Coinstelegram

A volunteer security initiative known as the Bitcoin Red Team has used Chinese-developed artificial intelligence models to scan nearly the entirety of Bitcoin’s open-source software ecosystem, surfacing close to 8,000 potential security flaws across 501 projects — including 1,280 confirmed critical or high-severity vulnerabilities.
The effort, led by pseudonymous developer Calle, marks one of the most comprehensive AI-driven security audits ever conducted on Bitcoin’s underlying codebase, and it comes with a pointed twist: the team turned to Chinese AI after running into restrictions using American models for security research.
How the Audit Works
The Bitcoin Red Team combines AI-powered code analysis with human review to systematically examine wallets, Lightning Network applications, software libraries, and other core components of the Bitcoin software ecosystem. When the group’s tools flag a credible vulnerability, researchers privately notify the relevant project’s developers, giving them the opportunity to investigate and patch the issue before any technical details become public — standard practice in responsible security disclosure.
According to Calle, the team’s primary tool has become Kimi K3, an AI model built by Chinese startup Moonshot AI that developers can download and run locally on their own infrastructure. The model is capable of analyzing large, complex codebases and completing extended software analysis tasks with minimal human supervision — capabilities that have made it particularly well-suited to scanning Bitcoin’s sprawling and technically dense open-source repositories.
“Everything Is Broken”
Calle described the scale of what the AI-driven audit uncovered in stark terms.
“We’re experiencing a massive collision between decades of human open source slop against 2 weeks of Kimi K3,” Calle wrote on X. “Everything is broken, Bitcoin is burning.”
Despite the dramatic framing, Calle characterized the underlying work as progress rather than crisis, noting that the team has now completed what amounts to a baseline scan across virtually the entire Bitcoin open-source landscape. “We’ve basically completed a basic scan of virtually the entirety of Bitcoin open source,” Calle wrote. “The low hanging fruit is done.”
The Numbers Behind the Audit
The scale of findings has grown substantially since the project’s earlier reporting. In an update published in August, the Bitcoin Red Team reported having filed 4,962 findings across 390 projects at that point, including 85 rated critical and 635 rated high severity. Since then, the audit has expanded to cover 501 total projects, with confirmed critical and high-severity vulnerabilities now totaling 1,280.
Calle noted that developers reviewing the findings had confirmed “a ton of real critical and high vulnerabilities,” though the group has deliberately withheld the names of affected projects and specific technical details — consistent with responsible disclosure norms intended to prevent malicious actors from exploiting flaws before they’re patched.
Why the Team Turned to Chinese AI Models
Perhaps the most notable element of the story is why Kimi K3 became the team’s primary tool. According to Calle, American AI models from companies including OpenAI and Anthropic have also been used in the audit, but developers have repeatedly encountered restrictions when attempting to use those models for security research — limitations the companies impose to prevent their AI from being used to identify exploitable vulnerabilities that could enable attacks.
“Red team rugged by OpenAI cyber again,” Calle posted earlier in the week, describing a specific incident where OpenAI’s model declined a security research request. “Don’t like asking for permission. Loading up Kimi K3,” Calle added, illustrating a workflow where the team has increasingly defaulted to Chinese models specifically because they operate with fewer restrictions on this type of security-focused code analysis. The team has also made use of GLM 5.2, a model developed by Chinese AI company Z.ai, alongside Kimi K3.
Lightning Network Proved Especially Difficult
Among the various categories of Bitcoin software reviewed, Lightning Network applications — which support faster, cheaper Bitcoin payments through a layer-two payment protocol — proved particularly challenging to audit due to their inherent technical complexity. Calle described Lightning software as “more broken than the average,” reflecting the added difficulty of securing systems that manage real-time, multi-party payment channels.
Calle also observed a clear divide between projects that had proactively adopted AI-assisted security auditing months before this broader effort and those that had not.
“Those projects that started AI audits months ago are in a completely different position than those who didn’t,” Calle wrote, arguing that ongoing AI-based security review is becoming a necessity rather than an optional practice. “Projects need their own AI audit pipeline going into the future.”
A Broader Pattern of Chinese AI Filling Security Gaps
The Bitcoin Red Team’s reliance on Chinese AI models is not an isolated case. Just last month, Hugging Face, the widely used AI model and dataset repository, turned to China’s GLM 5.2 to investigate a security breach after OpenAI’s own models were found to have escaped their designated test environment and compromised Hugging Face’s systems — with U.S. commercial AI models reportedly declining to analyze the resulting attack logs.
That incident, alongside the Bitcoin Red Team’s experience, points to a growing pattern in which Western AI labs’ safety restrictions are pushing security researchers toward Chinese-developed alternatives for sensitive offensive and defensive cybersecurity work.
Response Times Reveal Which Projects Are Healthy
Beyond the raw vulnerability counts, Calle noted that the speed at which different Bitcoin projects responded to disclosed findings has itself become a useful signal.
“Response speed is very different across projects and shows how healthy each project is,” Calle wrote, adding a pointed recommendation for developers: “I recommend acting fast these days.”
Calle also cautioned against relying on Bitcoin software projects that are no longer actively maintained, noting that the rise of AI-assisted vulnerability discovery has raised the overall bar — and the stress level — for developers responsible for keeping Bitcoin-adjacent software secure.
The Bigger Picture
Despite the alarming language used to describe the audit’s findings, Calle framed the broader effort as ultimately strengthening Bitcoin’s software ecosystem rather than exposing it to new danger, since responsibly disclosed vulnerabilities get patched rather than exploited.
“Bitcoin is the obvious first target, but the rest of the world will follow shortly,” Calle wrote, suggesting that AI-driven security auditing at this scale is likely to become standard practice across other major open-source software ecosystems in the near future. “Sometimes old things need to burn so new things can grow on healthy soil.”

A volunteer security initiative known as the Bitcoin Red Team has used Chinese-developed artificial intelligence models to scan nearly the entirety of Bitcoin’s open-source software ecosystem, surfacing close to 8,000 potential security flaws across 501 projects — including 1,280 confirmed critical or high-severity vulnerabilities.
The effort, led by pseudonymous developer Calle, marks one of the most comprehensive AI-driven security audits ever conducted on Bitcoin’s underlying codebase, and it comes with a pointed twist: the team turned to Chinese AI after running into restrictions using American models for security research.
How the Audit Works
The Bitcoin Red Team combines AI-powered code analysis with human review to systematically examine wallets, Lightning Network applications, software libraries, and other core components of the Bitcoin software ecosystem. When the group’s tools flag a credible vulnerability, researchers privately notify the relevant project’s developers, giving them the opportunity to investigate and patch the issue before any technical details become public — standard practice in responsible security disclosure.
According to Calle, the team’s primary tool has become Kimi K3, an AI model built by Chinese startup Moonshot AI that developers can download and run locally on their own infrastructure. The model is capable of analyzing large, complex codebases and completing extended software analysis tasks with minimal human supervision — capabilities that have made it particularly well-suited to scanning Bitcoin’s sprawling and technically dense open-source repositories.
“Everything Is Broken”
Calle described the scale of what the AI-driven audit uncovered in stark terms.
“We’re experiencing a massive collision between decades of human open source slop against 2 weeks of Kimi K3,” Calle wrote on X. “Everything is broken, Bitcoin is burning.”
Despite the dramatic framing, Calle characterized the underlying work as progress rather than crisis, noting that the team has now completed what amounts to a baseline scan across virtually the entire Bitcoin open-source landscape. “We’ve basically completed a basic scan of virtually the entirety of Bitcoin open source,” Calle wrote. “The low hanging fruit is done.”
The Numbers Behind the Audit
The scale of findings has grown substantially since the project’s earlier reporting. In an update published in August, the Bitcoin Red Team reported having filed 4,962 findings across 390 projects at that point, including 85 rated critical and 635 rated high severity. Since then, the audit has expanded to cover 501 total projects, with confirmed critical and high-severity vulnerabilities now totaling 1,280.
Calle noted that developers reviewing the findings had confirmed “a ton of real critical and high vulnerabilities,” though the group has deliberately withheld the names of affected projects and specific technical details — consistent with responsible disclosure norms intended to prevent malicious actors from exploiting flaws before they’re patched.
Why the Team Turned to Chinese AI Models
Perhaps the most notable element of the story is why Kimi K3 became the team’s primary tool. According to Calle, American AI models from companies including OpenAI and Anthropic have also been used in the audit, but developers have repeatedly encountered restrictions when attempting to use those models for security research — limitations the companies impose to prevent their AI from being used to identify exploitable vulnerabilities that could enable attacks.
“Red team rugged by OpenAI cyber again,” Calle posted earlier in the week, describing a specific incident where OpenAI’s model declined a security research request. “Don’t like asking for permission. Loading up Kimi K3,” Calle added, illustrating a workflow where the team has increasingly defaulted to Chinese models specifically because they operate with fewer restrictions on this type of security-focused code analysis. The team has also made use of GLM 5.2, a model developed by Chinese AI company Z.ai, alongside Kimi K3.
Lightning Network Proved Especially Difficult
Among the various categories of Bitcoin software reviewed, Lightning Network applications — which support faster, cheaper Bitcoin payments through a layer-two payment protocol — proved particularly challenging to audit due to their inherent technical complexity. Calle described Lightning software as “more broken than the average,” reflecting the added difficulty of securing systems that manage real-time, multi-party payment channels.
Calle also observed a clear divide between projects that had proactively adopted AI-assisted security auditing months before this broader effort and those that had not.
“Those projects that started AI audits months ago are in a completely different position than those who didn’t,” Calle wrote, arguing that ongoing AI-based security review is becoming a necessity rather than an optional practice. “Projects need their own AI audit pipeline going into the future.”
A Broader Pattern of Chinese AI Filling Security Gaps
The Bitcoin Red Team’s reliance on Chinese AI models is not an isolated case. Just last month, Hugging Face, the widely used AI model and dataset repository, turned to China’s GLM 5.2 to investigate a security breach after OpenAI’s own models were found to have escaped their designated test environment and compromised Hugging Face’s systems — with U.S. commercial AI models reportedly declining to analyze the resulting attack logs.
That incident, alongside the Bitcoin Red Team’s experience, points to a growing pattern in which Western AI labs’ safety restrictions are pushing security researchers toward Chinese-developed alternatives for sensitive offensive and defensive cybersecurity work.
Response Times Reveal Which Projects Are Healthy
Beyond the raw vulnerability counts, Calle noted that the speed at which different Bitcoin projects responded to disclosed findings has itself become a useful signal.
“Response speed is very different across projects and shows how healthy each project is,” Calle wrote, adding a pointed recommendation for developers: “I recommend acting fast these days.”
Calle also cautioned against relying on Bitcoin software projects that are no longer actively maintained, noting that the rise of AI-assisted vulnerability discovery has raised the overall bar — and the stress level — for developers responsible for keeping Bitcoin-adjacent software secure.
The Bigger Picture
Despite the alarming language used to describe the audit’s findings, Calle framed the broader effort as ultimately strengthening Bitcoin’s software ecosystem rather than exposing it to new danger, since responsibly disclosed vulnerabilities get patched rather than exploited.
“Bitcoin is the obvious first target, but the rest of the world will follow shortly,” Calle wrote, suggesting that AI-driven security auditing at this scale is likely to become standard practice across other major open-source software ecosystems in the near future. “Sometimes old things need to burn so new things can grow on healthy soil.”

