MiamiWeb3 Summit, one of the premier institutional Web3 events of 2022, co-hosted by the City of Miamithe leading blockchain company CTH Group and its subsidiary Atlas, was held in the heart of downtown Miami by 28 to 30 Nov. This year’s theme is “Moving beyond crypto to embrace Web3”, the summit brought together more than 100 industry leaders to discuss the future of Web3 in front of nearly 1,500 attendees, offering constructive ideas to move the industry forward.
With an all-star speaker line-up, enlightening topics and full networking sessions on the main stage and six side events, MiamiWeb3 succeeded in becoming a globally relevant platform to drive meaningful discussion and results for the Web3 industry.
Raymond Yuanfounder and chairman of CTH Group and Atlas, thanked all participants: “We are humbled by the kind words of appreciation and support from everyone. MiamiWeb3 aims to be a bridge for the community to gather to talk about potential opportunities and build the future of Web3. We hope that MiamiWeb3 has shown the world that CTH Group is the ideal global partner for all institutional Web3 needs.”
There was a strong feeling throughout the discussions that Web3 and blockchain technology will once again innovate traditional financial markets and that this is here to stay. The main themes of the first day of MiamiWeb3 included the need for more regulation while enabling innovation, the role of Web3 as a revolutionary next step for the financial markets and the need for down-to-earth value creation in difficult times.
Francis SuarezMayor of Miamidelivered a keynote address and a fireside chat with Web3 native Julian HolguinCEO of Doodles. Mayor Suarez said he is pleased that the summit is being held Miami and stated that Web3 in Miami was here to stay. An outspoken supporter of Web3, he emphasized the need for regulation, stating that regulation should not stand in the way of innovation. Mayor Suarez further emphasized that this can be achieved if new emerging leaders work with lawmakers to find the right regulatory benchmarks to ensure this technology helps people and creates democratizing investment and wealth creation opportunities.
Raymond Yuan presented a state of industry speech echoing Mayor Suarez and shared the six key points CTH Group has learned during the turbulent years. He is confident in the Web3 industry, regardless of the current crypto winter: “With ten years of development, Web3 is still a young industry. We need more secure and efficient infrastructures, more reliable and easier to use applications and a wider range of user portals. More importantly, we need better solutions and we need to combine our achievements in technology innovations and tools to create a more practical solution. We are embracing the second decade of Web3, a decade of infinite possibilities and profound impact.”
After Raymond Yuan and Mayor Suarez led the summit, speakers emerged to share their differing views on the industry’s changing dynamics.
Renowned policy maker Senator Cynthia Lummis by Wyoming discussed her perspective on crypto policy, highlighting the current state of regulation and policy facing digital assets and the Web3 industry the United Stateshow industry and government officials should work together to shape these policies to embrace Web3 technologies, as well as the potential impact the Lummis-Gillibrand Responsible Financial Innovation Act could have on the industry.
In line with the senator’s outlook, leaders of traditional financial institutions such as Franklin Templeton And Neuberger Berman shared similar optimistic views about the future. IDEG’s Head of Institutional Sales, Christopher Leemoderated the session as the panelists spoke about their thoughts on the future of decentralized finance (DeFi). Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Commodity Strategist, Mike McGlonestated that this market will continue to evolve and that crypto is here to stay.
Chuck MountsChief DeFi officer at S&P Global, added: “Digital assets and blockchain technology are both a revolution and an evolution. Revolution changes the creation of new pools of capital and influences human, financial interaction through the tokenization of everything.
Representatives from the world’s leading think tanks, the Milken Institute, the Tony Blair Institute and the Atlantic Council, also discussed the demand for Web3.
Benedict Cooneydeputy executive director, technology and public policy at the Tony Blair Institute, stated, “we continue to see the greater innovation and adoption mindset in frontier markets. Adoption is driven by the need for service.” Nicole ValentineFinTech Director, Center for Financial Markets at the Milken Institute stressed that “our conversations are driven by how Web3 needs to evolve and build real value for the real economy,” to which Josh LipskySenior Director, GeoEconomics Center at the Atlantic Council reiterated that “institutional regulated stablecoins play a major role in global payments disruption.”
The first day of the MiamiWeb3 Summit ended with an agreement between speakers and participants, echoed throughout the sessions, that there is room for disruption in the traditional financial and non-financial industries and that Web3 and blockchain technology play a critical role.
