for money what Airbnb did for accommodation.
The benefits? Lightning-fast transactions, lower fees, transparency, programmability, and global accessibility.
But the biggest takeaway: Banks must get involved or be left behind.
“The upsides are increasing, and the downsides are disappearing,” Kronfellner concluded.
Visionaries Stage: Tokenisation Takes Off
Later in the day, a powerhouse panel featuring executives from Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, Schroders, and Trilitech explored tokenisation in action.
Sabih Behzad of Deutsche Bank defined tokenisation as offering “accessibility, programmability, and cost benefits” – effectively creating digital twins of assets that can be traded instantly and securely.
Emma Lovett of JP Morgan wowed the audience by outlining how blockchain enables “real-time tracking of who owns what, when.”
But amid the optimism, Sonia Chawla from Schroders injected caution, warning that while tokenisation’s promise is massive, “technology and regulation still need to catch up.”
The consensus? Tokenisation will bridge traditional and digital finance – but education and regulatory clarity are key.
Visionaries Stage: Blockchain for Governments and Democracy
The afternoon’s spotlight turned toward governance and the public sector. Lord Holmes of Richmond, Member of the UK House of Lords, delivered a passionate keynote, Human-Led, Tech-Driven: Blockchain for Public Good.
“Blockchain can track every beat of a supply chain,” he said, “from factory to front door, bringing transparency to sectors that have long been opaque.”
Holmes’ vision extended to democracy itself:
“Imagine elections powered by blockchain – every vote secure, every claim verifiable. Blockchain could empower our very democracies.”
His call to action was powerful and poetic:
“It’s our data, our decisions, our digital future – together.”
Visionaries Stage: Estonia’s Digital Government Playbook
A rockstar moment on Day 2 came from Siim Sikkut, former CIO of the Government of Estonia, in a fireside chat moderated by the BBC’s Mark Lobel.
Dubbed “the Elon Musk of digital government,” Sikkut shared how Estonia became a model for e-governance through experimentation and courage.
“Digital ID was our first step,” he explained. “It’s how we authenticate securely. Every country needs it.”
Sikkut revealed that Estonia saves 2% of its GDP every year thanks to digital transformation – the same amount it spends on national defence.
His final advice to global policymakers?
“Keep experimenting. Failure is okay – recklessness is not.”
Innovation Stage: A Cultural Reset Through Blockchain
On the Innovation Stage, Brendan Lee, CEO of Elas, unveiled Origin Exchange – a blockchain-powered marketplace for fractional ownership of music rights.
“Imagine owning a piece of Thriller,” he said. “We’re talking about a complete reset of cultural ownership.”
Lee described how songs could be broken down into digital shares, allowing fans to invest in their favourite artists while providing creators with new revenue streams.
“Fractionalising music is just the beginning,” he teased. “Film, art, TV – the sky’s the limit.”
Insights Stage: Regulation, Collaboration, and Sustainability
Meanwhile, at the Insights Stage, the focus shifted to collaboration and global impact.
A panel of experts, including Jonathan Middleton of NayaOne and Sarah Sinclair of Co-Labs Global, discussed how regulators must cooperate across borders. “Don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good,” Middleton urged. “Progress matters more than perfection.”
Reginald Tumusiime of the Blockchain Association of Uganda highlighted Africa’s innovation boom in payments, driven by the need for financial inclusion:
“It’s one of the most exciting markets for anyone thinking differently.”
In another standout session on sustainability, Genevieve Leveille of AgriLedger shared how blockchain projects in Haiti thrived even amid government collapse. “No government? No problem,” she said. “Blockchain gave people control of their own data.”
And Ismael Dainehine of EverGive left the audience with a striking line:
“The biggest risk isn’t Bitcoin. It’s not planning for the future.”
The Big Picture: Blockchain Is Growing Up
By the time the final applause rang out, one thing was crystal clear: blockchain isn’t just disrupting – it’s maturing.
From Samba’s rallying cry for emotional connection to Sikkut’s vision of government efficiency and Kronfellner’s roadmap for stablecoins, Day 2 was a showcase of blockchain’s human side – how it builds trust, empowers citizens, and fuels a fairer, faster, and more transparent world.
The decentralised revolution, it seems, is no longer about hype. It’s about humanity, trust, and transformation – and London just proved it’s leading the charge.