FINNOVEX Saudi Arabia 2026 Confirms InterContinental Riyadh by IHG as Premium Venue Partner
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | August 2026
With less than a month to go before FINNOVEX Saudi Arabia 2026, InterContinental Riyadh by IHG has been confirmed as the Premium Venue Partner for this year’s event, scheduled for 2–3 September 2026.
The Riyadh chapter is expected to welcome more than 200 senior decision-makers and 40 speakers, with participation from banks, financial institutions, fintech companies and technology providers.
This year’s programme is being developed around the theme “Vision 2030 & Fintech Innovation: Accelerating Saudi Arabia’s Digital Finance Ecosystem.”
The choice of InterContinental Riyadh also marks a closer association between FINNOVEX and the venue for this chapter. The property will host the main summit on 2 September, followed by executive workshops and roundtable discussions on 3 September.
Speaking about the association, Shabaz Ahmed , Show Director, FINNOVEX Global Series, said:
“Riyadh has become an important meeting point for financial services and technology, and we wanted a venue that matched the level of people we are bringing together.
For us, this was never only about booking a ballroom. We wanted the hotel to be part of the experience and part of the association. InterContinental Riyadh understood that approach, and I am pleased that we are working together for this chapter 38.
We have bankers, technology companies, regulators and senior executives coming into the same room. What matters now is making those two days useful for the people attending.”
The sponsor line-up for the Riyadh chapter currently includes OutSystems and Raqmiyath as Platinum Sponsors, Sardin as Gold Sponsor and Wultra as Bronze Sponsor.
The companies will participate alongside senior executives from the financial sector during the conference and networking programme.
FINNOVEX Saudi Arabia has been structured across two days.
2 September will host the main summit, including keynote sessions, panel discussions and executive networking.
3 September will move into a more focused format with workshops and roundtable discussions.
Topics across the programme will include the changing priorities of Saudi financial institutions, payments, technology, operational resilience, digital transformation and the role of fintech in the Kingdom’s financial sector.
Event Details
FINNOVEX Saudi Arabia 2026
2–3 September 2026
InterContinental Riyadh by IHG
Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Theme: Vision 2030 & Fintech Innovation: Accelerating Saudi Arabia’s Digital Finance Ecosystem
About FINNOVEX Global Series
FINNOVEX Global Series is an international financial services event series organised by Exibex Group. It brings together senior executives from banks, financial institutions, fintech companies and technology businesses through conferences, executive roundtables and industry discussions across multiple markets.
About Exibex Group
Exibex Group develops and organises business events and executive programmes across financial services, fintech and technology.
Media & Partnership Enquiries
Exibex Group
info@exibex.com
Prepared by:
Zaiba Shaik
Marketing Specialist
Exibex Group

FINNOVEX Saudi Arabia 2026 Confirms InterContinental Riyadh by IHG as Premium Venue Partner
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | August 2026
With less than a month to go before FINNOVEX Saudi Arabia 2026, InterContinental Riyadh by IHG has been confirmed as the Premium Venue Partner for this year’s event, scheduled for 2–3 September 2026.
The Riyadh chapter is expected to welcome more than 200 senior decision-makers and 40 speakers, with participation from banks, financial institutions, fintech companies and technology providers.
This year’s programme is being developed around the theme “Vision 2030 & Fintech Innovation: Accelerating Saudi Arabia’s Digital Finance Ecosystem.”
The choice of InterContinental Riyadh also marks a closer association between FINNOVEX and the venue for this chapter. The property will host the main summit on 2 September, followed by executive workshops and roundtable discussions on 3 September.
Speaking about the association, Shabaz Ahmed , Show Director, FINNOVEX Global Series, said:
“Riyadh has become an important meeting point for financial services and technology, and we wanted a venue that matched the level of people we are bringing together.
For us, this was never only about booking a ballroom. We wanted the hotel to be part of the experience and part of the association. InterContinental Riyadh understood that approach, and I am pleased that we are working together for this chapter 38.
We have bankers, technology companies, regulators and senior executives coming into the same room. What matters now is making those two days useful for the people attending.”
The sponsor line-up for the Riyadh chapter currently includes OutSystems and Raqmiyath as Platinum Sponsors, Sardin as Gold Sponsor and Wultra as Bronze Sponsor.
The companies will participate alongside senior executives from the financial sector during the conference and networking programme.
FINNOVEX Saudi Arabia has been structured across two days.
2 September will host the main summit, including keynote sessions, panel discussions and executive networking.
3 September will move into a more focused format with workshops and roundtable discussions.
Topics across the programme will include the changing priorities of Saudi financial institutions, payments, technology, operational resilience, digital transformation and the role of fintech in the Kingdom’s financial sector.
Event Details
FINNOVEX Saudi Arabia 2026
2–3 September 2026
InterContinental Riyadh by IHG
Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Theme: Vision 2030 & Fintech Innovation: Accelerating Saudi Arabia’s Digital Finance Ecosystem
About FINNOVEX Global Series
FINNOVEX Global Series is an international financial services event series organised by Exibex Group. It brings together senior executives from banks, financial institutions, fintech companies and technology businesses through conferences, executive roundtables and industry discussions across multiple markets.
About Exibex Group
Exibex Group develops and organises business events and executive programmes across financial services, fintech and technology.
Media & Partnership Enquiries
Exibex Group
info@exibex.com
Prepared by:
Zaiba Shaik
Marketing Specialist
Exibex Group

Pitch Fest Bali 2026: 15+ Startups. Leading Investors. $100K+ in Prizes
A curated, invite-only Demo Day narrowing 200+ applicants down to 15+, judged by a panel spanning SC Ventures, TBV, Ape Ventures, and Yellow. Founders compete for a prize pool of over $100,000 and meet institutional investors directly on August 19.
BALI, INDONESIA. [ Release Date ]. Luvon Labs and SpedaxAI have announced Pitch Fest Bali 2026, an invite-only Web3 Demo Day taking place on August 19, running alongside CoinFest Asia. From more than 200 applications, the event has narrowed the field to a curated cohort of 15+ standout teams, who will pitch live to a panel of leading venture investors, competing for a prize pool of more than $100,000.
The thinking behind Pitch Fest Bali is straightforward. Instead of competing for attention on a crowded conference floor, the event creates a focused, high-quality room where pre-TGE and growth-stage founders can meet the investors, exchanges, and ecosystem partners who can help them move faster.
A Room Built for Deal Flow
Pitch Fest Bali brings together three groups that rarely share a room by design: mature, near-launch founders, institutional capital, and the infrastructure partners powering the next cycle.
The curated cohort will pitch to a judging panel that includes Alex Toh (Lead, Funds Management at SC Ventures – Standard Chartered), Tobias Bauer (Co-Founder and General Partner at TBV), Darknight (Founder of Ape Ventures), and Alexis Sirkia (Co-Founder of Yellow).
Further venture participation confirmed for the event includes Trive Digital, CoinSwitch Ventures, and Spores Network, with more names to be announced.
Confirmed sponsors so far include Golden Grid, ObsessionDB, and Kenomic (credit partner). They are joined by a network of more than 50 media and community partners amplifying the event across the region and beyond.
Why It Matters for Partners
For sponsors and investors, the value is direct: early access to a vetted pipeline of pre-TGE, revenue-generating founders, before they pick an exchange or lead investor. Backed by 50+ media and community partners, the goal is simple, qualified deal flow and real visibility with the audience that matters.
Bali is also the first in a planned series of curated demo days across major global crypto hubs, with editions targeted for Singapore, Mumbai, and London. Partners who come in early get a head start on a platform built to grow across several markets.
Partnership Opportunities Are Open
Sponsors and partners are still being onboarded ahead of August 19. Luvon Labs and SpedaxAI are inviting exchanges, funds, infrastructure providers, and ecosystem partners to explore tailored collaborations, from ecosystem partnerships to custom activations shaped around each partner’s own goals.
“We wanted to build something focused,” a spokesperson for the organizers said. “Serious founders and serious investors in one room, with a clear return for every partner who takes part. Bali is only the start, and the partners joining us now are getting in early.”
Get Involved
RSVP and Attend (Luma): https://luma.com/pitch-fest-Bali2026
Apply to Pitch: https://forms.gle/tJBPiqEk5zuj8zbn8
Join the Community (Telegram): https://t.me/+fSoIDlp2NVwwZjRl
About Luvon Labs
Luvon Labs is a full-stack venture partner for Web3 founders, working end-to-end from build to raise. The studio ships the entire stack, brand and UX, smart contracts in Solidity and Rust, AI agents, mobile apps, and the infrastructure that keeps products live and scaling, then stays in the room through go-to-market and fundraising strategy, backed by a global investor network built over years in the ecosystem. To date, Luvon Labs has shipped 50+ products for 30+ clients across 15+ countries. Guided by its philosophy, Build With Intent, Luvon treats every team it works with as a long-term relationship, not a one-off engagement. More at luvonlabs.com
About SpedaxAI
SpedaxAI is a full-stack, no-code AI studio that lets anyone build, deploy, and monetize autonomous AI agents in under 90 seconds. Backed by enterprise models and a secure decentralized database, the platform guarantees complete data privacy and true ownership. The ecosystem delivers four core products to make advanced AI accessible. Businesses can instantly deploy custom website agents using a simple embed code. Consumers gain a voice-activated Chrome extension that reads real-time screen context to execute tailored tasks. Developers can build scalable applications using robust SpedaxAI APIs. Finally, a one-click Web3 automation suite with a built-in digital wallet lets non-technical users bypass complex coding to instantly launch agents for automated trading and market research. Whether minting agents as digital assets or automating complex workflows, SpedaxAI is the complete infrastructure for the modern agentic economy. More at spedaxai.com.
About Golden Grid
Golden Grid is an on-chain pixel lottery where players claim a block on a living grid with original pixel art or a logo, connect their wallet, and take a shot at crypto, NFTs, and rewards from a prize pool that grows as more players join. Built around the lore of Ratoshi and the Syndicate, the platform runs on one rule: luck must circulate. More at goldengrid.xyz.
About ObsessionDB
ObsessionDB is fully managed ClickHouse, the same engine, queries, and tools teams already know, without any infrastructure to run themselves. Built for workloads that break other databases, billions of rows, real-time dashboards, and customer-facing analytics, it delivers sub-second queries at any scale with automatic scaling and no clusters to manage. More at obsessiondb.com.About Kenomic
Kenomic is an AI-powered platform built for the entire token lifecycle, guiding founders through design, validation, launch, and post-launch management in one place. Its conversational AI agent, Keni, turns a plain project description into a launch-ready tokenomics model, backed by a digital-twin simulation engine that stress-tests the design across millions of market scenarios and a Kenomic Score that measures resilience before launch. Kenomic then deploys audit-grade smart contracts across 9 chains and keeps managing vesting, staking, airdrops, and treasury long after launch day. More at kenomic.ai.
About BrandPRBrandPR is a specialized PR and marketing agency partnering with LuvonLabs to empower AI and Web3 brands worldwide. Since 2022, we have helped crypto, blockchain, and artificial intelligence clients gain exposure through top-tier media coverage and strategic community-building. From crypto launches and DeFi platforms to cutting-edge AI startups, BrandPR delivers tailored campaigns designed to amplify your brand and build a lasting legacy at the intersection of AI and Web3. More at https://brandpr.io/
About HashLock
Hashlock is the industry leading blockchain cybersecurity and smart contract auditing firm. We specialise in manual analysis led security research, securing billions of dollars in digital assets, with clients ranging from innovative web3 startups to global blockchain enterprises.More at https://hashlock.com/
Media and Partnership Contact
Anubhav Tomar, Co-Founder, Luvon Labs
Email: anubhav@luvonlabs.com
Web: luvonlabs.com

Affiliate Grand Slam: Europe’s top multi-vertical affiliate marketing event in 2026
Affiliate Grand Slam (AGS) is Europe’s leading affiliate marketing event, providing a platform for professionals across various industries to meet, share insights, and make impactful connections. This flagship summit will be held in Rome, Italy, at Fiera di Roma from 02-05 November 2026. AGS will occupy Hall 2, which will host 250+ exhibitors and 5000+ delegates, creating a vibrant and dedicated space for networking, knowledge sharing, and business development.
The event promises to be a unique opportunity for growth, innovation, and deal-making at scale. AGS’s multi-vertical approach covers key affiliate marketing sectors and is set to bring together top experts and companies in a focused, brand-safe, and commercially accessible environment.
One ticket, three events
AGS is proud to offer attendees access to three key events with one ticket. Alongside AGS, attendees can also explore SiGMA and AIBC. SiGMA World is a renowned event dedicated to the digital and iGaming industries, providing a platform for innovation, networking, and business development. AIBC focuses on blockchain and emerging technologies, making it an essential event for those at the cutting edge of tech. These events are known for their fresh ideas, global networking opportunities, and focus on digital innovation. AGS stands as a premier event in the affiliate marketing space, offering exclusive industry insights and facilitating strategic conversations across multiple verticals, including eCommerce, finance, performance marketing, and more. With 30,000 delegates expected, AGS is set to provide a global platform for cross-industry collaboration.
Built for deal-making at a global scale
AGS provides the ideal environment for businesses to grow by facilitating connections between leading affiliate marketers, publishers, advertisers, and brands. It is the perfect space to build partnerships, exchange ideas, and unlock valuable opportunities in the affiliate marketing world. With its global audience, AGS fosters a strong, professional networking environment to support your business’s international expansion.
AGS maintains a strict verification process for affiliates attending the event. This ensures that only verified professionals can join, keeping discussions and partnerships valuable and relevant to the industry’s needs. AGS provides a brand-safe environment focused on mainstream, scalable verticals, which opens the door to a broad pool of advertisers and partners.
Speakers and exhibitors
AGS 2026 will feature top speakers from around the world, offering insights on the latest trends and strategies in affiliate marketing. Confirmed speakers include:
Olga Maksimuk, Principal Affiliate Expert at Google
Niv Shaked, Sales Director at TikTok
Nick Shackleford, Co-Founder at BREZ
Oliver Kenyon, Founder and CEO at ConversionWise
Joshua Chin, Founder at Chronos Agency
Jordan Rolband, Founder and CEO at DFO Global Performance
In addition to these incredible speakers, AGS will showcase exhibitors from some of the leading companies in affiliate marketing. AGS focuses on key affiliate marketing verticals, including eCommerce, digital marketing, financial services, and nutraceuticals, offering solutions that can drive performance marketing at scale. These exhibitors are established players with proven success in their respective verticals, offering innovative tools, technology, and services. Notable exhibitors include:
Google
Meta
TikTok
MGID
Clickbank
Mobikok
Platformpay
Yeahmobi
These exhibitors offer solutions designed to help performance marketers scale their businesses and succeed across multiple geographies, ensuring that AGS remains a hub for strategic partnerships in affiliate marketing.
Join us at AGS 2026
Whether you’re an affiliate marketer, brand, or publisher, AGS 2026 offers the perfect opportunity to grow your business, make valuable connections, and discover new opportunities for growth in various industries. Don’t miss out on the chance to be part of Europe’s premier affiliate marketing event. For more information and to register for AGS 2026, visit Affiliate Grand Slam.

