My 20 Country Journey Across the 2023 Crypto Jungle
11 min read
CryptoMondays communities are everywhere. It’s impossible to calculate which ones are the best. All I know is that it’s a safe space for enthusiasts in Web3.
I’ve interviewed over 40 people from 20 countries this year ranging from innovators to developers to creators, from VCs and investors to artists and spiritual Shaman; from US Ambassadors and the official UN Bitcoin delegation to seed stage startups and everything between.
Here are my Top 10 CryptoMondays Global Events in 2023 with commentary followed by links to the various interviews for another 10 countries. I’m particularly excited in 2024 about the Green Energy and Environment Blockchain projects and ideas as time is running out and we are definitely shifting to a new Green Web3 Economy. Have fun and enjoy the New Year.
#1 New York — Burning my PhD as an NFT Live on Stage at NFT.NYC
To protest the student debt exploitation and the overuse of paper in academia, I showed quite literally how you can “fractionalize” and “burn” your PhD as an NFT with a live burning on stage. Thanks to Max Smotritskiy and Jodee Rich for not “pulling me off stage”. When I wasn’t burning my PhD to the blockchain, I interviewed the esteemed Agriledger founder Genevieve Leveille and marketing specialist @Asher_Jay for the second edition of CryptoMondays Green. Abby "Ab Traxx" Harris and crew didn’t disappoint with a live meetup, having Steven Echtman Echtman from DAOPlanet on with me at
CryptoMondays New York City, Alicia Cepeda Maule from Givepact.io and Abby Abtraxx Harris, host of the Ab Lab Digital https://medium.com/@theablabdigital/welcome-to-the-ab-lab-digital-beyond-the-block-chain-podcast-83847eb259b4 as MC.
It’s also a significant year as we have seen CryptoMondays tickets with cool #swag and other benefits come up through Julie Lamb head at NFT.VIP and CryptoMondays Manhattan — and for speakers, I introduced the CryptoMondays speaker badge on https://app.get-smart.net (Polygon/Metamask) entitling its holder to free drinks and also a badge of honor for every CryptoMondays Global speaker. The coolest thing about this besides it’s Web3 native and funds education through a 501c3 Crypto Charity, is that anyone can check the QR on the badge to see who is on the (VIP Speaker list) but only those actually on CryptoMondays Global can claim the badge.
Thanks to Lou Kerner and all the other CryptoOracle Collective and CryptoMondays family for a great network of people who cheer when I volleyed such a strong statement of “burning (the system) down”.
If you’re on CryptoMondays Global or Green, make sure to sign up and apply for your digital badge. It’s your key to swag and drinks - we appreciate every amazing speaker that shares their alpha with our global community.
#2 CryptoMondays Green: Linz Austria, Nairobi Kenya — the Sound of Music, Reforestation and a Chainsaw
Our Fake Sponsor “The Logging Companies” almost killed our Featured Guest Baumbuddy (He’s cute NOT groot) and Stefan Stanek among other things like the first deforestation Sound of Music skit and a Surprise Co-Host Paul McOlaka, MScFE head of Africa Youth Blockchain Ambassadors and a Research Fellow in Blockchain and Environment in Nairobi, Kenya. Basically, blockchain can be used as a verification and incentivization tool and DAOs are suited for democratic values while decentralizing — arguably strengthening — the maintenance and repair of our forests.
#3 Lisbon, Portugal — Human-Centric Ecosystems in Web3 Haven
Really my favorite CryptoMondays event, because the city and the vibes and the local coordinators Irina Konova and Marina Atarova are the perfect combination of beauty, energy and warmth. Lisbon was the scene of Websummit and #Newconomics where I interviewed many key players across the space including Marwan Alzarouni , Tim Haldersson, Hamza Ahmed, Ksenia Stark and Stewart Rogers , Brittany Kaiser , Lorien Finance , Billal Yamak from the first Saudi Arabian NFT Marketplace, as well as many cool startups and NFT influencers with links below this article. Thanks to our stellar sponsors #Newconomics, #WebSummit, CryptoMondays Lisbon and the Internet Computer. Learn more at https://internetcomputer.org and https://cryptomondayslisbon.com
#4 Dubai — The East to West Blockchain Capital Shows Others How to Get Things Done
Dr. Marwan Alzarouni’s 2033 Blockchain Dubai eSports strategy video is a great example of the VIPs we had at the Lisbon event, now available on our new CryptoMondays Global YouTube channel (Click here or go to https://youtube.com/@cryptomondaysglobal6814). Earlier in the year I had already experienced the breadth and power of Dubai, with amazing back to back keynote VC interviews with Karan Gandhi, CFA and Cristian Onetiu at AIBC World then following Monday with Sameep Singhania and Roc Zacharias of Quickswap fame at World Blockchain Summit. In particular, Gandhi giving mentoring advice after the session to one of the participants was memorable, and caught on tape after about an hour here.
