DEFI CONFERENCE 2021
The Rise of Decentralised Finance
The DeFi Conference 2021 was an exciting free 1 day online conference on the 5 August 2021. The event explored two of the hottest trends to emerge in the industry over the last few years: DeFi and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs).
On the DeFi track, speakers explored the factors contributing to the rise of decentralised finance, its impact on the current financial system, and the players in markets such as in international remittance, lending and borrowing, derivatives, trading, payments and asset transfer.
On the NFT track, speakers explored the current state of NFTs, copyright issues, the leading NFT marketplaces and creation platforms, legal implications and the future of NFTs.
The future is certainly exciting for both DeFi and NFTs, and the decentralisation movement will have a significant impact going forward.
WHO ATTENDED?
CEOs, CIOs, COOs, CTOs, Heads of data science, heads of innovation and strategy, heads of IT, heads of information security, heads of engineering, heads of IT architecture, heads of emerging technology, heads of development, technical advisors, heads of strategy, heads of risk and compliance, regulators, lawyers, business transformation, data architecture, heads of applications, heads of digital, investors, venture capitalists, software engineers, research managers, development managers, marketing managers, developers, blockchain and cryptocurrency start-ups and enthusiasts.
Speaker Videos
Watch the speaker videos below or visit our YouTube channel here.
Keynote Address: Web 2.5 – An Alternative Venture Financing Ecosystem for African Technology Entrepreneurs
Keynote Address: DeFi Sheriffs: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
Keynote Address: The Serum and Solana DeFi Ecosystem
Keynote Address: Blockchain and Its Applications in Developing Contexts, Particularly East Africa
Keynote Address: The Hard Truth of 1:1 Backed Stablecoins and Why Algorithmic Stablecoins are the Future
Mintlayer: Bringing DeFi to Bitcoin Through Layer2 Technology
DeFi on Bitcoin: RSK and Sovryn
NFTs in Gaming and Proof of Gaming
Bridging the Gap Between the Traditional World and Blockchain Technology and the Advantages and Capabilities of NFTs and DeFi
NFTs and Copyright
NFT and DeFi Market Insights from On-Chain Analytics
High Frequency Trading and DeFi
Moderator: Nelson Merchan Jr: CEO of Light Node Media
Panelists:
Aaron Tilton (Keynote): Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder at SmartFi
Sergej Kunz: Co-founder of 1inch Network
Shane Ai: Head of Research and Development at ByBit
Anish Mohammed: Co-founder of Panther Protocol
Piers Ridyard: CEO of Radix DLT
Moderator: Nelson Merchan Jr: CEO of Light Node Media
Panelists:
Jack Lu: Founder and CEO of Wanchain
Alex Melikhov: Founder and CEO at Equilibrium
John Patrick Mullin: Co-Founder of MANTRA DAO & SOMA.finance
Dylan Dewdney: Chief Effort Officer at Kylin Network
Moderator: Richard de Sousa: Founder and CEO of AltCoinTrader
Panelists:
Luigi D’Onorio DeMeo: Director of DeFi at Ava Labs
Deniz Omer: Head of Ecosystem Growth at Kyber Network
Thomas Bertani: Head of Poseidon Group and Project Lead at pNetwork
Moderator: Nerushka Bowan: Director and Head of Technology and Innovation at Norton Rose Fulbright South Africa
Panelists:
Agata Ferreira: Expert at the EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum and an Advisor for Blockchain for Europe
Joshua Ellul: Director of the Centre for DLT at the University of Malta
Toufic Adlouni: Co-founder and MD at Renno & Co
Moderator: Alexis Johnson: President of Light Node Media
Panelists:
Bill Xing: Head of Financial Products at Bybit
Daniel Ospina: Head of Governance at Aragon
Joshua Scigala (Keynote): Co-Founder of TheStandard.io and CIO of Vaultoro
Moderator: Monica Singer: South Africa Lead for ConsenSys
Panelists:
Stephen Stonberg: CEO of Bittrex Global
Ajit Tripathi: Head of Institutional Business at Aave
Eric Anziani: Chief Operating Officer at Crypto.com
Nick Martitsch: Business Development Associate at Compound
Moderator: Kristina Lucrezia Cornèr: Editor-in-Chief of Cointelegraph
Panelists:
Serena Tabacchi: Director and Co-founder MoCDA, Museum of Contemporary Digital Art
María Paula Fernández: Advisor at Golem Factory GmbH and Founder and Managing Director of ETHBerlin
Jillian Godsil: Journalist, Broadcaster and Chair/Keynote
Host: Ran Neu Ner: Co-founder and CEO at Onchain Capital and Founder at Crypto Banter
Elliot Wainman: Creator at EllioTrades and Co-Founder and CEO of SuperFarm
PROGRAMME
The event hosted 20 sessions and 44 DeFi and NFT industry leaders, showcasing the opportunities and trends in Decentralised Finance (DeFi) and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs).