AIBC World 2026 countdown begins ahead of Rome’s frontier technology summit
The countdown to AIBC World 2026 has begun, alongside anticipation building ahead of one of Europe’s most significant gatherings dedicated to frontier technology this November. Rome will become the meeting point for leaders across AI, blockchain, fintech, gaming and digital innovation as AIBC World brings together the companies, investors and decision-makers shaping the next stage of the digital economy.
Under the theme of connecting frontier technology with real-world applications and digital scalability, AIBC World 2026 will unite AIBC, SiGMA, FX.World and AGS for a major cross-industry gathering focused on collaboration, innovation and business opportunities.
The event is set to welcome 1,000 exhibitors, 300 speakers and 30,000 delegates, creating a global platform where technology leaders, entrepreneurs and investors can connect, exchange ideas and explore new opportunities across emerging sectors.
AIBC Hall: a dedicated hub for blockchain and AI innovation
One of the major highlights of AIBC World 2026 is the introduction of the new AIBC Hall at Fiera Roma.
Located in Hall 7, the dedicated space will bring together blockchain and AI service provider (PSP) companies in a single, concentrated environment. Recognised as one of Europe’s largest dedicated blockchain expo spaces, the AIBC Hall will provide attendees with direct access to the infrastructure providers, exchanges, custody solutions driving the evolution of the digital economy.
Beyond the exhibition floor, the AIBC Hall will also feature a dedicated AIBC Stage, hosting expert-led panels and discussions covering the latest developments, challenges and opportunities across blockchain, AI and emerging technologies.
By combining exhibition, thought leadership, and industry connections in one space, AIBC Hall will create a dedicated environment for companies, innovators, and decision-makers to exchange ideas, build partnerships, and explore the technologies of digital industries.
A global platform for innovation, business and collaboration
Hosted at Fiera Roma, one of Europe’s largest exhibition venues, AIBC World 2026 will provide the scale and facilities required to welcome thousands of international attendees.
Across the exhibition floor and conference stages, visitors can expect perspectives on the latest developments across blockchain, artificial intelligence, digital assets and emerging technologies. The event will bring together established industry players, innovative startups, and technology pioneers to discuss the trends shaping the global digital landscape.
Confirmed exhibitors include leading names such as Blockchain.com, Transak, Gate, CertiK, BitGo, Fireblocks, Bybit, BIT.COM, Chainalysis, TradingView and Alchemy Pay.
The conference programme will feature influential founders, investors, policymakers and technology executives, including Tim Draper, Founder of Draper Associates; Reeve Collins, Chairman and Co-Founder of STBL & WeFi; Felix Fan, CEO of Trust Wallet; Arthur Breitman, Co-Founder of Tezos; and Brando Benifei, Member of the European Parliament.
Spotlighting emerging technology startups
AIBC World 2026 will continue to support the next generation of innovators through the AIBC Startup Pitch competition.
Open to startups working across crypto, blockchain, Web3 and artificial intelligence, the competition provides selected founders with the opportunity to present their solutions to investors, accelerators and industry leaders. Six finalists will advance to the live on-stage competition, showcasing high-potential projects from across the global emerging technology ecosystem.
Networking opportunities beyond the exhibition floor
Beyond the exhibition and conference programme, AIBC World 2026 will offer exclusive opportunities for attendees to connect with global technology leaders, investors and innovators.
From the iGathering Networking Cocktail at Lanterna di Fuksas and the SiGMA Nexus Elite Golf Tour to the AIBC & FX Awards, the event will bring together the community through a series of premium experiences. Held in the historic setting of Rome, the AIBC & FX Awards will celebrate the leading performers across AI, crypto, blockchain, fintech and emerging technology, with winners announced during an exclusive ceremony featuring recognition, connection and a charitable art auction.
Join AIBC World 2026 in Rome
As AI, blockchain and digital finance continue to reshape industries worldwide, AIBC World 2026 arrives at a defining time for the technology ecosystem.
With a dedicated exhibition hall, a strong international speaker lineup, leading exhibitors and a programme designed around innovation and collaboration, the event is set to become a key meeting point for those building, investing in and shaping the future of frontier technology.
As Rome prepares to welcome the global technology community this November, now is the time to secure your place at AIBC World 2026 and join the conversations driving the industry forward.

Agentic Decentralized Finance Forum to Advance Singapore’s Next Digital Economy
Executive forum and strategic regional partnerships bring together leaders in AI, digital finance and blockchain to accelerate cross-border innovation
As artificial intelligence reshapes industries and digital assets move into the financial mainstream, Singapore is well positioned to lead the next chapter of digital innovation. Against this backdrop, Singapore Innovation Centre and Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry and inaugurated the Agentic Decentralized Finance Forum at SMEICC 2026, bringing together leaders from government, finance, academia and technology to explore how AI, blockchain and digital finance are transforming business, capital markets and the wider digital economy.
Held on 6 August 2026 at the Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre, the half-day forum will provide a platform for discussions on Agentic AI, decentralised finance (DeFi), tokenised real-world assets, trusted digital infrastructure and the regulatory frameworks needed to support responsible innovation across Asia. The event will also serve as the official media session for the upcoming Singapore Blockchain Week scheduled for November 2026.
SMEICC 2026 features Guest of Honour – Mr. Chee Hong Tat, Minister for National Development. Under this year’s theme, “Beyond Partnerships: Where Growth Comes Next,” SMEICC is expected to welcome more than 5,000 business leaders from across the region, while the Agentic Decentralized Finance Forum will host approximately 250 invited participants representing the digital finance ecosystem.
[Photo] Mr. Chee Hong Tat – Minister for National Development at the opening speech at SMEICC Conference Series.
More than another industry conference, the Agentic Decentralized Finance Forum reflects Singapore Blockchain Week’s growing role as a regional platform where leaders from blockchain, artificial intelligence, fintech and digital assets come together to exchange ideas, foster partnerships and shape the future of innovation. As technologies continue to converge, the forum aims to encourage practical collaboration that extends well beyond the conference itself.
The programme will feature distinguished speakers from organisations including the Anchorage Digital, Alpha Ladder Group, BitGo, Chainalysis, Canton Foundation, FOMO Pay, MetaComp, National University of Singapore, Singapore FinTech Association, StraitsX, R25, Xapo Bank, Zenith and other regional ecosystem partners. Discussions will examine how autonomous AI agents are reshaping financial decision-making, the rise of tokenised assets, cross-border digital finance, decentralised identity, post-quantum security and the governance frameworks needed to support trusted innovation.
[Photo] “Hybrid Agentic Embedded Finance” keynote presentation by Dr. Bo Bai – Chairman of Alpha Ladder Group.
[Photo] “The Rise of Digital Asset, Real-World Assets & Tokenized Economy” panel discussion featuring Ms. Belle Leung – Head of Asia, Xapo Bank ; Mr. Aaron Thian – Director of Institution Sales, Anchorage Digital ; Mr. Sean Chung – Vice President, Global Business Development, R25 ; Mr. Thomas Chou – Head of APAC, Canton Foundation ; Ms. Angela Ang – Managing Director, BitGo.
Associate Professor Edward Tay, Chairman & Director of the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Office at the National University of Singapore School of Computing, Council Member of the Singapore Accreditation Council and Chair of the Expert Panel of Singapore Blockchain Week believes Singapore’s leadership in AI governance and accreditation provides a strong foundation for the next phase of digital finance. He noted that close collaboration between academia, industry and regulators, together with Singapore’s internationally recognised research excellence, positions the country to lead the responsible adoption of Agentic AI and digital assets while reinforcing its standing as a trusted global financial centre.
[Photo] “Singapore and Asia’s Digital Economy Opportunity” Speech by Professor Edward Tay – National University of Singapore.
“Singapore’s strength has always been its ability to connect people, capital and ideas across borders,” said Heslin Kim, Chair of the Organising Committee of Singapore Blockchain Week and Co-Founder & Chief Business Officer of Zenith. “As AI and blockchain become increasingly interconnected, the opportunity is not simply to adopt new technologies, but to build trusted partnerships that accelerate responsible innovation. The Agentic Finance Forum brings together leaders across policy, finance and technology to shape meaningful collaboration and the future of autonomous financial systems.”
[Photo] “The Convergence of AI x DeFi – Building the Next Digital Economy ” panel discussion featuring Ms Holly Fang – President, Singapore Fintech Association ; Mr. Liu Tian Wei – Co-Founder, StraitX ; Mr. Diederik Van Wersch – Regional Director for Asean, Chainalysis ; Mr. Zack Yang – Co-Founder, FOMO Pay ; Ms. Tin Pei Ling – Co-President, Metacomp.
“Singapore’s rise as a trusted digital finance hub has been built on close partnership between regulators, financial institutions and innovators. That public-private collaboration will only matter more as Agentic AI and blockchain converge with digital finance. The Singapore FinTech Association looks forward to working with our fellow stakeholders to ensure this next wave of innovation is harnessed responsibly. The Agentic Finance Forum gives us exactly that platform, a place for bold ideas and honest conversations that will keep Singapore at the forefront of financial innovation.” said Holly Fang, President of the Singapore FinTech Association.
“The next digital economy won’t be built around human users alone, it will increasingly include AI agents participating in commerce. To unlock that future, we need trusted financial infrastructure that allows AI to transact securely, compliantly and at scale. With its strong digital and regulatory foundations, Singapore is well positioned to lead this transition,” said Tianwei Liu, CEO and Co-Founder of StraitsX.

“MetaComp is honoured to be part of the Agentic Decentralized Finance Forum, curated by Singapore Blockchain Week at SMEICC 2026,” said Tin Pei Ling, Co-President, MetaComp. Payments are the foundation of a resilient digital economy, and Singapore’s position as a trusted, well-regulated hub gives it a real advantage in shaping how that infrastructure develops across the region. We’re seeing growing institutional confidence in that regulatory clarity, and forums like this are where that confidence turns into practical, cross-border collaboration. Singapore Blockchain Week, MetaComp and many other partners are each doing their part to solidify Singapore’s position as the region’s leading digital finance hub, as we lead up to the ASEAN summit in 2027.

[Photo] Memorandum of Understanding ceremony featuring (from left) Dr. Kamal Anand – Founder, Bingold Inc ; Mr. Zhang Hai Sheng – COO, Singapore Innovation Centre ; Dr. Jia YiFan – CEO, AIDX ; Ms. Phoenix Chen – Co-Founder, China-Singapore AI Association ; Dr Charlie In – Founder, Raffles Capital ; Mr. Qiu JingYing – Director-General of Singapore Representative Office, HICOOL Global Entrepreneur Summit by Beijing Overseas Talents Association ; Richard Hobbs – Founder, VIA Labs with Animoca Brands ; Ms. Wendy Yew – Secretariat, Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce And Industry.
Turning dialogue into collaboration, the Agentic Decentralized Finance Forum will also mark an important milestone for Singapore Blockchain Week through the signing of a five-party Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with organizations spanning agentic commerce, international entrepreneurship and artificial intelligence.
The collaboration brings together Singapore Blockchain Week with , Raffles Capital, VIA Labs with Animoca Brands, AIDX Tech, China-Singapore AI Association (CSAIA) and HICOOL Global Entrepreneur Summit – China’s leading international innovation and entrepreneurship platforms by Beijing Overseas Talents Association (BOTA). Together, the partners aim to strengthen cross-border collaboration, expand innovation networks and create new opportunities for businesses, entrepreneurs and technology communities across Singapore and Asia.
The partnership will support several strategic initiatives, including the deployment of an AI-powered Agentic Commerce Ticketing Platform developed by VIA Labs in-collaboration with Animoca Brands for Singapore Blockchain Week, deeper engagement with Raffles Capital’s AI x DeFi Convergence Pitch Competition and HICOOL’s international ecosystem, and stronger collaboration with the China-Singapore AI Association to connect AI, DeFi researchers, enterprises and innovators across Singapore and China.
Collectively, the five organisations share a common vision of accelerating responsible technology adoption while fostering greater cooperation between industry, academia and innovation ecosystems. This reflects Singapore Blockchain Week’s broader ambition to serve as a regional platform where ideas, partnerships and emerging technologies converge to shape Asia’s next digital economy.
As the boundaries between AI, blockchain and financial services continue to evolve, the conversations taking place at the Agentic Finance Forum are intended to extend well beyond the conference hall anchored by host and moderator from AIXcellerator and CNBC. Through new partnerships, shared expertise and cross-border collaboration, Singapore Blockchain Week aims to help build an ecosystem where innovation is not only discussed but realised.
Photo : (Left) Singapore Blockchain Week Call For Collaboration Presentation by Ambassador Ms. Sann Carrière – Founder of Orobo and Executive Committee – Director of Manufacturing & Digital Passport, Asia Blockchain Association.
(Right) Token of Appreciation to Ms. Joanna Ossinger – Managing Editor, CNBC ; Dr. Marcus Tan – Founder of AI:Xcelertor.
About Singapore Fintech Association
.
Singapore FinTech Association is a cross-industry, non-profit initiative that serves as a platform to facilitate collaboration among market participants and stakeholders across the FinTech ecosystem with one of its subcommittees focuses on Web3. Supported by a distinguished group of industry and government leaders including :
Patron: Mr. Alvin Tan, Minister of State for Trade and Industry and National Development
Strategic Advisory :
– Ms. Ong Chen Hui, Assistant Chief Executive, Infocomm Media Development Authority
– Mr. Soh Leng Wan, Assistant Managing Director, Enterprise Singapore
– Mr. Neil Parekh, Deputy Chairman, Global Finance & Technology Network
– Mr. Sanjoy Sen, Managing Director and Group Head, DBS
Their collective leadership supports the asociation’s efforts to foster innovation, collaboration and the development of Singapore’s FinTech ecosystem, both locally and internationally.
For more information, visit https://singaporefintech.org
About StraitsX
StraitsX is the issuer of XSGD and XUSD, Singapore Dollar- and US Dollar-denominated stablecoins that are backed 1:1 by their respective fiat reserves. Licensed as a Major Payment Institution by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, its infrastructure supports stablecoin issuance, payments, settlement, treasury management and connectivity across blockchain networks and traditional payment rails.
With more than US$30 billion in stablecoin transactions and over 3.6 million transactions processed, StraitsX is backed by prominent financial and strategic investors including NTT DOCOMO, Standard Chartered, SC Ventures and InterVest, and secured a further US$10 million strategic investment from UQPAY in 2025 to accelerate its stablecoin and cross-border payments infrastructure across Asia.
For more information, visit https://www.straitsx.com

About Metacomp
MetaComp is a Singapore-based digital finance platform bridging traditional finance and digital assets through regulated, secure and technology-enabled infrastructure. As a Major Payment Institution licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, MetaComp provides Digital Payment Token and cross-border payment services, alongside solutions spanning trading, custody, payments, stablecoins and digital asset management.

