Last May 21-23, the ExCel London, perched on the banks of the river Thames, became a buzzing melting pot of technological innovation, as it hosted the London Blockchain Conference 2024.
The annual conference drew a diverse crowd of attendees from across the globe—business leaders, academics, developers, and innovators—all converging to explore and discuss the blockchain, fintech, artificial intelligence (AI), and regulatory landscapes.
The three-day event was an eclectic mix of panel discussions, keynote talks from industry thought leaders, product launches and demonstrations, and of course, multiple opportunities for networking with peers and colleagues.
Topics discussed at #LDNBlockchain24 ranged from technical insights into hot topics in blockchain, such as digital asset recovery, stablecoins and tokenising real-world assets, to keynotes on economic trends and the importance of responsible AI.
Fireside with a Dragon
One of the highlights was a fireside chat with British entrepreneur, podcaster, and ‘TV dragon’ Steven Bartlett.
Perhaps best known as the creator of the podcast series ‘The Diary of a CEO’, Bartlett regaled LBC attendees with his tips for success and his insights on the future of the blockchain space.
These included how leveraging digital platforms can drive business growth and engagement, and how B2B enterprises can adapt, thrive, and stay ahead in a fast-paced marketplace.
“My career started in social media…blockchain felt a lot like social media did several years ago,” said Bartlett. “All you need to ask yourself is what is better, faster, and cheaper.”
In terms of areas in which Bartlett sees particular promise, he predicted “Gaming will be the killer use case,” saying that combining the booming gaming space with Web3 and blockchain technology is a “no brainer” in terms of where value can be found.
The conference features speakers discussing various blockchain networks—Bartlett, for example, told his audience about his excitement for the Ethereum blockchain, while other talks and panelists discussed different blockchains and various stablecoins, including Tether and USDC.
But none of the speakers embodied the conference’s blockchain-agnostic mantra more than its opening keynote Scott Galloway, who told his rapt audience that, personally, he doesn’t see much value in blockchain at all—you could even say he was blockchain-apathetic.
Predictions for the Coming Year
A professor of Marketing at the prestigious Stern School of Business at NYU, Galloway brought a high-level business perspective to the event, whilst offering up six economic and financial predictions for the coming year.
Two of Galloway’s predictions related to another key theme of the conference, AI technology.
Specifically, that we will reach peak AI valuations in the coming year, and that the biggest impact of AI will be loneliness, particularly amongst young men.
However, Galloway’s number one prediction was that the “tech of the year” will be GLP-1, the so-called ‘signal’ drugs, such as Ozempic, used to curb food craving and help dramatic weight loss.
As mentioned, unfortunately for assembled enthusiasts of blockchain technology, it was one of the trends Galloway was less interested in, saying: “I see a social movement… Crypto has become a revolution where young people have said, ‘I need my own asset classes to get wealthy because I can’t trust boomers to make forward-leaning investments to make sure I have the same prosperity as you had.’”
It’s fair to say, though, that the overall feeling amongst speakers and attendees was one of cautious optimism about the future and possibilities of blockchain, and the London Blockchain Conference 2024 received plaudits from its guests for fostering this sentiment.
Reactions From Attendees & Speakers
One such enthused speaker was John Velissarios, founder and director of Otranto Limited, an IT security consultancy. He hosted a discussion on ‘How blockchain technology is reshaping the landscape of cybersecurity.’
“It’s great to have a community like this come together,” said Velissarios. “What I was very happy about was people coming at it from different aspects of the industry. From the Blockchain space, the enterprise space and various other organisations that are participating and attending.”
Jeffrey Golden KC (Hon), a barrister at 3 Hare Court, brought a very different type of expertise and background to the event but was equally impressed with the conference’s broad appeal.
“It’s exciting to see the breath of audience the conference has brought together,” said Golden KC, who was part of a panel that debunked the misnomer “code is law.”
Aside from the diverse audience, diversity of speakers was a feature of the conference that also came in for praise.
Landy Slattery, the Creative Director of Channel 4 streaming at 4creative, said of her experience: “It was lovely to sit on a panel with an investor and a recruiter and a chief people officer and I was coming from the perspective of a creative Director from the creative industries.”
This was echoed by Tom Spiller, Legal Director at Rosenblatt law firm in the U.K., which advises blockchain businesses on how to stay within legal boundaries.