The second day of the MiamiWeb3 Summit was kicked off by Dr Guang Yang, Partner and Vice President of CTH Group and Atlas. He stated: “CTH Group, with its sister companies, represents the ideal global and APAC partner, bringing its unique crypto expertise to Miami (USA),” articulating what guests have been thinking since the day before.
After the warm opening, legendary venture capitalist Tim Draperfounder of Draper Associates and staunch advocate of Digital Assets, took the stage for a fireside chat with Henry LoveManaging Partner of Fundamental Labs, on the outlook for the Web3 industry. Tim Draper said: “Redefining the existing real economy takes time. It doesn’t happen overnight. We are confident in continuing to attract the brightest people to this sector to develop our economy of today into the economy of tomorrow. Web3 will transform legacy finance, and those who innovate during the recession will do best. Bitcoin, DAOs and Web3 will revolutionize national economies.”
After the enlightening conversation by the fire, Anthony “Pomp” Pompliano, founder of Pomp Investmentsa highly respected investor in Bitcoin and the entire Web3 business landscape, shared his thoughts in a fireplace chat Kyle Ellicott, COO of Fundamental Labs. Pomp said he is currently cautious with the market and averse to risk. He highlighted critical differences between traditional investment firms and Web3 investment firms, stating: “Bitcoin is seen as the riskiest asset within a traditional portfolio. However, within a basket of the digital economy, compared to the venture capital investments I make, Bitcoin is the least risky asset. Institutions are already in digital assets. Free market economies allow individuals to build their own projects, bypassing existing incumbents who innovate more slowly.”
From an investor perspective, well-known Web3 ecosystem funds and emerging industry investors discussed investing in the future of Web3, from networks and platforms to applications and communities. The panel, led by Christopher LeeHead of Institutional Sales at IDEG, gave attendees a rare opportunity to gain insight into the challenges and opportunities global investors face when investing in an ever-dynamic industry. David Ganfounder and general partner of OP Crypto, a Fund of Funds (FOFs) and a direct investor in Web3 projects, said: “We see investing in managers and projects as the same due diligence process. Managers find raising capital scarce, and managers are likely to cut fees this time compared to the bull market.
Following the lead of the venture capitalists, the discussion shifted to Web3 infrastructure and applications. Representatives of Ava LabsStratos, Partisia Blockchain and Concordia joined Kevin LooManaging Director at IDEG, to discuss the contributions of infrastructure and scalability solutions powering the underlining industry and its applications, along with the Web3 Foundation’s interoperable future.
In discussing the Web3 application layer, the panelists delved into the rapidly evolving gaming world by speaking about on-chain in-game resources, interoperability between games, and the potential of the gaming industry to be a major catalyst for the adoption of Web3. The panel was led by Vinayak Rao, Principal at Fundamental Labs. Featured speakers ranged from gaming infrastructure providers to full-fledged Web3 game developers, including David BennahumCEO of Ready Games, Jeremy Horn, co-founder of Xterio, and Urvit Goel, VP Global Games & Platform Business Development at Polygon. Mr. Bennahum emphasized that a good user experience for the player would drive relevant adoption of in-game assets, which in turn can drive adoption of Web3.
Representing another important sector of the entertainment industry, the film industry, Bill KramerCEO of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, shared his unique insights on how Web3 can make an impact from Hollywood content distribution mechanisms in the future. Bill Kramer emphasized that entertainment studios are thinking strongly about improving content distribution, stating “While we are eager to embrace Web3 technologies, studios need to protect against quality loss.”
Additional discussions wrapped up the second half of the second day of the summit, covering topics such as regulation with the Executive Director of the Blockchain Association Kristin Smith and Bain Capital Crypto’s Partner and Head of Regulations and Policy, Tuongvy Ledigital identity with SVP and Channel Chief of Unstoppable Domain, Sandy Carterdecentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) headed by Bitstamp’s Chief Legal Officer, Rika Khurdayan, the future of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) after the hype of 2020-2021, and how Web3 technologies can play a role in the sports and museum industries. Finally, the event concluded with a panel on our digital lives and the economics of metaverses led by the executive director of Venture Miami, Eric Gavin and accompanied by panelists Annie JiAmbassador to Theirsverse, Louise Marie Marguetfounder and CEO of Emojam and Jared McCluskeyFounder/CEO/CTO of The Mirror.
The MiamiWeb3 Summit is set to return next year in 2023 to continue to provide institutions with a one-stop opportunity to be part of the Web3 story and contribute to the industry’s future growth.