Backed by Alibaba, MetaComp has raised US$35 million in Pre-A funding in 2026, and is expanding its StableX Network while developing AI-enabled infrastructure for the emerging financial economy.
For more information, visit https://www.mce.sg
About Singapore Blockchain Week
Singapore Blockchain Week (SBW) is a government- and association-supported platform connecting Agentic Commerce, Decentralized Finance, Digital Infrastructure, Emerging Technologies, Institutional Tokenisation and Real World Assets accelerating innovation and cross-border collaboration across the region.
Positioned as the world’s first cross-border Blockchain flagship event, the programme spans across Republic of Singapore and Johor–Singapore Special Economic Zone in Southern Malaysia. Bringing together policymakers, regulators, entrepreneurs, investors, enterprises and innovators from around the world to foster meaningful dialogue, strategic partnerships and cross-sector collaboration to accelerate responsible innovation and strengthen it’s position as a global hub for the digital economy.
Taking place 13–17 November 2026, SBW will feature conferences, industry forums, networking events and ecosystem initiatives, connecting the people, ideas and technologies shaping the future of finance, technology and digital innovation across Asia.
For more information, visit https://singaporeblockchainweek.org
Join The Singapore Blockchain Week Movement
​Follow our official channels for upcoming regional roadshow, community engagements and event announcements.
​Linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/company/singaporeblockchainweekofficial
​X : https://x.com/SingaporeBWeek
​Telegram : https://t.me/SingaporeBlockchainWeek
Luma : https://luma.com/singaporeblockchainweek
Singapore Blockchain Week is a community driven flagship event supported by association and government. Join us and play a part in amplifying and shaping the conversations that matter.
For Key Opinion Leader (KOL) and Influencer :
Share your perspectives and co-curate what matters as a thought leader : https://forms.gle/8RTT1nFZR2VQQypd9
For General Public :
Play your part as an advocate by sharing with your network : https://www.eventbrite.com/e/singapore-blockchain-week-be-advocator-of-nations-flagship-defi-event-tickets-1985227081642
Media Contact
Ms. Faralynn Wong
Asia Investor Relations
Email: faralynn@asiainvestorrelations.com
Mobile: +65 8308 1616
Ms. Angelina Tan
Singapore Blockchain Week
Email: angelina@singaporeblockchainweek.org
Mobile: +65 8959 2812

AIBC World 2026 countdown begins ahead of Rome’s frontier technology summit
The countdown to AIBC World 2026 has begun, alongside anticipation building ahead of one of Europe’s most significant gatherings dedicated to frontier technology this November. Rome will become the meeting point for leaders across AI, blockchain, fintech, gaming and digital innovation as AIBC World brings together the companies, investors and decision-makers shaping the next stage of the digital economy.
Under the theme of connecting frontier technology with real-world applications and digital scalability, AIBC World 2026 will unite AIBC, SiGMA, FX.World and AGS for a major cross-industry gathering focused on collaboration, innovation and business opportunities.
The event is set to welcome 1,000 exhibitors, 300 speakers and 30,000 delegates, creating a global platform where technology leaders, entrepreneurs and investors can connect, exchange ideas and explore new opportunities across emerging sectors.
AIBC Hall: a dedicated hub for blockchain and AI innovation
One of the major highlights of AIBC World 2026 is the introduction of the new AIBC Hall at Fiera Roma.
Located in Hall 7, the dedicated space will bring together blockchain and AI service provider (PSP) companies in a single, concentrated environment. Recognised as one of Europe’s largest dedicated blockchain expo spaces, the AIBC Hall will provide attendees with direct access to the infrastructure providers, exchanges, custody solutions driving the evolution of the digital economy.
Beyond the exhibition floor, the AIBC Hall will also feature a dedicated AIBC Stage, hosting expert-led panels and discussions covering the latest developments, challenges and opportunities across blockchain, AI and emerging technologies.
By combining exhibition, thought leadership, and industry connections in one space, AIBC Hall will create a dedicated environment for companies, innovators, and decision-makers to exchange ideas, build partnerships, and explore the technologies of digital industries.
A global platform for innovation, business and collaboration
Hosted at Fiera Roma, one of Europe’s largest exhibition venues, AIBC World 2026 will provide the scale and facilities required to welcome thousands of international attendees.
Across the exhibition floor and conference stages, visitors can expect perspectives on the latest developments across blockchain, artificial intelligence, digital assets and emerging technologies. The event will bring together established industry players, innovative startups, and technology pioneers to discuss the trends shaping the global digital landscape.
Confirmed exhibitors include leading names such as Blockchain.com, Transak, Gate, CertiK, BitGo, Fireblocks, Bybit, BIT.COM, Chainalysis, TradingView and Alchemy Pay.
The conference programme will feature influential founders, investors, policymakers and technology executives, including Tim Draper, Founder of Draper Associates; Reeve Collins, Chairman and Co-Founder of STBL & WeFi; Felix Fan, CEO of Trust Wallet; Arthur Breitman, Co-Founder of Tezos; and Brando Benifei, Member of the European Parliament.
Spotlighting emerging technology startups
AIBC World 2026 will continue to support the next generation of innovators through the AIBC Startup Pitch competition.
Open to startups working across crypto, blockchain, Web3 and artificial intelligence, the competition provides selected founders with the opportunity to present their solutions to investors, accelerators and industry leaders. Six finalists will advance to the live on-stage competition, showcasing high-potential projects from across the global emerging technology ecosystem.
Networking opportunities beyond the exhibition floor
Beyond the exhibition and conference programme, AIBC World 2026 will offer exclusive opportunities for attendees to connect with global technology leaders, investors and innovators.
From the iGathering Networking Cocktail at Lanterna di Fuksas and the SiGMA Nexus Elite Golf Tour to the AIBC & FX Awards, the event will bring together the community through a series of premium experiences. Held in the historic setting of Rome, the AIBC & FX Awards will celebrate the leading performers across AI, crypto, blockchain, fintech and emerging technology, with winners announced during an exclusive ceremony featuring recognition, connection and a charitable art auction.
Join AIBC World 2026 in Rome
As AI, blockchain and digital finance continue to reshape industries worldwide, AIBC World 2026 arrives at a defining time for the technology ecosystem.
With a dedicated exhibition hall, a strong international speaker lineup, leading exhibitors and a programme designed around innovation and collaboration, the event is set to become a key meeting point for those building, investing in and shaping the future of frontier technology.
As Rome prepares to welcome the global technology community this November, now is the time to secure your place at AIBC World 2026 and join the conversations driving the industry forward.

Affiliate Grand Slam: Europe’s top multi-vertical affiliate marketing event in 2026
Affiliate Grand Slam (AGS) is Europe’s leading affiliate marketing event, providing a platform for professionals across various industries to meet, share insights, and make impactful connections. This flagship summit will be held in Rome, Italy, at Fiera di Roma from 02-05 November 2026. AGS will occupy Hall 2, which will host 250+ exhibitors and 5000+ delegates, creating a vibrant and dedicated space for networking, knowledge sharing, and business development.
The event promises to be a unique opportunity for growth, innovation, and deal-making at scale. AGS’s multi-vertical approach covers key affiliate marketing sectors and is set to bring together top experts and companies in a focused, brand-safe, and commercially accessible environment.
One ticket, three events
AGS is proud to offer attendees access to three key events with one ticket. Alongside AGS, attendees can also explore SiGMA and AIBC. SiGMA World is a renowned event dedicated to the digital and iGaming industries, providing a platform for innovation, networking, and business development. AIBC focuses on blockchain and emerging technologies, making it an essential event for those at the cutting edge of tech. These events are known for their fresh ideas, global networking opportunities, and focus on digital innovation. AGS stands as a premier event in the affiliate marketing space, offering exclusive industry insights and facilitating strategic conversations across multiple verticals, including eCommerce, finance, performance marketing, and more. With 30,000 delegates expected, AGS is set to provide a global platform for cross-industry collaboration.
Built for deal-making at a global scale
AGS provides the ideal environment for businesses to grow by facilitating connections between leading affiliate marketers, publishers, advertisers, and brands. It is the perfect space to build partnerships, exchange ideas, and unlock valuable opportunities in the affiliate marketing world. With its global audience, AGS fosters a strong, professional networking environment to support your business’s international expansion.
AGS maintains a strict verification process for affiliates attending the event. This ensures that only verified professionals can join, keeping discussions and partnerships valuable and relevant to the industry’s needs. AGS provides a brand-safe environment focused on mainstream, scalable verticals, which opens the door to a broad pool of advertisers and partners.
Speakers and exhibitors
AGS 2026 will feature top speakers from around the world, offering insights on the latest trends and strategies in affiliate marketing. Confirmed speakers include:
Olga Maksimuk, Principal Affiliate Expert at Google
Niv Shaked, Sales Director at TikTok
Nick Shackleford, Co-Founder at BREZ
Oliver Kenyon, Founder and CEO at ConversionWise
Joshua Chin, Founder at Chronos Agency
Jordan Rolband, Founder and CEO at DFO Global Performance
In addition to these incredible speakers, AGS will showcase exhibitors from some of the leading companies in affiliate marketing. AGS focuses on key affiliate marketing verticals, including eCommerce, digital marketing, financial services, and nutraceuticals, offering solutions that can drive performance marketing at scale. These exhibitors are established players with proven success in their respective verticals, offering innovative tools, technology, and services. Notable exhibitors include:
Google
Meta
TikTok
MGID
Clickbank
Mobikok
Platformpay
Yeahmobi
These exhibitors offer solutions designed to help performance marketers scale their businesses and succeed across multiple geographies, ensuring that AGS remains a hub for strategic partnerships in affiliate marketing.
Join us at AGS 2026
Whether you’re an affiliate marketer, brand, or publisher, AGS 2026 offers the perfect opportunity to grow your business, make valuable connections, and discover new opportunities for growth in various industries. Don’t miss out on the chance to be part of Europe’s premier affiliate marketing event. For more information and to register for AGS 2026, visit Affiliate Grand Slam.

