The last speaker before the networking break was Levi Meade, who discussed slightly more advanced topics in the crypto ecosystem. First, he gave an overview of token valuation and explained how Columbus Capital evaluates projects. Furthermore, he presented and discussed trends such as atomic swaps and blockchain interoperability, which most of the attendees found extremely interesting. After his presentation, there was a scheduled networking break before the final presentation and panel discussion.

Mr. Meade published a detailed overview of his presentation here on Medium.

Matej Tomazin, ICONOMI COO

Matej Tomazin of ICONOMI gave a presentation on the emerging tokenization economy.

After the break, Matej Tomazin, ICONOMI COO, gave a presentation on the emerging tokenization economy. He predicted three trends for 2018 that will bring tokenization to the forefront: 1. A regulated environment for crypto-assets and tokens that will result in the definition of a new asset class; 2. The continuing adoption of the platform business model that is changing industries; and 3. The emergence of a robust tokenization economy. He summed up the importance of tokenization with this quote from Jason English: “…tokenization aligns incentives for decentralized organizations to build customer-oriented solutions in a more engaged way, thereby making winners out of all participants, rather than focusing on growth at all costs, shareholder value, or exit strategies.”

Panel Discussion

The panel discussion began with a continuation of a common theme throughout the event: the potential dominance of Ethereum over Bitcoin in 2018. Most of the panel agreed that this shift in dominance will take place, thanks to Ethereum’s lower transaction fees, faster block time, use as an ICO platform, and other factors. An important discussion point was trading pairs; while ether has a large number of trading pairs available, bitcoin remains the leader in this category, granting it significantly higher liquidity.. The general consensus was that emerging trading innovations, such as atomic swaps, will eventually render trading pairs as we know them obsolete, paving the way for Ethereum to emerge as the dominant network.

From there, the discussion turned to centralized vs. decentralized exchanges. One perspective was that both types of exchanges will coexist, with decentralized exchanges with lower trading fees used primarily by everyday investors and regulated centralized exchanges used by institutional investors.

Other topics ranged from regulation to ICN utility.