All eyes on London as it catapults mass adoption of crypto and blockchain technology
In just over two weeks (October 5-6) the most influential names in the digital asset space will gather at London’s Zebu Live 2023. Mo Gawdat, AI expert and bestselling author, and Coinbase’s UK country director, Elke Karskens, will join zkSync, Blockchain.com, and Diary of a CEO podcast host and BBC Dragon’s Den member, Steven Bartlett, at the conference taking place during London’s Web3 week. The week is set to galvanise the Web3 community to define both what’s needed to establish London as the global crypto and blockchain hub and answer how the industry can become a mainstream destination for transaction and interaction.
In the year following Matt Hancock’s appeal at Zebu Live in 2022 for the UK to “become the home of crypto” and implement “progressive legislation”, calls for clarity on how the industry is governed have grown louder across the globe. Despite dominating in terms of infrastructure, the US has been criticised for its lack of distinction between the regulations that govern traditional financial entities and those that govern crypto. This ambiguity has led to firms facing legal action for alleged breaches.
Coinbase, one of many leaders in the space calling for the classification of crypto assets, will be sending its UK country director, Elke Karskens, to take to the Zebu Live mainstage. Elke will expand on how the company is set to create an industry precedent having declined the SEC’s request to delist all assets except bitcoin. This move, in the company’s view, would have caused the end of the crypto industry.
Elsewhere, the European Union’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regime has been criticised for enforcing a clearly defined ownership structure that risks the industry’s guiding principle that no one entity is in charge.
This landscape, when combined with the vast number of Web3 startups and the domestic government support for the industry, has created a perfect storm for the UK to claim the title as global hub of crypto asset technology and investment. Earlier this year, Rishi Sunak gave his public support for Andreessen Horowitz’s (“a16z”) new UK office, having been steadfast in ensuring the country should support ‘the business of tomorrow and the jobs it creates’ during his premiership. The American firm said its decision to move was the UK’s ‘deep pools of talent’ and ‘world-class regulators.’
Answering the appeal for crypto users and leaders to engage the government and assist in creating the ideal environment for Web3 success, Zebu Live will be welcoming Dr Lisa Cameron, MP, who in June 2023 published a report jointly involving Members of Parliament and the House of Lords on the need for urgent regulation of the cryptocurrency and digital asset industry.
Alongside regulation discussions, innovators in the space continue to evolve the systems and infrastructure within the crypto ecosystem to make mainstream decentralisation a reality and place the industry in front of the masses. Zebu Live will unpack the following:
> The Future of Trading
High on the agenda at the conference will be the tools required to simplify the user-experience of blockchain-based applications. Some of the largest exchanges in the world and attendees of Zebu Live – Coinbase, Bitget, Blockchain.com and Archax – are all investing heavily in innovation and new products to make trading more accessible and secure for retail users as well as enabling institutional adoption of crypto.
One of the means to achieve this is through the development of more sophisticated derivatives products. Coinbase is soon to launch a derivatives platform in the UK that will give traders more options for managing their risk and exposure, whilst Bitget continues to lead the way in derivative trading (including perpetual contracts and options) and is rapidly expanding the cryptocurrencies its users can trade. As well as plans to launch a derivatives platform in the near future, Blockchain.com serves as a model for other exchanges in establishing a steadfast platform that focuses on security and compliance which in turn will increase institutional investor sentiment.
Also dominating the conversation of making trading more accessible is the move to Layer2. At Zebu Live, zkSync, Lightlink (a new L2 that provides a scalable blockchain at enterprise level) and Holochain (enhancing developer’s digital agency) will discuss the merits of Layer2, with Orbs leading on the topic of Layer3s, as it explores the technology it sees as forging the road to mainstream adoption.
> An osmosis between Web2 and Web3 banking
MELD, the Web3 banking stack joining the Zebu Live speaker roster, is spearheading the next wave of fintech having created a means for users to hold traditional currency and crypto in one place, and move between the two seamlessly. The DeFi protocol (which attracted 50,000 users on its waitlist in a shorter timeframe than Revolut) signifies a break into new territory for the digitalisation of money.
Significant strides continue to be made to accelerate institutional adoption with trailblazers such as Zodia Custody, an FCA-registered custodian underpinned by Standard Chartered Bank, SBI, and Northern Trust, offering a suite of custody services, including staking and off-exchange settlement service, Interchange.
> What does an on-chain future look like for gaming and the metaverse?
The gaming industry will also receive the spotlight as its adoption of on-chain technology is met with a a seismic stream of funding: the industry is forecast to be worth $65 billion by 2027. The likes of Animoca, Playember, and The Cryptoverse will answer why an on-chain future will be revolutionary for user experience.
“It’s clear that the UK is in a prime position to lead a global example for setting the roadmap on how Web3 can deliver on its promises of self sovereignty in finance and data ownership”, comments Harry Horsfall, CEO and co-founder of Zebu Live.
“The biggest brands in Web3, thousands of users and artists, investors and even members of parliament will descend upon London during Web3 week answering the PM’s call for collaboration to drive project and infrastructure development. We will also combine forces to set the government and regulatory bodies to task in clarifying the regulations needed to cement our seat at the head of the global Web3 table. Slowly then suddenly.”
To join in on the conversation, don’t miss your chance to secure a ticket to Zebu Live. Tickets are priced from £199 and can be secured via Eventbrite here.
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