Pitch Fest Bali 2026: 15+ Startups. Leading Investors. $100K+ in Prizes
A curated, invite-only Demo Day narrowing 200+ applicants down to 15+, judged by a panel spanning SC Ventures, TBV, Ape Ventures, and Yellow. Founders compete for a prize pool of over $100,000 and meet institutional investors directly on August 19.
BALI, INDONESIA. [ Release Date ]. Luvon Labs and SpedaxAI have announced Pitch Fest Bali 2026, an invite-only Web3 Demo Day taking place on August 19, running alongside CoinFest Asia. From more than 200 applications, the event has narrowed the field to a curated cohort of 15+ standout teams, who will pitch live to a panel of leading venture investors, competing for a prize pool of more than $100,000.
The thinking behind Pitch Fest Bali is straightforward. Instead of competing for attention on a crowded conference floor, the event creates a focused, high-quality room where pre-TGE and growth-stage founders can meet the investors, exchanges, and ecosystem partners who can help them move faster.
A Room Built for Deal Flow
Pitch Fest Bali brings together three groups that rarely share a room by design: mature, near-launch founders, institutional capital, and the infrastructure partners powering the next cycle.
The curated cohort will pitch to a judging panel that includes Alex Toh (Lead, Funds Management at SC Ventures – Standard Chartered), Tobias Bauer (Co-Founder and General Partner at TBV), Darknight (Founder of Ape Ventures), and Alexis Sirkia (Co-Founder of Yellow).
Further venture participation confirmed for the event includes Trive Digital, CoinSwitch Ventures, and Spores Network, with more names to be announced.
Confirmed sponsors so far include Golden Grid, ObsessionDB, and Kenomic (credit partner). They are joined by a network of more than 50 media and community partners amplifying the event across the region and beyond.
Why It Matters for Partners
For sponsors and investors, the value is direct: early access to a vetted pipeline of pre-TGE, revenue-generating founders, before they pick an exchange or lead investor. Backed by 50+ media and community partners, the goal is simple, qualified deal flow and real visibility with the audience that matters.
Bali is also the first in a planned series of curated demo days across major global crypto hubs, with editions targeted for Singapore, Mumbai, and London. Partners who come in early get a head start on a platform built to grow across several markets.
Partnership Opportunities Are Open
Sponsors and partners are still being onboarded ahead of August 19. Luvon Labs and SpedaxAI are inviting exchanges, funds, infrastructure providers, and ecosystem partners to explore tailored collaborations, from ecosystem partnerships to custom activations shaped around each partner’s own goals.
“We wanted to build something focused,” a spokesperson for the organizers said. “Serious founders and serious investors in one room, with a clear return for every partner who takes part. Bali is only the start, and the partners joining us now are getting in early.”
Get Involved
RSVP and Attend (Luma): https://luma.com/pitch-fest-Bali2026
Apply to Pitch: https://forms.gle/tJBPiqEk5zuj8zbn8
Join the Community (Telegram): https://t.me/+fSoIDlp2NVwwZjRl
About Luvon Labs
Luvon Labs is a full-stack venture partner for Web3 founders, working end-to-end from build to raise. The studio ships the entire stack, brand and UX, smart contracts in Solidity and Rust, AI agents, mobile apps, and the infrastructure that keeps products live and scaling, then stays in the room through go-to-market and fundraising strategy, backed by a global investor network built over years in the ecosystem. To date, Luvon Labs has shipped 50+ products for 30+ clients across 15+ countries. Guided by its philosophy, Build With Intent, Luvon treats every team it works with as a long-term relationship, not a one-off engagement. More at luvonlabs.com
About SpedaxAI
SpedaxAI is a full-stack, no-code AI studio that lets anyone build, deploy, and monetize autonomous AI agents in under 90 seconds. Backed by enterprise models and a secure decentralized database, the platform guarantees complete data privacy and true ownership. The ecosystem delivers four core products to make advanced AI accessible. Businesses can instantly deploy custom website agents using a simple embed code. Consumers gain a voice-activated Chrome extension that reads real-time screen context to execute tailored tasks. Developers can build scalable applications using robust SpedaxAI APIs. Finally, a one-click Web3 automation suite with a built-in digital wallet lets non-technical users bypass complex coding to instantly launch agents for automated trading and market research. Whether minting agents as digital assets or automating complex workflows, SpedaxAI is the complete infrastructure for the modern agentic economy. More at spedaxai.com.
About Golden Grid
Golden Grid is an on-chain pixel lottery where players claim a block on a living grid with original pixel art or a logo, connect their wallet, and take a shot at crypto, NFTs, and rewards from a prize pool that grows as more players join. Built around the lore of Ratoshi and the Syndicate, the platform runs on one rule: luck must circulate. More at goldengrid.xyz.
About ObsessionDB
ObsessionDB is fully managed ClickHouse, the same engine, queries, and tools teams already know, without any infrastructure to run themselves. Built for workloads that break other databases, billions of rows, real-time dashboards, and customer-facing analytics, it delivers sub-second queries at any scale with automatic scaling and no clusters to manage. More at obsessiondb.com.
About Kenomic
Kenomic is an AI-powered platform built for the entire token lifecycle, guiding founders through design, validation, launch, and post-launch management in one place. Its conversational AI agent, Keni, turns a plain project description into a launch-ready tokenomics model, backed by a digital-twin simulation engine that stress-tests the design across millions of market scenarios and a Kenomic Score that measures resilience before launch. Kenomic then deploys audit-grade smart contracts across 9 chains and keeps managing vesting, staking, airdrops, and treasury long after launch day. More at kenomic.ai.
About BrandPR
BrandPR is a specialized PR and marketing agency partnering with LuvonLabs to empower AI and Web3 brands worldwide. Since 2022, we have helped crypto, blockchain, and artificial intelligence clients gain exposure through top-tier media coverage and strategic community-building. From crypto launches and DeFi platforms to cutting-edge AI startups, BrandPR delivers tailored campaigns designed to amplify your brand and build a lasting legacy at the intersection of AI and Web3. More at https://brandpr.io/
About HashLock
Hashlock is the industry leading blockchain cybersecurity and smart contract auditing firm. We specialise in manual analysis led security research, securing billions of dollars in digital assets, with clients ranging from innovative web3 startups to global blockchain enterprises.More at https://hashlock.com/
Media and Partnership Contact
Anubhav Tomar, Co-Founder, Luvon Labs
Email: anubhav@luvonlabs.com
Web: luvonlabs.com

South Korea’s financial regulator has finalized new rules requiring domestic cryptocurrency exchanges to scrutinize transfers heading to overseas platforms and personal wallets, marking the latest move in an intensifying campaign to control capital flows out of one of the world’s most active retail crypto markets.
The rules arrive within days of Bybit, MEXC, and HTX being pulled from Google Play in South Korea, underscoring how aggressively regulators are working to funnel trading activity toward licensed domestic platforms.
What the New Rules Actually Require
South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) confirmed that registered virtual asset service providers will now be required to apply risk-based controls specifically to outbound transfers, alongside internal monitoring systems designed to flag suspicious transactions once transfer amounts reach 10 million won — roughly $7,000.
Under the finalized framework, exchanges gain the authority to demand proof of account ownership, documentation of a transfer’s purpose, and evidence tracing the source of funds before processing a transaction. If a user cannot produce sufficient documentation, the exchange can delay the transfer or reject it outright.
Crucially, the rules apply not just to transfers heading to overseas exchanges, but to personal, self-hosted wallets as well — a detail that has drawn particular attention from crypto analysts, since it extends heightened scrutiny beyond platform-to-platform transfers and into the realm of individual self-custody.
A Softer Landing Than Regulators Originally Proposed
The finalized rules represent a meaningful retreat from South Korea’s initial proposal. In March 2026, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) floated a much stricter framework that would have automatically classified every single transfer above 10 million won to an overseas exchange or personal wallet as inherently suspicious — regardless of context, documentation, or the sender’s history.
That approach drew significant pushback from the domestic crypto industry, and regulators ultimately shifted course. Rather than triggering automatic suspicious-transaction reports purely because a transfer crossed the monetary threshold, each registered exchange will now independently assess risk under its own internal controls, filing reports only when a transaction genuinely warrants scrutiny rather than as a blanket, threshold-based requirement.
How the Risk Tiers Work in Practice
The approved framework establishes a tiered system based on counterparty risk. Transfers directed to overseas exchanges classified as low-risk will generally be allowed to proceed without additional friction. For transfers involving other overseas platforms or self-hosted wallets, the default rule requires that the sender and recipient be verifiably the same person — a safeguard aimed at preventing crypto from being used to anonymously move funds to third parties abroad. Transfers involving counterparties deemed high-risk can be blocked outright under the new rules.
Domestic exchanges have also been granted latitude to request supplementary evidence — such as documentation proving a customer owns a specific overseas account, an explanation of a transfer’s purpose, or verification of where the funds originated — specifically in cases presenting elevated risk indicators. Notably, the FSC has stopped short of publishing a standardized, universal checklist mandating these documents for every single transaction, leaving exchanges some discretion in how they apply the framework.
The Timing Isn’t Coincidental
The rules landed just days after Bybit, MEXC, and HTX — three prominent offshore cryptocurrency exchanges — were removed from South Korea’s Google Play store, cutting off one of the primary channels through which domestic users had been accessing platforms outside the country’s licensing regime. Taken together, the app removals and the new transfer restrictions represent a coordinated regulatory push to steer trading activity toward exchanges operating under South Korea’s own licensing and compliance framework, rather than platforms based overseas with limited accountability to domestic regulators.
The Self-Custody Debate
The inclusion of self-hosted wallets within the enhanced monitoring threshold has generated notable debate among industry observers. Critics of this approach argue that treating self-custody transfers as inherently suspicious risks producing counterproductive outcomes: users seeking to avoid scrutiny may simply structure transfers to stay just under the 10-million-won threshold, a pattern that would make the resulting monitoring data noisier and less useful for identifying genuinely illicit activity, rather than more effective at catching it.
Why South Korea’s Crypto Market Matters
South Korea occupies an outsized position in global cryptocurrency markets relative to its population size. The country hosts one of the world’s most active and engaged retail crypto trading bases, with won-denominated trading volume frequently representing one of the largest shares of global spot trading activity — consistently ranking among the top currencies used for crypto transactions worldwide, trailing only the U.S. dollar in some measurement periods.
That scale of retail participation is precisely what makes South Korea’s regulatory posture toward offshore platforms and self-custody so consequential: rules implemented here don’t just affect a niche market, they influence a meaningful slice of global crypto trading flow.
What Comes Next
For South Korean crypto users, the practical impact will depend heavily on how individual exchanges choose to implement their risk-based controls under the new framework. Transfers to reputable, low-risk overseas platforms should continue with minimal disruption, while transactions involving self-hosted wallets or less-established international exchanges are likely to face additional documentation requirements and potential delays.
As South Korean regulators continue tightening the boundary between domestic and offshore crypto activity, the coming months will reveal whether this risk-based approach succeeds in curbing illicit fund movement without simply pushing determined users toward more fragmented, harder-to-monitor transfer patterns.

South Korea’s financial regulator has finalized new rules requiring domestic cryptocurrency exchanges to scrutinize transfers heading to overseas platforms and personal wallets, marking the latest move in an intensifying campaign to control capital flows out of one of the world’s most active retail crypto markets.
The rules arrive within days of Bybit, MEXC, and HTX being pulled from Google Play in South Korea, underscoring how aggressively regulators are working to funnel trading activity toward licensed domestic platforms.
What the New Rules Actually Require
South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) confirmed that registered virtual asset service providers will now be required to apply risk-based controls specifically to outbound transfers, alongside internal monitoring systems designed to flag suspicious transactions once transfer amounts reach 10 million won — roughly $7,000.
Under the finalized framework, exchanges gain the authority to demand proof of account ownership, documentation of a transfer’s purpose, and evidence tracing the source of funds before processing a transaction. If a user cannot produce sufficient documentation, the exchange can delay the transfer or reject it outright.
Crucially, the rules apply not just to transfers heading to overseas exchanges, but to personal, self-hosted wallets as well — a detail that has drawn particular attention from crypto analysts, since it extends heightened scrutiny beyond platform-to-platform transfers and into the realm of individual self-custody.
A Softer Landing Than Regulators Originally Proposed
The finalized rules represent a meaningful retreat from South Korea’s initial proposal. In March 2026, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) floated a much stricter framework that would have automatically classified every single transfer above 10 million won to an overseas exchange or personal wallet as inherently suspicious — regardless of context, documentation, or the sender’s history.
That approach drew significant pushback from the domestic crypto industry, and regulators ultimately shifted course. Rather than triggering automatic suspicious-transaction reports purely because a transfer crossed the monetary threshold, each registered exchange will now independently assess risk under its own internal controls, filing reports only when a transaction genuinely warrants scrutiny rather than as a blanket, threshold-based requirement.
How the Risk Tiers Work in Practice
The approved framework establishes a tiered system based on counterparty risk. Transfers directed to overseas exchanges classified as low-risk will generally be allowed to proceed without additional friction. For transfers involving other overseas platforms or self-hosted wallets, the default rule requires that the sender and recipient be verifiably the same person — a safeguard aimed at preventing crypto from being used to anonymously move funds to third parties abroad. Transfers involving counterparties deemed high-risk can be blocked outright under the new rules.
Domestic exchanges have also been granted latitude to request supplementary evidence — such as documentation proving a customer owns a specific overseas account, an explanation of a transfer’s purpose, or verification of where the funds originated — specifically in cases presenting elevated risk indicators. Notably, the FSC has stopped short of publishing a standardized, universal checklist mandating these documents for every single transaction, leaving exchanges some discretion in how they apply the framework.
The Timing Isn’t Coincidental
The rules landed just days after Bybit, MEXC, and HTX — three prominent offshore cryptocurrency exchanges — were removed from South Korea’s Google Play store, cutting off one of the primary channels through which domestic users had been accessing platforms outside the country’s licensing regime. Taken together, the app removals and the new transfer restrictions represent a coordinated regulatory push to steer trading activity toward exchanges operating under South Korea’s own licensing and compliance framework, rather than platforms based overseas with limited accountability to domestic regulators.
The Self-Custody Debate
The inclusion of self-hosted wallets within the enhanced monitoring threshold has generated notable debate among industry observers. Critics of this approach argue that treating self-custody transfers as inherently suspicious risks producing counterproductive outcomes: users seeking to avoid scrutiny may simply structure transfers to stay just under the 10-million-won threshold, a pattern that would make the resulting monitoring data noisier and less useful for identifying genuinely illicit activity, rather than more effective at catching it.
Why South Korea’s Crypto Market Matters
South Korea occupies an outsized position in global cryptocurrency markets relative to its population size. The country hosts one of the world’s most active and engaged retail crypto trading bases, with won-denominated trading volume frequently representing one of the largest shares of global spot trading activity — consistently ranking among the top currencies used for crypto transactions worldwide, trailing only the U.S. dollar in some measurement periods.
That scale of retail participation is precisely what makes South Korea’s regulatory posture toward offshore platforms and self-custody so consequential: rules implemented here don’t just affect a niche market, they influence a meaningful slice of global crypto trading flow.
What Comes Next
For South Korean crypto users, the practical impact will depend heavily on how individual exchanges choose to implement their risk-based controls under the new framework. Transfers to reputable, low-risk overseas platforms should continue with minimal disruption, while transactions involving self-hosted wallets or less-established international exchanges are likely to face additional documentation requirements and potential delays.
As South Korean regulators continue tightening the boundary between domestic and offshore crypto activity, the coming months will reveal whether this risk-based approach succeeds in curbing illicit fund movement without simply pushing determined users toward more fragmented, harder-to-monitor transfer patterns.

