The major global technology conference Web Summit is returning to Portugal with a live event to delve deeper into the world of fintech and crypto.

The Web Summit 2021, the first physical conference of the Web Summit since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, begins in Lisbon on November 1st. The event covers topics from crypto to geopolitics and is expected to bring together 40,000 attendees by November.

Cryptocurrencies are an integral part of the Web Summit

Web Summit fintech expert Shauna Kiely told Cointelegraph that the crypto industry has become one of the most talked about topics at the conference in recent years, largely covered at the pitch.

“Our events change every year, but one area that stays current is crypto. We have seen an enormous shift in the fintech world from various digital currencies and decentralized finances to the introduction of unusable tokens and the question of how environmentally sustainable cryptocurrencies really are. “

The Web Summit has hosted numerous seminars, lectures, and activities on cryptocurrency and blockchain over the past few years, attended by major industry spokesmen such as Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin, Revolut co-founder Nikolay Storonsky, Akon crypto advocates, and others.

In an online interview at the Web Summit last year, PayPal CEO Dan Schulman predicted that digital currencies will one day become mainstream. Big blockchain data provider and Blockchain.com wallet ran $ 100,000 giveaway for the Stellar blockchain at the 2018 Web Summit.

Web Summit 2021 crypto and blockchain agenda

The upcoming Web Summit will bring together executives from major companies and platforms in the crypto industry, including speakers from hardware crypto wallet provider Ledger, the smart contract platform Tezos Smart Browser and the decentralized web browser Brave.

On November 2nd, veteran crypto investor Tim Draper will discuss crypto investment issues with Tezos co-founder Kathleen Breitman and Ledger CEO Pascal Gauthier. Breitman will also tackle cryptocurrency mining with BitGreen CEO Adam Carver amid global environmental concerns. On November 4th, Brave CEO Brendan Eich will speak about the capabilities of the decentralized web and blockchain to protect user data.

The upcoming Web Summit event will also cover topics related to unusable tokens (NFT) and decentralized finance (DeFi).

On November 4th, award-winning rap star and songwriter Tinie Tempah will discuss the impact of the NFT on the modern music business. Nicolas Julia, co-founder and CEO of the blockchain-based fantasy soccer game Sorare, will also speak about NFT in the entertainment industry. Illia Polosukhin, co-founder of the DeFi platform Near Protocol, will speak about the decentralization of the internet made possible by blockchain technology.

Some of the top speakers at Web Summit 2021, like World Wide Web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee, may have something to say about the crypto industry. In July 2021, he sold an NFT of the web’s source code for $ 5.4 million at Sotheby’s art auction house. Berners-Lee will discuss the next era of the web in a panel discussion on November 4th.

Cointelegraph Editor-in-Chief Kristina Lucrezia Cornèr also attended. She will meet with Drift Co-Founder David Cancel and Red Points CEO Laura Urquizu on Nov.

Compliance with COVID-19

Originally held in Dublin, Ireland, the Web Summit moved to Lisbon in 2016 as tech companies and teleworkers decided to move to Portugal. The country is also currently one of the most vaccinated jurisdictions in the world and has the second highest vaccination rate in the world after the United Arab Emirates, according to Our World In Data.

The organizers of the Web Summit 2021 are working closely with the Portuguese health authorities to ensure a safe event and to comply with local COVID-19 restrictions, including face masks. An official certificate of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test is required to attend the Web Summit. If no official certificate can be presented, the organizer will require a negative PCR or antigen test, which is only valid for 72 hours.

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“We couldn’t be more excited to be personal again. Seeing people reconnect safely face-to-face and experience the magic of face-to-face interaction will be amazing. Live events are making a comeback worldwide. We’re seeing thousands of world-class speakers, startups, investors and the media eager to meet everyone again, ”said Paddy Cosgrave, CEO of Web Summit.

The Web Summit 2021 follows another major industry event, the World Blockchain Summit in Dubai, which took place in mid-October. The conference brought together a number of prominent executives and investors, Foundation founder Serguei Popov and others.