Time | Session | Speakers | Venue |
---|---|---|---|
09:30am-10:00am | Registration | Online | |
10:00am-10:05am | Welcome Address by Master of Ceremonies | Lavinia Osbourne (MC) | Online |
10:10am-10:50am | Panel: Challenges in Decentralised Projects Governance | Joshua Scigala (Keynote) Bill Xing Alexis Johnson Daniel Ospina | Moderator: Alexis Johnson |
10:55am-11:10am | Mintlayer: Bringing DeFi to Bitcoin Through Layer 2 Technology | Andreas Kohl | Online |
11:15am-11:40am | Keynote Address: The Serum and Solana DeFi Ecosystem | Sam Bankman-Fried (Keynote) | Online |
11:45am-12:10pm | Keynote Address: Web 2.5 - An Alternative Venture Financing Ecosystem for African Technology Entrepreneurs | Yele Bademosi (Keynote) | Online |
12:30pm-13:00pm | Panel: DeFi on Bitcoin: RSK and Sovryn | Edan Yago Diego Gutiérrez-Zaldívar | Online |
13:05pm-13:25pm | High Frequency Trading and DeFi: Ideas, Strategies, Building Blocks and Things You Should Know About | Jesus Rodriguez | Online |
13:30pm-13:55pm | Keynote Address: Blockchain and Its Applications in Developing Contexts, Particularly East Africa | Shazaib Jaffer (Keynote) | Online |
13:45pm-14:15pm | Panel: Maximising Crypto Earnings with Decentralised Finance | Aaron Tilton (Keynote) Sergej Kunz Shane Ai Anish Mohammed Piers Ridyard Nelson Merchan Jr | Moderator: Nelson Merchan Jr |
14:05pm-14:45pm | Keynote Address: The Hard Truth of 1:1 Backed Stablecoins and Why Algorithmic Stablecoins are the Future | Joshua Scigala (Keynote) | Online |
14:20pm-15:00pm | Panel: Ethereum: De Facto Choice for DeFi and NFTs? Why and Who are the Real Competitors? | Luigi D’Onorio DeMeo Deniz Omer Richard de Sousa | Moderator: Richard de Sousa |
15:00pm-15:10pm | Networking | Online | |
15:10pm-15:55pm | Panel: The Importance of Cross-Chain Interoperability for DeFi | Jack Lu Alex Melikhov John Patrick Mullin Dylan Dewdney Nelson Merchan Jr | Moderator: Nelson Merchan Jr |
16:00pm-16:40pm | Panel: The State of Regulation: Who is Ahead and Why? | Agata Ferreira Nerushka Bowan Joshua Ellul Toufic Adlouni | Moderator: Nerushka Bowan |
16:45pm-17:25pm | Keynote Address: DeFi Sheriffs: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly. The Future of Defi and Its Necessary Evolution from the Wild West of Finance | Aaron Tilton (Keynote) | Online |
17:15pm-17:55pm | Fireside Chat - Hosted by Ran Neu Ner | Ran Neu Ner Elliot Wainman | Online |
17:25pm-18:00pm | Panel: Institutional Investment in DeFi | Stephen Stonberg Ajit Tripathi Eric Anziani Nick Martitsch Monica Singer | Moderator: Monica Singer |
18:00pm-18:05pm | Closing Address by Master of Ceremonies | Lavinia Osbourne (MC) | Online |
Time | Session | Speakers | Venue |
---|---|---|---|
11:25am-11:55am | NFTs in Gaming and Proof of Gaming | Duke Vu | Online |
12:00pm-12:25pm | NFT and DeFi Market Insights from On-Chain Analytics | Alex Svanevik | Online |
12:50pm-13:15pm | NFTs and Copyright | Guy Maevsky | Online |
14:00pm-14:30pm | Bridging the Gap Between the Traditional World and Blockchain Technology and the Advantages and Capabilities of NFTs and DeFi | Mohammed Carrim Ganey | Online |
16:15pm-17:00pm | Panel: Art, Collectibles and the Future of NFTs | Kristina Lucrezia Cornèr Serena Tabacchi María Paula Fernández Jillian Godsil | Moderator: Kristina Lucrezia Corner |
SPEAKERS
Our global speakers are well-known thought leaders and experts in the cryptocurrency and blockchain technology space.
