Paris Blockchain Week (PBW), the annual event for professionals in the blockchain industry, has kicked off its fourth edition, bringing together industry leaders and entrepreneurs from around the world to discuss the latest trends and developments impacting the digital asset space .
In an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph, Paris Blockchain Week founder and chairman Michael Amar shared that the initial vision for the conference was to put Europe on the map, as it previously had “nowhere on the blockchain map.” can go". PBW was established in 2019 with the vision to bring together professionals in the industry to increase awareness and adoption of blockchain. According to Amar, the purpose of the conference is to drive progress across the industry, addressing topics such as regulation and deep tech.
Fast forward to 2023, and the topic has expanded to include Web3, non-fungible tokens, the metaverse, and decentralized autonomous organizations. According to Amar, the development of Web3 is beneficial to the blockchain industry as it can facilitate wider adoption of digital assets, potentially opening the door for other industries.
Talking about how the involvement of tech giants affects the ecosystem, Amar shared:
"Web2 players and tech giants are here, so we're delighted that Google or Amazon or SAP are part of this event. In fact, they're bringing their resources and projects to the space to make Web3 accessible to the masses."
Amar addressed concerns over whether the entry of Web2 companies, as well as retail and consumer brands, would undermine Web3's decentralized mission. He argues that while the centralized power of these companies is a concern, their resources, tools, platforms, and investments can be used to drive change and enable more governance within the Web3 system. While these companies may never be fully decentralized, Amar believes that having something meaningfully decentralized is a step in the right direction.
Paris Blockchain Week hosted over 10,000 attendees and sold out last year. In addition to the main event, it hosts a dedicated day for investors, competitions for startups, hackathons and other side events. The 2022 summit drew around 3,000 attendees and featured talks with top minds in the space, including Binance’s Changpeng Zhao and Tether’s Paolo Ardoino.
