TOKEN2049 Dubai brought together the biggest names in crypto, but beyond the packed stages and polished decks were frank takes on market reality, strategic pivots, and what’s quietly driving the next wave of innovation.
We asked leading builders, analysts, and executives to drop the pitch decks and speak plainly. Here’s what you need to know—direct from the source.
From your vantage point, what was the real signal at TOKEN2049 Dubai—not the hype, but the one shift or conversation that’s likely to influence how this industry moves in Q2 and beyond?
Eowyn Chen (CEO of Trust Wallet): The real signal was the increasing movement of US and European funds toward Dubai, not just visiting, but actively setting up local operations. Many are seeking more regulatory clarity and operational freedom, and the UAE is emerging as a strategic base for that.
This shift is fostering a new regional ecosystem, where innovation in trading, lending, and both on-chain and off-chain yield strategies is accelerating. That financial infrastructure focus, not just consumer or cultural buzz, was the core theme quietly shaping Q2 and beyond.
Vivien Lin (Chief Product Officer at BingX): TOKEN2049 marked a transition from speculative hype to institutional maturity, regulatory alignment, and long-term infrastructure development.
What stood out wasn’t just the announcements, but the convergence of builders, policymakers, and capital in a way that made Dubai feel like more than a venue.
Instead of chasing the next meme coin, the serious conversations were about utility, DeFi–CeFi convergence, and global leadership in Web3.
A lot was said about institutional flows and market structure. Based on what you saw and heard during the event, do you believe institutional demand is finally translating into meaningful volume, or is it still mostly narrative?
Eowyn: Institutional demand is no longer theoretical—it’s becoming measurable. That said, the growth is uneven. There’s increasing volume and experimentation, particularly in payments and liquidity provisioning. But product-market fit is still developing in certain areas, including stablecoins and self-custodial wallets.
The dual opportunity—between markets like the UAE and the US—makes this a pivotal moment for building the right regulatory and infrastructure foundations to turn demand into durable volume.
Griffin Ardern (Head of BloFin Research and Options): Institutional demand has already translated into meaningful trading volume. IBIT’s AUM has surpassed TLT, and Tether has become the 10th-largest holder of US Treasury bonds and one of the main players in T-bills.
However, institutions’ preferences are significantly different from those of crypto natives. Most transactions revolve around BTC and stablecoins, while the proportion of transactions for other cryptocurrencies is significantly lower than the market average. Of course, crypto native institutions are still trying to profit from altcoins. Still, most professional investment institutions view BTC more as a macro asset (that is, ‘digital gold’) independent of the crypto market, and make asset allocations and transactions based on this feature.
For altcoins, due to the high liquidity risk, price volatility risk and market manipulation risk, most institutions will avoid holding altcoin exposure, except for market makers.
Panels around AI and blockchain sparked strong reactions. Beyond buzzwords, where do you see a tangible overlap between your business and AI integration today, if any?
Vivien: For us, AI isn’t a side project; it’s a core strategic pillar. We’re already seeing how AI enhances decision-making at every step—from tools like Smart Position Analysis, which recommends real-time exposure adjustments, to AI Trade Review, which helps users learn and evolve from their trading history.
That’s the real overlap. AI is a value driver, not just a buzzword.
Eowyn: Right now, we’re still early. AI is showing the most immediate promise in infrastructure, compliance, automation, and internal operations. But looking forward, we’re exploring how AI could enhance the user experience in practical ways: better scam detection, contextual warnings, or tailored interfaces.
These are still exploratory, but we see long-term potential. It’s important to stay grounded. AI must align with our mission of giving users autonomy, not adding layers of hidden control.
Tokenization of real-world assets got major stage time. Are RWAs a near-term opportunity for your team, or is the infrastructure still too fragmented to justify full commitment?
Michael Jerlis (Founder & CEO of EMCD): Tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) was one of the most talked-about areas, and it’s clearly moving from concept to reality. We’re seeing more transparent, reliable solutions emerge, and the foundational infrastructure is maturing faster than expected.
At EMCD, we’ve already launched our own RWA initiative, enabling users to access tokenized income-generating assets in a secure and compliant way. One key advantage is the low entry threshold—starting from just $5,000—making this opportunity accessible to a wider range of investors.
While challenges around custody and regulation still exist, the momentum is real, and we believe RWAs will be a key driver of adoption in the next wave of crypto evolution.
The memecoin debate re-emerged in Dubai. From your seat, do memecoins still play a relevant role in onboarding, liquidity, or culture, or are they losing steam?
Eowyn: Memecoins still play a role—but the tone is shifting. They’ve been useful for cultural engagement and onboarding, especially for users who found crypto through memes, not manuals. But now we’re seeing the speculative side dominate, while genuine user adoption appears to be tapering off.