Wintermute Trading Ltd., one of crypto’s largest liquidity providers, is committing approximately $1 billion over the next five years to high-frequency trading technology and AI-powered data center infrastructure, as the nine-year-old firm attempts a fundamental transformation: from a digital-asset specialist into a full-spectrum trading powerhouse capable of competing directly with Wall Street titans like Jane Street Group and Citadel Securities.
Why Wintermute Is Making This Bet Now
Founder and CEO Evgeny Gaevoy confirmed the investment in an interview with Bloomberg, framing it as the necessary cost of entry into markets where competitors have had decades to refine their technology.
“We are now going up against firms that have spent decades optimizing their technology and infrastructure for these markets, so obviously the level of investment required is significant,” Gaevoy said.
The timing is not incidental. Crypto markets have been mired in a prolonged downturn, with Bitcoin trading at roughly half its October peak of over $126,000. Wintermute’s own average daily trading volume has contracted accordingly, falling from approximately $15 billion last year to around $10 billion this year — a decline that has pushed the firm to accelerate a diversification strategy it first mapped out at a company offsite in Greece in 2025, where the internal slogan “TradFi or die” reportedly began circulating among staff.
What the $1 Billion Actually Buys
According to Gaevoy, the spending will concentrate on compute power, data storage, and networking capacity needed to train and continuously retrain increasingly sophisticated quantitative trading models against enormous volumes of market data. He was explicit that competing at this level requires more than incremental speed gains: “Going beyond shaving microseconds off execution” is essential, he said, alongside having reliable access to the underlying infrastructure that powers modern algorithmic trading.
Wintermute plans to fund the entire buildout using retained earnings rather than external capital. The privately held firm posted profits of $582 million during crypto’s 2021 bull run, according to prior Forbes reporting, though it has not disclosed detailed financials since. Gaevoy confirmed the company was profitable in 2025 and remains on track for profitability this year, without providing specific figures.
Wintermute Isn’t Alone in This Arms Race
The scale of Wintermute’s commitment reflects a broader trend among quantitative trading firms racing to secure AI infrastructure. Alex Gerko’s XTX Markets — a firm that trades more than $250 billion daily — announced last year it would spend roughly €1 billion building five data centers in Finland specifically to support its machine learning strategies. Jane Street, one of the firms Wintermute is now positioning itself against, has similarly committed to building and financing its own dedicated data center to keep pace with rising computational demands across the industry.
The Diversification Is Already Underway
Wintermute’s push beyond crypto is not merely theoretical. The firm began trading exchange-traded funds and perpetual futures — highly leveraged derivative contracts with no expiration date, commonly known as “perps” — tied to real-world assets last year, and launched a dedicated prediction markets trading desk in early 2026.
More significantly, Wintermute’s U.S. affiliate registered as a broker-dealer with the Securities and Exchange Commission and joined the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) last week, unlocking the ability to trade equities and equity options directly and to act as an authorized participant for exchange-traded products on American markets — a critical regulatory milestone for any firm seeking legitimate access to U.S. capital markets.
Currently, non-crypto activity accounts for roughly 10% of Wintermute’s total revenue. The company’s stated target is to push that figure above 50% by the end of 2027 — an aggressive timeline that would represent a near-total transformation of its revenue base within roughly eighteen months.
The Scale of the Challenge Ahead
Wintermute’s ambitions place it in direct competition with firms that dwarf its current size and market reach. XTX Markets alone trades more than $250 billion per day — a figure roughly 25 times larger than Wintermute’s current daily crypto volume. To support its expansion, Wintermute is also scaling its physical footprint: the firm currently employs 17 people in New York and plans to double that local headcount next year, alongside a targeted 40% increase in global staff.
A Philosophy of Convergence, Not Replacement
Gaevoy, who began his trading career at high-frequency firm Optiver before founding Wintermute, has framed the strategy not as an abandonment of crypto but as a bet on convergence between digital assets and traditional finance. “There is a future where crypto takes over the world, and there is also a future where it’s merging with TradFi one way or another,” he said, suggesting Wintermute intends to be positioned to profit regardless of which path the industry ultimately takes.
What This Signals for the Broader Market
Wintermute’s pivot illustrates a maturing pattern across crypto-native trading firms: as digital asset markets cool and yield lower returns, sophisticated liquidity providers are increasingly applying the infrastructure and modeling techniques they built for crypto toward traditional asset classes like equities, commodities, and foreign exchange.
The blurring boundary between crypto-native trading operations and legacy Wall Street market-making firms suggests that the technological gap separating these worlds — once considerable — is narrowing rapidly, driven largely by shared reliance on AI-powered infrastructure and the computational arms race it has triggered across the entire trading industry.

Wintermute Trading Ltd., one of crypto’s largest liquidity providers, is committing approximately $1 billion over the next five years to high-frequency trading technology and AI-powered data center infrastructure, as the nine-year-old firm attempts a fundamental transformation: from a digital-asset specialist into a full-spectrum trading powerhouse capable of competing directly with Wall Street titans like Jane Street Group and Citadel Securities.
Why Wintermute Is Making This Bet Now
Founder and CEO Evgeny Gaevoy confirmed the investment in an interview with Bloomberg, framing it as the necessary cost of entry into markets where competitors have had decades to refine their technology.
“We are now going up against firms that have spent decades optimizing their technology and infrastructure for these markets, so obviously the level of investment required is significant,” Gaevoy said.
The timing is not incidental. Crypto markets have been mired in a prolonged downturn, with Bitcoin trading at roughly half its October peak of over $126,000. Wintermute’s own average daily trading volume has contracted accordingly, falling from approximately $15 billion last year to around $10 billion this year — a decline that has pushed the firm to accelerate a diversification strategy it first mapped out at a company offsite in Greece in 2025, where the internal slogan “TradFi or die” reportedly began circulating among staff.
What the $1 Billion Actually Buys
According to Gaevoy, the spending will concentrate on compute power, data storage, and networking capacity needed to train and continuously retrain increasingly sophisticated quantitative trading models against enormous volumes of market data. He was explicit that competing at this level requires more than incremental speed gains: “Going beyond shaving microseconds off execution” is essential, he said, alongside having reliable access to the underlying infrastructure that powers modern algorithmic trading.
Wintermute plans to fund the entire buildout using retained earnings rather than external capital. The privately held firm posted profits of $582 million during crypto’s 2021 bull run, according to prior Forbes reporting, though it has not disclosed detailed financials since. Gaevoy confirmed the company was profitable in 2025 and remains on track for profitability this year, without providing specific figures.
Wintermute Isn’t Alone in This Arms Race
The scale of Wintermute’s commitment reflects a broader trend among quantitative trading firms racing to secure AI infrastructure. Alex Gerko’s XTX Markets — a firm that trades more than $250 billion daily — announced last year it would spend roughly €1 billion building five data centers in Finland specifically to support its machine learning strategies. Jane Street, one of the firms Wintermute is now positioning itself against, has similarly committed to building and financing its own dedicated data center to keep pace with rising computational demands across the industry.
The Diversification Is Already Underway
Wintermute’s push beyond crypto is not merely theoretical. The firm began trading exchange-traded funds and perpetual futures — highly leveraged derivative contracts with no expiration date, commonly known as “perps” — tied to real-world assets last year, and launched a dedicated prediction markets trading desk in early 2026.
More significantly, Wintermute’s U.S. affiliate registered as a broker-dealer with the Securities and Exchange Commission and joined the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) last week, unlocking the ability to trade equities and equity options directly and to act as an authorized participant for exchange-traded products on American markets — a critical regulatory milestone for any firm seeking legitimate access to U.S. capital markets.
Currently, non-crypto activity accounts for roughly 10% of Wintermute’s total revenue. The company’s stated target is to push that figure above 50% by the end of 2027 — an aggressive timeline that would represent a near-total transformation of its revenue base within roughly eighteen months.
The Scale of the Challenge Ahead
Wintermute’s ambitions place it in direct competition with firms that dwarf its current size and market reach. XTX Markets alone trades more than $250 billion per day — a figure roughly 25 times larger than Wintermute’s current daily crypto volume. To support its expansion, Wintermute is also scaling its physical footprint: the firm currently employs 17 people in New York and plans to double that local headcount next year, alongside a targeted 40% increase in global staff.
A Philosophy of Convergence, Not Replacement
Gaevoy, who began his trading career at high-frequency firm Optiver before founding Wintermute, has framed the strategy not as an abandonment of crypto but as a bet on convergence between digital assets and traditional finance. “There is a future where crypto takes over the world, and there is also a future where it’s merging with TradFi one way or another,” he said, suggesting Wintermute intends to be positioned to profit regardless of which path the industry ultimately takes.
What This Signals for the Broader Market
Wintermute’s pivot illustrates a maturing pattern across crypto-native trading firms: as digital asset markets cool and yield lower returns, sophisticated liquidity providers are increasingly applying the infrastructure and modeling techniques they built for crypto toward traditional asset classes like equities, commodities, and foreign exchange.
The blurring boundary between crypto-native trading operations and legacy Wall Street market-making firms suggests that the technological gap separating these worlds — once considerable — is narrowing rapidly, driven largely by shared reliance on AI-powered infrastructure and the computational arms race it has triggered across the entire trading industry.

CoinFerenceX and The Best Event Join Forces to Launch “CoinFerenceX The Best Event Singapore,” the Decentralised Summit
Two leading Web3 event powerhouses combine curation and execution firepower to build the industry’s most builder-first gathering during Asia Crypto Week, 5-6 October 2026, Gardens by the Bay, Singapore
SINGAPORE, CoinFerenceX, the Web3 conference series known for curating high-signal gatherings of founders, investors, and builders, today announced it has combined forces with The Best Event, the events production group behind 80+ live experiences across 10+ global cities, to launch CoinFerenceX The Best Event Singapore, the next tier of the world’s first Decentralised Summit. The event will take place 5-6 October 2026 at Gardens by the Bay, positioning it as a leading alternative during Singapore’s Token2049 and Asia Crypto Week.
The partnership pairs CoinFerenceX’s content curation and community depth with The Best Event’s large-scale production and sponsor-activation track record, creating what the two companies describe as “the event nobody else can build.”
What sets the conference apart is its decentralized summit model: a 2 day event shaped by the industry rather than dictated by an organizer. Where traditional conferences sell booths and speaking slots, CoinFerenceX and The Best Event will invite the founders, funds and ecosystem leaders who show up to help shape the agenda itself, deciding which conversations matter and which builders take the stage. While the organizers handle the production and logistics, the direction of the summit is set by the Web3 players with real skin in the game. It’s a gathering built by the people driving the ecosystem forward, for the people driving it forward.
The Best Event brings a track record of 80+ delivered events, a presence in more than 10 global cities, over 50 million annual organic impressions, and north of 1 billion in social reach. The group’s attendance has grown from 35,000 in 2025 to a projected 70,000 in 2026. Its sponsor case studies point to concrete ROI, including one partner that turned a $50,000 investment into $1 million raised, another that saw a $50,000 spend convert into $1 million in ROI, and a third that converted two leads into a $400,000 deal.
At CoinFerenceX, partners help shape the agenda itself rather than simply buying booth space and a speaking slot. CoinFerenceX’s community includes 7,500+ curated attendees from more than 70 countries, over 500 ecosystem and media partners, and more than 300 VCs and investment funds. Roughly 60% of its attendees are C-level executives or founders, and independent feedback shows 94% of past partners say they would return, with 89% rating CoinFerenceX among the top 25% of Web3 events globally.
The combined summit is designed around four experience tracks:
The Leaders Summit: an invite-only, C-level gathering where governance decisions and strategic partnerships take shape.
Protocol Deep Dives: technical workshops where protocols demonstrate what they are actually shipping.
The Founders’ Den: a venue for early-stage builders to pitch directly to 200+ VCs and investors.
The Innovation Showcase: live product demos from established players and emerging protocols alike.
Early figures for the Singapore edition point to more than 4,000 curated attendees, 500+ VCs and investors, 400+ ecosystem and media partners, 85+ C-level speakers, and more than 8,000 total event registrations. As with prior CoinFerenceX editions, roughly 60% of attendees are expected to be C-level executives or founders.
Organizers say the agenda will be co-created by founders and ecosystem leaders with skin in the game, focused on sessions that deliver actionable insight or substantive content over celebrity keynotes.
“We’re incredibly excited for this edition, it’s bigger, sharper and more ambitious than anything we’ve done before. With the whole industry in Singapore that week, we’ve curated a stage and an audience that turns that energy into real conversations and real deals. This is CoinFerenceX The Best Event at its strongest,” shared Prince Gupta, Co-Founder of CoinFerenceX
Tobias Bauer, Co-Founder of The Best Event, added, “This partnership is the best of both worlds: CoinFerenceX’s curated speaker line-ups meet The Best Event’s scale of 50,000 attendees a year, the largest Web3 event series globally. Together we’re bringing one of the biggest two-day conferences to Singapore, our home market, with frontier thought leadership and production quality unlike anything else in the space.”
Event Details
Event: CoinFerenceX The Best Event Singapore
Dates: 5-6 October 2026
Venue: Gardens by the Bay, Singapore
Tickets & partner applications: coinferencex.com/singapore
About CoinFerenceX
CoinFerenceX is a global decentralized Web3 summit connecting founders, investors, blockchain companies, developers, and industry leaders to accelerate innovation and collaboration in the digital economy. Through its ecosystem-driven approach, CoinFerenceX creates a platform for meaningful networking, knowledge exchange, startup opportunities, and strategic partnerships shaping the future of Web3. The summit brings together the brightest minds across blockchain, AI, DeFi, gaming, and emerging technologies to explore industry trends, showcase groundbreaking solutions, and build the next generation of decentralized ecosystems.
About The Best Event
TBE is the events arm of TBV, an early-stage venture capital fund backing web2.5 and web3 startups across Southeast Asia and North America. TBE curates high-caliber gatherings that anchor the biggest weeks in web3, with a track record of 80+ delivered events across 10+ global cities. Every event is built around one goal: putting the right founders, funds, and operators in the same room so real deals and partnerships can happen. That network runs deep, backed by a 10,000+ strong Telegram community and a social following north of 100,000.
Media Contact
Anmol Malviya
Head of PR
CoinFerenceX
media@coinferencex.com