Upcoming on our YouTube channel are a series of Climate and Sustainability with Blockchain interviews from all angles, ranging from former World Bank and Women in Tech leaders Teuta Oruci FCCA Roxana Nasoi to CTOs and Sustainability leads of one of the biggest blockchain and investment projects on earth Mikael Bj?rn Hania Othman Mohamed Ezeldin to the first ever United Nations COP Bitcoin delegation Elliot David ????? ??? 邓宏远 to…
…founders of KlimaDAO, Global Blockchain Business Council, US Ambassadors and Gregory Landua with a shaman from Equador protecting jaguars and livelihoods through verifiable digital asset NFTs — much more in store for 2024!
#5 Vietnam — Everything an Investor, including Lou, Wants in Asia
Saigon was a lovely encounter, last time I missed it but was determined to see Jennie Thanh at Infinity and Blockx have a CryptoMondays Saigon meetup with Lou Kerner and a private audience of investors and founders including Thao Nguyen (TN) as powerhouse co-host. We got the luxury of being on stage interviewing top VCs — and not only were the interactions rich, I was pleasently surprised at their diversity of age, gender, and background. And the after party is always outstanding. This is what we see in #Web3 in all countries, that the crypto space is inclusive, and everyone has a spot at the table.
#6 Bangalore — Pimped Out Web3 Creator Zo House and India’s Youngest Degen
Visiting Bangalore and staying in the degen house was amazing. From soundproof podcasting, 3D printing, and rooftop yoga to the best city views and parties in Bangalore. The entry into the ZoHouse is gated, so only a limited number of memberships are available, some on the secondary market making this 3 story luxury penthouse available only to the cool crew. We had some cool startups and VCs like Santhosh Durairaj present on stage after a talk with Samuraizan _ , the Bored Ape and all things Web3 conossieur.
领英推荐
Our over 100 guests enjoyed the 24-hour chef service to any desk, table or bed in the penthouse. The short-term homestayers include VCs, founders, geniuses and relatives — such as the youngest Degen confirmed in India seen above, ready to take Web3 to the next generation. "Alpha." You heard it first on CryptoMondays Global!
There can be only one.
#7 Bucharest — Leadership Across Emerging Technologies
CryptoMondays Bucharest was the first to open its doors to a Global event this year, with an all-star guest list in a great Palace and four of the country’s leading experts including Sergiu-Traian Vasilescu , Felix Crisan, Ilie (Elijah) Puscas from Binance, and Codrin Catut from the Romanian Federation of Emerging Tech. These central European bulls were in the middle of the bear market — but what we see in Romania is dedication to the future, educated lower-wage hard-working population, and an open mind to possibilities. I’ll never forget that the CEO of Tokero gave me his Bitcoin bracelet, which I gave on later to a worthy developer. And yes, since it was close to Transylvania and the fallout of FTX, there was one (or two) little jokes about SBF’s and the SEC’s status as vampires, staking, and blood-sucking taxes (click to watch). But the discussion went much deeper, and a prognosis of further government attempts to marginalize, divide and conquer. An excellent full length panel discussion also related to emerging tech like robotics and AI.
#8 New Delhi, India — Crypto Thali with Web3 Gaming
Namaste India! We finally arrived to the World’s #1 Home for Crypto in terms of number of new users per day and number of blockchain developers. If you’re in New Delhi, then the best place to have a CryptoMondays Meetup is the Ardor 21 bar and restaurant at Connaught Place where the first ever “Crypto Thali” — a take on the traditional Indian dish, and “Crypto Cocktails” — were served. This was the first restaurant also to accept Bitcoin before the laws made it impossible. Ardor 21 is where you will have not only great vibes and great food but also the owner is a Web3 innovator and businessman and pre-launched his game Satyug.life on our show, using mythological ancient characters to connect gaming to learning about traditions within Indians’ own culture.
We also had on stage Laxman Singh and Sameep Singhania to talk about becoming an entrepreneur from a background as a web and blockchain developer. Their inspiring journeys took us into the development of Polygon Labs ’ biggest exhange Quickswap; and the first UX for cryptopayments to merchants, Bitbatua; and the first all-in-one security audit scalable on Ethereum with Scrutify. The gaming connected to culture and mentorship along the lines of a fraternal society made this CryptoMondays experience memorable forever, almost like I was here in a past life.
