In recent years, Dubai has positioned itself as the premier blockchain hub in the Middle East. The city is trying to become the world leader in this sector, with numerous blockchain initiatives being initiated by government organisations as well as private companies. In February 2018, the UAE Government launched the Emirates Blockchain Strategy 2021.
The strategy aims to make Dubai the first blockchain-powered city. Also, the Emirates Blockchain Strategy has a vision of Dubai being a centre for innovation and excellence in the adoption of blockchain technology and its future applications. One sector that Dubai needed to focus on was events. Hosting events, workshops and more could potentially drive people to come to Dubai interested in crypto. An event that sparked our interest was the Future Blockchain Conference.
The Future Blockchain Conference was hosted at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), organised by Dubai government-owned Smart Dubai, and sponsored by GITEX. The conference aimed at exploring the impact of blockchain technology and was attended by over 15,000 participants. The conference had keynotes by famous speakers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) Vice President for Asia Pacific & Japan, Andy Jassy, and the CEO of the IOTA Foundation, Dominik Schiener.
The team spent the week of the conference in the heart of the city (Downtown Apartments). The apartment overlooked the city and was right next to the iconic Burj Khalifa building. From the 60th floor, the views were breathtaking and it was accompanied by entertainment as it was connected to the Dubai Mall, so it was never a dull moment shopping in the evenings.
On the first day at the Future Blockchain Conference, it was quite overwhelming, but we were up for the challenge. We made connections and spoke to a number of key leaders and companies in the web3/crypto space. We connected with the likes of Binance, Goons of Balatroons, Kasta, OKX and many more!
On day two, we had a game plan to try and speak to everyone at the centre so as soon as we got to the Dubai World Trade Centre we broke off into our teams and got networking! It was amazing to get to experience new technology, pitch our services and discuss how to speed mass adoption within our ecosystem.
Day three was about meeting with other investors so it was great to meet other like-minded people. Finding out where there were gaps in the market and where Priority Crypto was able to potentially collaborate or work with other companies to provide the best service available in the space.
Day four was our last day so we tried to squeeze in as much as we could, from sightseeing the best places around Dubai to trying different cuisines and even taking a refreshing dip in the pool.
It was such an amazing experience, and we would love to go back for round two!