CoinFerenceX and The Best Event Join Forces to Launch “CoinFerenceX The Best Event Singapore,” the Decentralised Summit
Two leading Web3 event powerhouses combine curation and execution firepower to build the industry’s most builder-first gathering during Asia Crypto Week, 5-6 October 2026, Gardens by the Bay, Singapore
SINGAPORE, CoinFerenceX, the Web3 conference series known for curating high-signal gatherings of founders, investors, and builders, today announced it has combined forces with The Best Event, the events production group behind 80+ live experiences across 10+ global cities, to launch CoinFerenceX The Best Event Singapore, the next tier of the world’s first Decentralised Summit. The event will take place 5-6 October 2026 at Gardens by the Bay, positioning it as a leading alternative during Singapore’s Token2049 and Asia Crypto Week.
The partnership pairs CoinFerenceX’s content curation and community depth with The Best Event’s large-scale production and sponsor-activation track record, creating what the two companies describe as “the event nobody else can build.”
What sets the conference apart is its decentralized summit model: a 2 day event shaped by the industry rather than dictated by an organizer. Where traditional conferences sell booths and speaking slots, CoinFerenceX and The Best Event will invite the founders, funds and ecosystem leaders who show up to help shape the agenda itself, deciding which conversations matter and which builders take the stage. While the organizers handle the production and logistics, the direction of the summit is set by the Web3 players with real skin in the game. It’s a gathering built by the people driving the ecosystem forward, for the people driving it forward.
The Best Event brings a track record of 80+ delivered events, a presence in more than 10 global cities, over 50 million annual organic impressions, and north of 1 billion in social reach. The group’s attendance has grown from 35,000 in 2025 to a projected 70,000 in 2026. Its sponsor case studies point to concrete ROI, including one partner that turned a $50,000 investment into $1 million raised, another that saw a $50,000 spend convert into $1 million in ROI, and a third that converted two leads into a $400,000 deal.
At CoinFerenceX, partners help shape the agenda itself rather than simply buying booth space and a speaking slot. CoinFerenceX’s community includes 7,500+ curated attendees from more than 70 countries, over 500 ecosystem and media partners, and more than 300 VCs and investment funds. Roughly 60% of its attendees are C-level executives or founders, and independent feedback shows 94% of past partners say they would return, with 89% rating CoinFerenceX among the top 25% of Web3 events globally.
The combined summit is designed around four experience tracks:
The Leaders Summit: an invite-only, C-level gathering where governance decisions and strategic partnerships take shape.
Protocol Deep Dives: technical workshops where protocols demonstrate what they are actually shipping.
The Founders’ Den: a venue for early-stage builders to pitch directly to 200+ VCs and investors.
The Innovation Showcase: live product demos from established players and emerging protocols alike.
Early figures for the Singapore edition point to more than 4,000 curated attendees, 500+ VCs and investors, 400+ ecosystem and media partners, 85+ C-level speakers, and more than 8,000 total event registrations. As with prior CoinFerenceX editions, roughly 60% of attendees are expected to be C-level executives or founders.
Organizers say the agenda will be co-created by founders and ecosystem leaders with skin in the game, focused on sessions that deliver actionable insight or substantive content over celebrity keynotes.
“We’re incredibly excited for this edition, it’s bigger, sharper and more ambitious than anything we’ve done before. With the whole industry in Singapore that week, we’ve curated a stage and an audience that turns that energy into real conversations and real deals. This is CoinFerenceX The Best Event at its strongest,” shared Prince Gupta, Co-Founder of CoinFerenceX
Tobias Bauer, Co-Founder of The Best Event, added, “This partnership is the best of both worlds: CoinFerenceX’s curated speaker line-ups meet The Best Event’s scale of 50,000 attendees a year, the largest Web3 event series globally. Together we’re bringing one of the biggest two-day conferences to Singapore, our home market, with frontier thought leadership and production quality unlike anything else in the space.”
Event Details
Event: CoinFerenceX The Best Event Singapore
Dates: 5-6 October 2026
Venue: Gardens by the Bay, Singapore
Tickets & partner applications: coinferencex.com/singapore
About CoinFerenceX
CoinFerenceX is a global decentralized Web3 summit connecting founders, investors, blockchain companies, developers, and industry leaders to accelerate innovation and collaboration in the digital economy. Through its ecosystem-driven approach, CoinFerenceX creates a platform for meaningful networking, knowledge exchange, startup opportunities, and strategic partnerships shaping the future of Web3. The summit brings together the brightest minds across blockchain, AI, DeFi, gaming, and emerging technologies to explore industry trends, showcase groundbreaking solutions, and build the next generation of decentralized ecosystems.
About The Best Event
TBE is the events arm of TBV, an early-stage venture capital fund backing web2.5 and web3 startups across Southeast Asia and North America. TBE curates high-caliber gatherings that anchor the biggest weeks in web3, with a track record of 80+ delivered events across 10+ global cities. Every event is built around one goal: putting the right founders, funds, and operators in the same room so real deals and partnerships can happen. That network runs deep, backed by a 10,000+ strong Telegram community and a social following north of 100,000.
Media Contact
Anmol Malviya
Head of PR
CoinFerenceX
media@coinferencex.com

