IBW participants will discuss hot topics, such as crypto adoption in India, regulations, and Web3 development.
The venture capital fund Hashed Emergent will host a multi-chain Web3 conference in Bangalore, India, at the beginning of December this year. The event, dubbed “India Blockchain Week (IBW),” will touch upon the country’s increasing role in the cryptocurrency industry.
Indians have shown interest in digital assets lately (especially during the COVID-19 pandemic), whereas some leading crypto-related companies have decided to expand their presence in the Asian nation.
The First Such Event in India
According to a document seen by CryptoPotato, the upcoming “India Blockchain Week” will be the first Web3 event with pan-industry agenda in India. It will last from December 4 until December 10 and include hackathons and parties.
The headline conference will take place on December 6-7 and will include panel discussions, speaker sessions, and debates with participants part of the blockchain sector.
IBW will also focus on the latest developments in the cryptocurrency industry, the adoption and use cases of the asset class, and regulations. Last but not least, it will touch upon the emerging Web3 field and its potential advancement in India.
The marketing agency – MarketAcross – will join the conference as the global media lead. The entity has played a similar role in other events, including Korea Blockchain Week, Paris Blockchain Week, WebX, and IVS Kyoto.
The list of speakers participating in IBW has not yet been revealed to the public. However, it will feature some prominent names part of the cryptocurrency field. Sharing more details on the event was Tak Lee – Managing Partner of Hashed Emergent:
“We’re excited to bring the first world-class, pan-industry, and multi-chain web3 conference to India, finally giving it the attention it has always deserved.
Bangalore ranks among the most prolific startup hubs worldwide, and Indian startups in web3 have made a considerable impact on the industry, spearheaded by multiple hugely successful protocols and products. We believe that IBW will quickly become one of the most interesting and diverse gathering places for the crypto industry.”
Simon Kim, CEO of Hashed, views India as “a tech innovation hub” that “has penetrated the crypto realm with a highly qualified pool of skilled talent and will lead a new wave of the blockchain industry.” He raised hopes that the conference could emerge as the main blockchain event in the county and position the nation on the global Web3 map.
Indians Flock to Crypto
Cryptocurrencies have picked steam lately in India, with locals gradually shifting toward the asset class in the past few years. As CryptoPotatoreported in the summer of 2021, investments in bitcoin and alternative coins considerably spiked during the COVID-19 health disaster. Some Indians have even ditched gold (seen as one of their favorite investment assets) to enter the crypto ecosystem.
A Statista report presented earlier this year estimated that India’s crypto community could reach over 156 million members (approximately 11% of the population) by the end of 2023.
The analysis showed that the residents of Delhi and Bengaluru (where the IBW event will take place) have the highest number of HODLers.
Some prominent crypto organizations have realized India’s potential and set up offices there. Gemini, for one, recently revealed plans to establish a new engineering hub in Gurgaon. Pravjit Tiwana – CEO of Gemini Asia Pacific – explained that the firm has chosen India due to its “deep respect and admiration” for its “tradition of engineering excellence.”
The upcoming unit will aim to develop Web3 mobile user experience and advance the NFT and crypto marketplaces.