#9 ETHDenver — Laser-Eyed Alligator and RefiDAO Give Birth to CryptoMondays Green
A few days after Lou Kerner was on ETH Denver main stage for CryptoMondays and NEAR Foundation NEAR Protocol signature event, Dr. Josh came to town and spoke on stage about “What to Do After You Win the Hackathon” — creativity, growth and team mindset, democratic with authoritative leadership — and caught John Ellison formerly of Toucan and core contributor to ReFiDAO, one of the hottest projects in the regenerative finance space. ETHDenver had the podcast booths ready for us, and in natural CryptoMondays style, we kept the conversation to less than half an hour and ranged topics from the Network State to incentivization of clean oceans. My boy BrandonDavid Hawkins was our inaugural “surprise co-host” — watch out for his connection with Jack Johnson and Crypto — legendary kinda like Hawkins.
Also legendary is our use of Zany Characters and Fake Sponsors. Our first Fake Sponsor was“Shill” oil company, with the fake slogan “go shill your shit, but just make sure you shill it good” and we had Disney’s own Forrest Mallard creating cool visual effects from our suggested characters. These help the podcasters flow and include such degens as Elephant Turd, Monkey Sauce, Ludacris Speed and GatorAide.
Make sure to subscribe to see our Fake Sponsor coming up in our next Green podcast featuring Maria Tereza Umbelino founder of Brazil’s first stock exchange token and surprise co-host a former US Ambassador and special appearance by El Capitan— a big deal!), you’re going to laugh your crypto ass off!
#10 Vienna, Austria — Public Artists Questioning NFT Value
Delighted once again to host in Central Europe’s Town Square, Vienna, Austria, this time at an innovative concept City Gallery, where works of art range from the lower to mid-range prices and support immigrant artists — a fantastic connection to NFTs where artists like Sabrina Zebisch form new ways of engaging fans and selling art. As usual on CryptoMondays we had several voices including a primer workshop about NFTs from DLTAustria co-chair Ed Prinz , a very engaged Q&A session with Intellectual Property and Criminal Law expert Angelika Lange , and a fireside chat with Zebisch about the journey from artist to Web3 branding, followed by cheese, wine, and art in the huge gallery space.
#11 Spain with Megan Nilsson ??? Crypto Megan Bullish Energy Award for 2023 - 2024
So bullish we had to add a #11. Click on the photo to watch the interview.
After end of year reflection on last year, my theme for 2024 is Year of the Alpha Jaguar. Subscribe for the newest content each week as I’ll be running in the jungles of Web3 in 2024!
Click the Jaguar above to access the video!
Here are some further Global Interviews from 2023
Saudi Arabia https://youtu.be/7CCt47bCUdk
Germany https://youtu.be/EEXXq7k5EQg
France https://youtu.be/30yEv7DGrFw
Canada https://youtu.be/nEObqCr4bjE
Netherlands https://youtu.be/9IHzf1Wph-I
The United States https://youtube.com/@cryptomondaysglobal6814
The United Kingdom https://youtube.com/@cryptomondaysglobal6814
Ecuador https://youtu.be/veZO_KluBbA
Onto 2024 with full bull spirit!
Bounty and Airdrops hunter..Shiller and Chatter here!!
10 个月Ready to level up your gaming experience? @BountyTemple introduces #P2EE? the game changer you've been waiting for! ?? No more compromises, just pure fun and sustainability. Let's go!!
Business | Marketing | Blockchain Developer | Web Developer | WEB3
11 个月Great post thank you!
Sustainable Bitcoin Protocol | Climatetech Startup Advisor | Young African Business Booster
11 个月Our conversation in Dubai was one of the funnest/most interesting I'd had, thanks Josh for sharing these great interviews!
Co-founder at ?O??NOIS??NO?, Editor-at-Large at Dataconomy, Editor-at-Large at ArcticStartup, MC at VentureBeat, public speaker
11 个月One of the highlights of 2023 - our interview at Web Summit. Huge pleasure meeting you, being part of CryptoMondays, and can't wait to see what you achieve this year! Sending warm greets from Davos!
Web3 Startup Incubation Exec | Top 100 Women of the Future | Ecosystem Builder & Innovator | TedX Speaker on Digital Identity & Privacy
11 个月Great meeting you, Josh (shoutout to the intro from Genevieve Leveille). Thanks for joining Cleantech360's panels at the Coral private event (cc Jurgen Hobarth Tyler Scharf). Looking forward to seeing our interview as well (cc Teuta Oruci FCCA).