Ethiopia Takes Centre Stage as the 29th Connected Banking Summit & Innovation & Excellence Awards 2026 Opens in Addis Ababa
Banking Leaders, Regulators and Global Technology Innovators Unite to Accelerate Ethiopia’s Digital Financial Transformation
12 August 2026 | Ethiopian Skylight Hotel, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA – 12 August 2026 – Ethiopia today welcomed one of Africa’s premier banking and financial technology gatherings as the 29th Connected Banking Summit & Innovation & Excellence Awards 2026 officially opened at the prestigious Ethiopian Skylight Hotel.
Organised by the International Center for Strategic Alliances (ICSA), the summit has brought together an influential gathering of banking leaders, central bank representatives, regulators, policymakers, fintech innovators, technology providers, cybersecurity experts, and digital transformation pioneers from across Ethiopia, East Africa, and the wider region.
Held under the theme “Building Digital Financial Systems and Accelerating Banking Modernization in Emerging Markets,” the summit serves as a strategic platform for industry collaboration, knowledge exchange, and innovation as Ethiopia continues to modernise its financial sector and expand access to secure, inclusive, and technology-driven banking services.
As part of the Silver Jubilee celebrations of the globally recognised Connected Banking Summit series, this landmark edition continues ICSA’s legacy of delivering executive platforms that foster meaningful dialogue, strategic partnerships, and innovation across the global banking and financial services ecosystem.
Ethiopia’s Banking Sector at a Defining Moment
Ethiopia’s financial services industry is entering one of the most transformative periods in its history. Regulatory reforms, rapid digital adoption, expanding fintech innovation, and increasing demand for secure, customer-centric banking solutions are reshaping the country’s financial landscape.
Against this backdrop, the 29th Connected Banking Summit provides a timely forum for decision-makers to discuss the technologies, strategies, and partnerships that will define the future of banking.
Throughout the summit, delegates are exploring key topics including:
Digital Banking Transformation
Core Banking Modernisation
Real-Time Payments and Payment Interoperability
Artificial Intelligence and Intelligent Automation
Cybersecurity and Digital Trust
Open Banking and Open Finance
Digital Identity and e-KYC
Cloud Transformation
Financial Inclusion
Regulatory Innovation and Compliance
Customer Experience and Digital Engagement
Data, Analytics and Emerging Technologies
These discussions align closely with Ethiopia’s National Digital Payments Strategy and the country’s long-term vision of building a resilient, inclusive, and digitally empowered financial ecosystem.
The programme features keynote presentations, executive panel discussions, fireside conversations, case studies, technology showcases, and high-level networking sessions designed to encourage collaboration between banks, regulators, fintech companies, and technology providers.
Distinguished Industry Leaders Driving the Conversation
The summit welcomes an exceptional lineup of speakers representing Ethiopia’s leading financial institutions, regulatory authorities, and technology organisations, including:
Temesgen Busha – Chief Transformation Officer, Awash Bank
Dr. Andualem Hailu – Deputy CEO, Strategy & Technology, Hibret Bank
Muluken Demessie – Chief Retail & SME Banking Officer, Nib International Bank
Tadesse Hatiya – President, Sidama Bank
Assefa Amere – Chief Officer, Information Technology Office, Addis Bank S.C.
Saminas S. – Chief Marketing & Communications Officer and Director of Stakeholder Engagement, National ID Ethiopia
Seyoum Damtew Metaferia – Vice President, Information System Security, Commercial Bank of Ethiopia
Mengistu Endalamaw – Director, Digital Banking, Commercial Bank of Ethiopia
Gutama Ashana – Director, Information Security Management, Awash Bank
Tewodros Abay – Director, Acceptance Network, Bank of Abyssinia
Yonas L. – Director, IT Risk & Cyber Security, Hibret Bank
Mengistu Gemechu – Director of Strategy, Cooperative Bank of Oromia
Temesgen Taye – Director of Cyber Security, Cooperative Bank of Oromia
Mekdes Bekele – Director, Digital Banking Department, Global Bank Ethiopia
Biruk W. – Director, Information Technology Security, Abay Bank S.C.
Nejib (Ahmed) Aliyi – Director, Innovation and Strategy, Rammis Bank.
Khalid Ahmed – Director, Application & Database Administration, Rammis Bank
Ermoniem Brhanu Balcha – Digital Innovation & Partnership Division Head, Berhan Bank
Solomon Damtew – Director, Banking, Payments & Settlements, National Bank of Ethiopia
Fikru Tsegaye Wordofa – Member of the Board of Directors, Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX)
These distinguished leaders are joined by senior executives, policymakers, regulators, and technology experts who are collectively shaping the future of Ethiopia’s financial services industry.
Global Technology Partners Supporting Banking Innovation
The 29th Edition of the Connected Banking Summit is proudly supported by leading global technology organisations committed to accelerating financial innovation.
Thunes
As the summit’s Gold Sponsor, Thunes is a global cross-border payments infrastructure company connecting banks, mobile wallets, payment providers, and financial institutions across emerging and developed markets. Through its extensive global network, Thunes enables secure, real-time payments to billions of bank accounts and mobile wallets worldwide, helping financial institutions simplify international payments and expand financial access.
ManageEngine
Supporting the summit as the Associate Sponsor, ManageEngine, the enterprise IT management division of Zoho Corporation, delivers a comprehensive portfolio of IT management, identity and access management, cybersecurity, endpoint management, and network operations solutions trusted by enterprises and financial institutions around the world.
Their participation reflects the growing confidence of global technology providers in Ethiopia’s rapidly evolving banking ecosystem and highlights the importance of strategic collaboration in driving digital transformation.
Celebrating Excellence Through the Innovation & Excellence Awards 2026
One of the most anticipated highlights of the summit is the Connected Banking Innovation & Excellence Awards 2026, recognising organisations and visionary leaders that have demonstrated exceptional achievement in transforming the banking and financial services industry.
The awards celebrate excellence across multiple categories, recognising institutions that have successfully leveraged technology, innovation, and customer-centric strategies to redefine banking.
The awards honour excellence in areas including:
Digital Banking Innovation
Banking Leadership
Digital Transformation
Customer Experience Excellence
Payments Innovation
Financial Inclusion
Artificial Intelligence in Banking
Cybersecurity Excellence
Fintech Collaboration
Open Banking Innovation
Risk Management
Sustainable Banking Initiatives
The Innovation & Excellence Awards have become one of the most respected recognitions within the Connected Banking Summit series, celebrating institutions and leaders whose vision and commitment continue to set new benchmarks for banking excellence across Africa.
A Catalyst for Africa’s Banking Transformation
Over the years, the Connected Banking Summit has established itself as one of the banking industry’s most respected executive leadership platforms.
The series has successfully connected thousands of banking leaders, regulators, policymakers, fintech innovators, and technology providers across Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia, creating opportunities for collaboration that have accelerated digital transformation throughout the financial services sector.
By facilitating strategic dialogue between public and private sector stakeholders, the summit continues to contribute meaningfully to the development of resilient, secure, inclusive, and future-ready financial ecosystems.
As discussions continue throughout the day, delegates will exchange strategic insights, explore emerging technologies, and forge partnerships that will help shape the future of banking in Ethiopia and across the African continent.
The summit will conclude with the prestigious Innovation & Excellence Awards 2026, celebrating the organisations and leaders whose vision, innovation, and commitment are transforming financial services across Africa.
About the International Center for Strategic Alliances (ICSA)
The International Center for Strategic Alliances (ICSA) is a globally recognised organisation specialising in executive leadership conferences, strategic business summits, and industry forums that connect decision-makers across banking, financial services, telecommunications, healthcare, energy, public sector, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies.
Through its flagship Connected Banking Summit series and other internationally recognised events, ICSA provides high-level platforms where policymakers, regulators, business leaders, innovators, and technology providers collaborate to exchange knowledge, build strategic partnerships, and accelerate digital transformation across industries.
Driven by its vision to Connect, Integrate and Transform, ICSA continues to create meaningful business ecosystems that inspire innovation and deliver measurable impact worldwide.
Media Contact
International Center for Strategic Alliances (ICSA)
info@connected-banking.com
+44 20 3808 8625
www.connected-banking.com
Ethiopian Skylight Hotel, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Ethiopia Takes Centre Stage as the 29th Connected Banking Summit & Innovation & Excellence Awards 2026 Opens in Addis Ababa
Banking Leaders, Regulators and Global Technology Innovators Unite to Accelerate Ethiopia’s Digital Financial Transformation
12 August 2026 | Ethiopian Skylight Hotel, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA – 12 August 2026 – Ethiopia today welcomed one of Africa’s premier banking and financial technology gatherings as the 29th Connected Banking Summit & Innovation & Excellence Awards 2026 officially opened at the prestigious Ethiopian Skylight Hotel.
Organised by the International Center for Strategic Alliances (ICSA), the summit has brought together an influential gathering of banking leaders, central bank representatives, regulators, policymakers, fintech innovators, technology providers, cybersecurity experts, and digital transformation pioneers from across Ethiopia, East Africa, and the wider region.
Held under the theme “Building Digital Financial Systems and Accelerating Banking Modernization in Emerging Markets,” the summit serves as a strategic platform for industry collaboration, knowledge exchange, and innovation as Ethiopia continues to modernise its financial sector and expand access to secure, inclusive, and technology-driven banking services.
As part of the Silver Jubilee celebrations of the globally recognised Connected Banking Summit series, this landmark edition continues ICSA’s legacy of delivering executive platforms that foster meaningful dialogue, strategic partnerships, and innovation across the global banking and financial services ecosystem.
Ethiopia’s Banking Sector at a Defining Moment
Ethiopia’s financial services industry is entering one of the most transformative periods in its history. Regulatory reforms, rapid digital adoption, expanding fintech innovation, and increasing demand for secure, customer-centric banking solutions are reshaping the country’s financial landscape.
Against this backdrop, the 29th Connected Banking Summit provides a timely forum for decision-makers to discuss the technologies, strategies, and partnerships that will define the future of banking.
Throughout the summit, delegates are exploring key topics including:
Digital Banking Transformation
Core Banking Modernisation
Real-Time Payments and Payment Interoperability
Artificial Intelligence and Intelligent Automation
Cybersecurity and Digital Trust
Open Banking and Open Finance
Digital Identity and e-KYC
Cloud Transformation
Financial Inclusion
Regulatory Innovation and Compliance
Customer Experience and Digital Engagement
Data, Analytics and Emerging Technologies
These discussions align closely with Ethiopia’s National Digital Payments Strategy and the country’s long-term vision of building a resilient, inclusive, and digitally empowered financial ecosystem.
The programme features keynote presentations, executive panel discussions, fireside conversations, case studies, technology showcases, and high-level networking sessions designed to encourage collaboration between banks, regulators, fintech companies, and technology providers.
Distinguished Industry Leaders Driving the Conversation
The summit welcomes an exceptional lineup of speakers representing Ethiopia’s leading financial institutions, regulatory authorities, and technology organisations, including:
Temesgen Busha – Chief Transformation Officer, Awash Bank
Dr. Andualem Hailu – Deputy CEO, Strategy & Technology, Hibret Bank
Muluken Demessie – Chief Retail & SME Banking Officer, Nib International Bank
Tadesse Hatiya – President, Sidama Bank
Assefa Amere – Chief Officer, Information Technology Office, Addis Bank S.C.
Saminas S. – Chief Marketing & Communications Officer and Director of Stakeholder Engagement, National ID Ethiopia
Seyoum Damtew Metaferia – Vice President, Information System Security, Commercial Bank of Ethiopia
Mengistu Endalamaw – Director, Digital Banking, Commercial Bank of Ethiopia
Gutama Ashana – Director, Information Security Management, Awash Bank
Tewodros Abay – Director, Acceptance Network, Bank of Abyssinia
Yonas L. – Director, IT Risk & Cyber Security, Hibret Bank
Mengistu Gemechu – Director of Strategy, Cooperative Bank of Oromia
Temesgen Taye – Director of Cyber Security, Cooperative Bank of Oromia
Mekdes Bekele – Director, Digital Banking Department, Global Bank Ethiopia
Biruk W. – Director, Information Technology Security, Abay Bank S.C.
Nejib (Ahmed) Aliyi – Director, Innovation and Strategy, Rammis Bank.
Khalid Ahmed – Director, Application & Database Administration, Rammis Bank
Ermoniem Brhanu Balcha – Digital Innovation & Partnership Division Head, Berhan Bank
Solomon Damtew – Director, Banking, Payments & Settlements, National Bank of Ethiopia
Fikru Tsegaye Wordofa – Member of the Board of Directors, Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX)
These distinguished leaders are joined by senior executives, policymakers, regulators, and technology experts who are collectively shaping the future of Ethiopia’s financial services industry.
Global Technology Partners Supporting Banking Innovation
The 29th Edition of the Connected Banking Summit is proudly supported by leading global technology organisations committed to accelerating financial innovation.
Thunes
As the summit’s Gold Sponsor, Thunes is a global cross-border payments infrastructure company connecting banks, mobile wallets, payment providers, and financial institutions across emerging and developed markets. Through its extensive global network, Thunes enables secure, real-time payments to billions of bank accounts and mobile wallets worldwide, helping financial institutions simplify international payments and expand financial access.
ManageEngine
Supporting the summit as the Associate Sponsor, ManageEngine, the enterprise IT management division of Zoho Corporation, delivers a comprehensive portfolio of IT management, identity and access management, cybersecurity, endpoint management, and network operations solutions trusted by enterprises and financial institutions around the world.
Their participation reflects the growing confidence of global technology providers in Ethiopia’s rapidly evolving banking ecosystem and highlights the importance of strategic collaboration in driving digital transformation.
Celebrating Excellence Through the Innovation & Excellence Awards 2026
One of the most anticipated highlights of the summit is the Connected Banking Innovation & Excellence Awards 2026, recognising organisations and visionary leaders that have demonstrated exceptional achievement in transforming the banking and financial services industry.
The awards celebrate excellence across multiple categories, recognising institutions that have successfully leveraged technology, innovation, and customer-centric strategies to redefine banking.
The awards honour excellence in areas including:
Digital Banking Innovation
Banking Leadership
Digital Transformation
Customer Experience Excellence
Payments Innovation
Financial Inclusion
Artificial Intelligence in Banking
Cybersecurity Excellence
Fintech Collaboration
Open Banking Innovation
Risk Management
Sustainable Banking Initiatives
The Innovation & Excellence Awards have become one of the most respected recognitions within the Connected Banking Summit series, celebrating institutions and leaders whose vision and commitment continue to set new benchmarks for banking excellence across Africa.
A Catalyst for Africa’s Banking Transformation
Over the years, the Connected Banking Summit has established itself as one of the banking industry’s most respected executive leadership platforms.
The series has successfully connected thousands of banking leaders, regulators, policymakers, fintech innovators, and technology providers across Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia, creating opportunities for collaboration that have accelerated digital transformation throughout the financial services sector.
By facilitating strategic dialogue between public and private sector stakeholders, the summit continues to contribute meaningfully to the development of resilient, secure, inclusive, and future-ready financial ecosystems.
As discussions continue throughout the day, delegates will exchange strategic insights, explore emerging technologies, and forge partnerships that will help shape the future of banking in Ethiopia and across the African continent.
The summit will conclude with the prestigious Innovation & Excellence Awards 2026, celebrating the organisations and leaders whose vision, innovation, and commitment are transforming financial services across Africa.
About the International Center for Strategic Alliances (ICSA)
The International Center for Strategic Alliances (ICSA) is a globally recognised organisation specialising in executive leadership conferences, strategic business summits, and industry forums that connect decision-makers across banking, financial services, telecommunications, healthcare, energy, public sector, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies.
Through its flagship Connected Banking Summit series and other internationally recognised events, ICSA provides high-level platforms where policymakers, regulators, business leaders, innovators, and technology providers collaborate to exchange knowledge, build strategic partnerships, and accelerate digital transformation across industries.
Driven by its vision to Connect, Integrate and Transform, ICSA continues to create meaningful business ecosystems that inspire innovation and deliver measurable impact worldwide.
Media Contact
International Center for Strategic Alliances (ICSA)
info@connected-banking.com
+44 20 3808 8625
www.connected-banking.com
Ethiopian Skylight Hotel, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Harry Chun Tak Yeh, a prominent cryptocurrency investor and founder of Quantum Fintech Group, was found dead outside a luxury residential tower in Asunción, Paraguay, on August 7, 2026, after what police believe was a fall from the building’s 30th floor.
Paraguayan authorities have opened an investigation and say they have not ruled out any explanation — including accident, suicide, or third-party involvement.
What Happened
Police responding to a call at approximately 4:30 a.m. found a body outside the Jade Park residential complex in the Trinidad district of Asunción. According to local outlet La Tribuna, the man was preliminarily identified as Harry Chun Tak Yeh, founder and managing partner of Quantum Fintech Group. His body was reportedly found fully nude and covered with a black plastic bag.
Investigators subsequently entered an apartment on the building’s 30th floor associated with Yeh and found the door open and the interior extensively disturbed. Authorities also identified and searched a second apartment linked to Yeh on the 27th floor of the same building. Forensic technicians collected evidence from both units as well as the area outside the building, and physical evidence has been turned over to prosecutors.
Asunción police director Francisco Ávalos said the investigation remains at an early stage and that authorities have not yet determined how the fall occurred. Prosecutors are examining the case from multiple angles simultaneously — accident, suicide, and homicide — rather than treating any single explanation as established. Yeh’s body was transferred to Paraguay’s Judicial Morgue, where an autopsy and review of building surveillance footage are expected to help clarify the circumstances.
According to a separate report, a 29-year-old Brazilian woman identified as Yeh’s girlfriend, connected to the 27th-floor apartment, told investigators she was unaware of the situation.
It is important to note that no official finding from Paraguayan authorities has, as of this writing, attributed the death to another person, nor has any report established that the disturbed state of the apartment was connected to a robbery or any specific criminal act — those determinations remain part of the ongoing investigation.
Who Was Harry Yeh
Yeh, who had more than 25 years of experience in technology and business, entered the cryptocurrency market in 2013, when Bitcoin traded at roughly $60, launching his first fund with approximately $250,000. He later founded Quantum Fintech Group, an investment firm focused on cryptocurrency, blockchain, and digital-asset trading.
Yeh became closely associated with the Fantom blockchain ecosystem, taking over the team behind Tomb Finance — an algorithmic stablecoin project — as a Fantom Foundation member in 2021. Through aggressive promotion and leverage, he helped push the project’s total value locked to an all-time high of roughly $1.6 billion in January 2022; the associated token has since fallen close to zero, and Tomb Finance’s official social media account has been inactive since February 2025. Yeh’s public biography also credits him as a founder and seed investor in LIF3 and L3 Reserve, alongside earlier involvement in projects including ZooCoin.
Yeh’s own website and Quantum Fintech Group publicly claimed he managed more than $2 billion in digital-asset investments — with some sources citing a figure above $2.4 billion. These figures were self-reported by Yeh and his firm and have not been independently verified by outside auditors or regulators.
Community Reaction
News of Yeh’s death spread quickly across crypto social media, where he was a known figure within Fantom-adjacent DeFi circles. Given the unresolved circumstances — the ransacked apartment, the state in which the body was found, and the fact that Paraguayan police have explicitly said they have not excluded any cause — the case has generated significant speculation online. As of publication, however, that speculation remains unconfirmed, and Paraguayan authorities have made clear the investigation is ongoing, with an autopsy and forensic review still pending before any official conclusion is reached.
What Comes Next
The case now rests with Paraguayan prosecutors, who are pursuing physical evidence collection, an autopsy, and a review of security footage from the building in an effort to reconstruct Yeh’s movements before his death. No timeline has been given for when investigators expect to reach a conclusion. For the crypto industry, the case has drawn renewed attention to the personal security risks faced by high-net-worth individuals in the space — a reminder that substantial on-chain or reported wealth does not necessarily translate into physical safety, particularly for figures who may be publicly identifiable as holding significant digital assets.