It’s not about dismissing memes but recognizing when their cultural value is being replaced by pure volatility. Infrastructure needs to help users move from hype to something more lasting. That’s where wallets come in.
You’ve probably sat in or led private conversations during side events. What themes or pain points came up off-stage that deserve more industry attention?
Michael: Off-stage, the most honest conversations weren’t about tech but user fatigue. There’s a growing sense that too much of crypto still feels like work. Simplifying UX, reducing custody friction, and building products that ‘just work’—these themes came up again and again.”
Vivien: One recurring theme was the overwhelming complexity of navigating crypto tools, especially for newcomers. Despite years of innovation, there’s still a steep learning curve when it comes to understanding products, managing risk, or even identifying trustworthy platforms.
The next wave of growth won’t come from more features—it’ll come from simplifying the experience and making intelligence accessible at every step.
Dubai’s positioning as a crypto hub feels more cemented than ever. Did this year’s TOKEN2049 shift how your team views MENA as a market, regulatory base, or expansion priority?
Tracy Jin (COO of MEXC): Dubai’s emergence as a global crypto hub has been remarkable, and this year’s TOKEN2049 reinforced our confidence in the MENA region’s strategic importance. We deliberately chose TOKEN2049 Dubai to announce our $300 million Ecosystem Development Fund because we see MENA as crucial to our global expansion strategy.
The region offers a unique combination of tech-savvy users and institutional capital that’s increasingly flowing into digital assets. While we’ve maintained operations in various global jurisdictions, Dubai provides the kind of certainty and potential for long-term planning and investment.
Following TOKEN2049, we’re accelerating our MENA strategy with deeper local partnerships and tailored products for regional users.
In a fast-moving market, post-event euphoria often fades quickly. How do you decide which insights from TOKEN2049 are worth turning into action, and which are better left on the panel stage?
Michael: Post-event, our filter is simple: if it doesn’t solve a real user pain point today, it’s noise. We left Dubai energized but disciplined, doubling down on insights that align with actual product needs, not just panel buzz.
After everything discussed—from AI to regulation to market structure—what’s one contrarian take or uncomfortable truth you think the industry still needs to confront?
Stephan Lutz (CEO of BitMEX): Most of the industry is still driven by the narrative of making quick money, attracting investors, or issuing tokens to bring forward discounted future revenues (before they are even built).
The hard work of building a real decentralized autonomous organisation (DAO) that isn’t just about voting on what coin to invest in, is yet to be seen. I envision working networks that allow for real coordination including micropayments for either AI agents or drones.
Another aspect would be increased advancement on the tokenization of private assets, not just the distribution of existing de-materialised and tradable financial assets to crypto natives.
Dr. Han (Founder & CEO of Gate Group): To be honest, institutions won’t bend to crypto norms. If we want to onboard serious institutions or capitals, we need to speak their language—legal clarity, security, compliance, and regulatory frameworks. These are not only the foundation for overcoming challenges, but also the driving force for innovation. ‘Advancing innovation through global compliance’—this mindset is at the core of Gate’s long-term leadership.
Eowyn: As an industry, we’re still building too much for insiders. Most users, especially those new to what Web3 and crypto offer, don’t care about tokenomics, consensus models, or governance mechanisms. They care about safety, ease of use, and trust.
Until we design products that meet those needs without jargon, we’ll keep cycling through the same bubbles. Decentralization means nothing if it’s not accessible. That’s a key uncomfortable truth the industry has to internalize.”
Let’s flip the lens: What’s one underrated project, trend, or signal you picked up during TOKEN2049 that you think more people should be paying attention to?
Jeff Ko (Chief Analyst at CoinEx Research): We’ve observed the rise of a niche yet rapidly maturing sector — the Bittensor ($TAO) ecosystem.
Bittensor represents a new frontier in blockchain innovation through its subnet architecture, enabling the creation of specialized, application-driven networks. Unlike conventional general-purpose chains, these subnets are tailored for highly specific and high-value use cases.
Projects in its ecosystem are tackling decentralized AI inference and model hosting, climate modeling, drug discovery, and censorship-resistant storage.
These applications highlight a shift from abstract experimentation to real-world problem-solving, signaling a new phase of blockchain maturity. What further distinguishes Bittensor is its fast-growing developer ecosystem, which is attracting talent from both crypto-native and traditional sectors.
Markus Levin (Co-Founder of XYO): DeSci, DeFAI, RWAs, and DePIN all came up repeatedly, and yet they’re still underrated. These aren’t niche experiments anymore. There’s real building happening, real capital moving in, and real-world relevance behind them.
They don’t get the same attention as L2s or memecoins, but they’re where the next wave of infrastructure and utility is being built.