Lavinia Osbourne (MC) Host and Founder of Women in Blockchain Talks
Lavinia is the award-winning host and founder of Women in Blockchain Talks,
Sam Bankman-Fried (Keynote) CEO and Founder at FTX
Before founding Alameda and then FTX, Sam was a trader on Jane
Aaron Tilton (Keynote) Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder at SmartFi
Yele Bademosi (Keynote) Founder of Bundle Africa
Yele Bademosi is the Founder of Bundle Africa. Bundle is an Africa-focused
Shazaib Jaffer (Keynote) Co-Founder of Dimo
Shazaib Jaffer is a fifth-generation Tanzanian entrepreneur with business interests in a
Joshua Scigala (Keynote) Co-Founder of TheStandard.io and CIO of Vaultoro
An award-winning entrepreneur who has co-founded several technology startups including Vaultoro, SwapStyle
Stephen Stonberg CEO of Bittrex Global
Stephen has spent his entire 25-year career working in financial markets in
Edan Yago Contributor of Sovryn
Edan Yago grew up in Apartheid South Africa to a family of
Bill Xing Head of Financial Products at Bybit
Bill is the head of financial products at Bybit, leading the effort
Mohammed Carrim Ganey CFO and Co-Founder at Curate
Mohammed is the CFO and Co-Founder at Curate. He has a proven
Kristina Lucrezia Cornèr Editor-in-Chief of Cointelegraph
Kristina Lucrezia is the Editor-in-Chief of Cointelegraph. M.A. in political science and classical
Luigi D’Onorio DeMeo Director of DeFi at Ava Labs
Luigi started his career in traditional finance, working as an institutional trader
Diego Gutiérrez-Zaldívar Co-founder of RSK
Diego Co-founded RSK Labs that made Bitcoin fully programmable by providing smart
Duke Vu CEO and Founder of Ulti Arena
Sergej Kunz Co-founder of 1inch Network
Sergej Kunz is the Co-founder of the 1inch Network, a distributed network
Ran Neu Ner Co-founder and CEO at Onchain Capital and Founder at Crypto Banter
Ran Neu Ner is the CEO of Onchain Capital, a Crypto Asset
Ajit Tripathi Head of Institutional Business at Aave
Ajit currently leads institutional growth and strategy for Aave, the world’s leading
Andreas Kohl Director of Institutional Relations at Mintlayer
Andreas is the Director of Institutional Relations at Mintlayer. Mintlayer is a
Jack Lu Founder and CEO of Wanchain
Jack Lu is an early investor in Bitcoin and Ethereum. He is
Eric Anziani Chief Operating Officer at Crypto.com
Eric Anziani is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Crypto.com where he
Shane Ai Head of Research and Development at ByBit
Shane heads up R&D at Bybit, covering research and product innovation verticals
Alex Svanevik Co-founder and CEO at Nansen
Alex has over 10 years of experience in data science, management consulting,
Alex Melikhov Founder and CEO at Equilibrium
Alex is an engineer in applied mathematics by training. With over 14
Serena Tabacchi Director and Co-founder MoCDA, Museum of Contemporary Digital Art
Serena Tabacchi is the Director and Co-Founder of MoCDA, Museum of Contemporary
Deniz Omer Head of Ecosystem Growth at Kyber Network
Anish Mohammed Co-founder of Panther Protocol
Anish has 20+ years in security and cryptography, is an early advisor
Nick Martitsch Business Development Associate at Compound Labs
Nick leads various business development initiatives for Compound Labs, mainly focused on
John Patrick Mullin Co-Founder of MANTRA DAO & SOMA.finance
JP is the Co-Founder of MANTRA DAO & SOMA.finance. MANNTRA DAO is
Piers Ridyard CEO of Radix DLT
CEO of Radix DLT, Piers Ridyard is a YC Alumni and successful
María Paula Fernández Advisor at Golem Factory GmbH and Founder and Managing Director of ETHBerlin
María Paula Fernández is an advisor at Golem. She’s a communications strategy
Monica Singer South Africa Lead for ConsenSys
Monica Singer is a Chartered Accountant (SA) and Fellow of the Institute
Dylan Dewdney Chief Effort Officer at Kylin Network
A prescient and accurate analyst of market behavior, social psychology, and overall
Agata Ferreira Expert at the EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum and an Advisor for Blockchain for Europe
Agata is an experienced international lawyer, PHD, blockchain and fintech expert. She
Nerushka Bowan Director and Head of Technology and Innovation at Norton Rose Fulbright South Africa
Nerushka Bowan is a technology and privacy lawyer based in Johannesburg. She
Richard de Sousa Founder and CEO of AltCoinTrader
AltCoinTrader was developed by experienced computer programmer Richard de Sousa in 2014.
Joshua Ellul Director of the Centre for DLT at the University of Malta and Chairperson of the Malta Digital Innovation Authority
Dr. Joshua Ellul is Director of the Centre for DLT at the
Jesus Rodriguez Co-founder and CEO at IntoTheBlock
Jesus Rodriguez is a technology expert, serial entrepreneur, angel investor, and internationally
Guy Maevsky Legal Advisor
Before starting own legal practice, Guy has held positions of Head of
Alexis Johnson President of Light Node Media
Alexis has over five years of experience in real estate development and
Daniel Ospina Head of Governance at Aragon
Daniel Ospina is an organisation and social system designer. He’s Head of
Toufic Adlouni Co-founder and Managing Director at Renno & Co
Toufic Adlouni is the Co-founder and Managing Director at Renno & Co.
Jillian Godsil Journalist, Broadcaster and Chair/Keynote
On international Women’s Day 2021, Jillian was nominated one of 100 global
Elliot Wainman Creator at EllioTrades and Co-Founder and CEO of SuperFarm
Elliot is a leading blockchain and crypto youtuber. Elliot is the Creator
Nelson Merchan Jr CEO of Light Node Media
Nelson Merchan Jr. has been investing in the cryptocurrency space since 2014.