At this years Zebu Live (5-6 October), notable voices in the Web3 industry including Steven Bartlett, Diary of a CEO podcast host and BBC Dragon’s Den member, and Dr Lisa Cameron MP demanded for a heightened sense of urgency both from the government and regulatory bodies like the FCA, to create and update new jurisdiction to support the UK’s momentum in being recognised as a global leader in crypto and blockchain innovation.
Founders, innovators and experts gathered at the event during London’s Web3 Week to discuss the innovation and evolution of systems and infrastructure of the crypto ecosystem, with a focus on making mainstream decentralisation a reality and transitioning industry language into the everyday vernacular. Key insights discussed at Zebu Live included:
> MP suggests that the UK’s current legislation stands in the way of innovation
A key outtake heard across several keynotes was the increasing demand for the UK government to commit to leaning into the opportunities within Web3 and create a regulatory landscape that can foster innovation at a crucial point of the digital revolution. One of Westminster’s most vocal MP’s on the topic of crypto and digital assets, Dr Lisa Cameron MP, noted that there is a “12 month window to make the UK the hub of digital innovation”, but only if jurisdictions are passed that facilitate momentum from investors, consumers and companies. Cameron concluded that the ecosystem is at a “pivotal moment” and explained that there is a “huge opportunity in the UK” to lay the foundations for an inclusive digital generation in future.
Steven Bartlett further addressed the problem, by stating that while there is an important balancing act between protecting society but not stifling innovation, the UK does risk industry leading companies within the space taking ideas away from the UK and heading to countries like Dubai with more
favourable regulation.
> It’s impossible to predict the future of AI – Call for collective responsibility to foster an AI with ethical considerations
Both Steven Bartlett and Mo Gawdat, AI expert and bestselling author, spoke separately on the rapid pace of change within AI technologies and were aligned on how no one is in a position to advise on its capabilities or how it may evolve in the future. Web3 is set to heavily incorporate AI into its ecosystem, to which Mo stated there was a “collective responsibility” to teach AI, speaking on the importance of individuals interacting ethically with the machines. He further explained that “humans make decisions based on our ethics and values” which are informed by our intelligence and that we need to ensure a similar thought process is learned by the machines.
> Coinbase double down on ‘International First’ policy with the goal to reach another billion people
Coinbase’s VP for International Policy, Tom Duff Gordon, confirmed that international expansion was a primary goal for the company in light of the current Web3 landscape in the US. He said, “we want to bring a billion people into crypto, we’re all about economic freedom,” underlying their “international first mentality” which follows the unveiling of its “Go Broad, Go Deep” strategy previously announced and subsequently secured partnerships with the Bank of Spain and The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
Similarly, Blockchain.com, Bitget and Zodia discussed their respective investment strategies into innovation that facilitate global adoption, for both institutions and consumers, highlighting the importance of making trading more accessible and secure. Tal Kol, Founder of Orbs, similarly spoke on the significance of Layer 3 blockchains and the tools required for the next cycle of widespread adoption.
> Blockchain provides verification in an era of digital misinformation
In a world where hacking, deep fakes and AI generated materials are raising a conversation on how this impacts misinformation, particularly within the political and news environments, verification of information and assets have never been more important. Steven Barlett, voiced concern about the near term risks of seeing and believing what is on the internet before stating that “more people are scammed with cash than crypto” and that blockchain technology is one of the only solutions to verify authentic information or news.
Renowned macro investor and CEO of Real Vision Media, Raoul Pal, added that “blockchain creates digital scarcity” which in turn creates value as the collective continues to move to a digital world. In the current landscape, the over saturation of endless digital content ultimately brings the value down to zero. Chronicle provided further insight into on-chain data usage and its limitations.
Twenty of the world’s finest Web3 start-ups were selected from hundreds of applications to compete for a chance to pitch in Zebu Live’s Degens Den; with sleap.io announced as the 2023 winner.
