Even though one of the stars of the show is a talking robot, human interaction was still the highlight of the recent Blockchain Economy Dubai Summit 2022 held at Le Meridien Dubai Hotel and Conference Centre. 

Titan, an 8-foot-tall talking robot previously seen on Britain’s Got Talent 2022, was one of the event’s main attractions. The robot gave a Transformers-like introduction at the beginning of the event and mingled with the audience at various times.

Titan the Robot welcoming the event participants

Cointelegraph was involved in various aspects of the event including interviewing keynote speakers like Bitcoin.com CEO Dennis Jarvis and former NFL player Lewis Neal. Apart from this, Satoshi Solutions Co-founder Clayton Pullum and Codego CEO Simone Binotto Torre also shared their thoughts on topics like hiring in the crypto space and crypto credit cards. 

In addition to productive discussions with subject matter experts, Cointelegraph also took the opportunity to speak with the attendees to see their opinion on the event. Angela De Mesa, a delegate, was surprised by the number of participants in the event because the United Arab Emirates just recently eased its COVID-19 restrictions and allowed people to take off their masks in public. “It’s a breath of fresh air to see a lot of people, you know, interacting with each other without masks restricting them,” she added.

Angela De Mesa sharing her thoughts with Cointelegraph reporter Ezra Reguerra

Naveen Solanki, an attendee who flew all the way from India, also gave his feedback about the event. According to Solanki, the event excels in terms of building your crypto network. Comparing the event to events he attended in Thailand and Singapore, Solanki believes that there were more opportunities to network at Blockchain Economy Dubai 2022.

While some were satisfied with the event, others say that there’s still room for improvement. Faouz Rejeb, an event delegate, told Cointelegraph that she was slightly disappointed with the event. “I don’t see much innovation like we used to see in the AIBC or we used to see in the other crypto events. So, I’m kind of quite a little bit disappointed,” she said.

Jasmine, a participant who flew all the way from Iran, also shared her own feedback for the event. According to the delegate, with the event being a blockchain and crypto event, the organizers should enable crypto payments for event tickets. She explained that:

“They have to accept crypto as money to buy their tickets, at least the USDT. It’s so important because if you don’t accept Tether or any other crypto, so why are you sponsoring a blockchain seminar?”

Apart from interviews with experts and attendees, Cointelegraph also participated in a panel discussion that explored the topic of decentralized finance (DeFi) security and the hacks that occurred in the space throughout the year. Panelists Mohamed Issa from Chainalysis, Alex Meurer from Fitburn and Giorgio Torre from Big 4 in Qatar highlighted that for DeFi to gain broader adoption, educating community members and regulators is a big step that needs to be taken.

Panel discussion on decentralized finance hacks and security

All things considered, the main highlight of the event was networking and engaging with like-minded people within the blockchain community. Blockchain Economy Dubai Summit 2022 showed that Dubai is truly a global crypto hub, with delegates flying from all over the world to participate and engage with other individuals in the crypto space.