16th Edition
Global Blockchain Congress
March 18th & 19th, 2027 | Dubai, UAE


Where Capital Meets Innovation
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The 16th Global Blockchain Congress brings together leading investors, founders, and decision-makers across blockchain, digital assets, and AI for two days of curated discussions, meaningful networking, and high-value business connections.
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Through pre-arranged one-to-one meetings and a carefully selected audience, GBC creates an environment where the right people come together to explore opportunities and build lasting relationships.
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‍March 18–19, 2027 | Dubai, UAE
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Curated Audience
Quality Over Quantity
One-to-One Meetings
Purposeful Connections
Industry Insights
Blockchain, Digital Assets & AI
Global Network
International Ecosystem
Over the past editions, we've had
5,500+
Attendees
410+
Sponsors
5,850+
One-on-One
Meetings
850+
Speakers
1,950+
Investors

"The GBC event was probably one of the best investor conferences I have been to.

We met about 10 high-quality investor leads on a 1-to-1 basis, who were looking to deploy money, and had lots of other networking opportunities throughout the event and into the evening. The management team was fantastic and arranged a number of ad-hoc meetings for us. Every need was attended to, and the staff were fun, friendly, and focused on helping us to raise funds.
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Overall, an excellent event, and I couldn't recommend it enough.
5 stars!"
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James Dunthorne
Founder, CEO, Neuron
Who attends
the global blockchain congress
About the Global Blockchain Congress:
‍

Organized by Agora Group, the 16th Global Blockchain Congress returns to Dubai on March 18–19, 2027, bringing together investors, founders, and industry leaders across blockchain, digital assets, and AI.

Building on 15 previous editions in Dubai and four international editions in London, Singapore, and Vietnam, GBC has established a platform for meaningful connections between the people building the industry and those shaping its future.

With a carefully curated audience, pre-arranged one-to-one meetings, and focused industry discussions, the congress is designed to facilitate valuable business relationships, investment opportunities, and strategic partnerships.

Our mission is to bring the right people together, creating an environment where ideas are exchanged, opportunities are explored, and collaboration drives the next phase of innovation across blockchain, digital assets, and emerging technologies.
Join us in Dubai for this exciting edition, where the world's top blockchain minds converge to explore opportunities and spark the next wave of industry advancements.
WHY SHOULD STARTUPS ATTEND?

Startups will:
  • Connect with institutional investors, venture capital firms, family offices, and other potential funding partners.
  • Access curated investor meetings designed to connect founders with relevant investors and potential business partners.
  • Explore growth opportunities through strategic partnerships, industry connections, and new business relationships.
  • Gain industry insights into blockchain, digital assets, AI, and the evolving investment landscape.
  • Increase their visibility among international investors, founders, and key industry decision-makers.
WHY SHOULD INVESTORS ATTEND?

Investors will:
  • Discover investment opportunities across blockchain, digital assets, AI, and emerging technologies.
  • Meet selected startups and founders through curated one-to-one meetings with companies seeking investment and strategic partnerships.
  • Connect with fellow investors including venture capital firms, family offices, and other capital allocators.
  • Gain market insights from industry leaders on emerging trends, opportunities, anddevelopments shaping the sector.
  • Build strategic relationships with founders, fund managers, and key decision-makers across the global ecosystem.
WHY SHOULD INDUSTRY COMPANIES & SERVICE PROVIDERS ATTEND?

Companies & service providers will:
  • Connect with decision-makers from blockchain projects, investment firms, enterprises, and across the wider digital assets ecosystem.
  • Develop strategic partnerships with startups, established businesses, and potential collaborators.
  • Generate business opportunities by building relationships with potential clients, partners, and industry leaders.
  • Strengthen industry visibility and showcase their solutions to a relevant international audience.
  • Gain market insights into emerging technologies, industry developments, and the evolving regulatory landscape.

"Attending and speaking at the Global Blockchain Congress this year was an
exceptionally valuable experience.

The organizers did a phenomenal job of curating an event that truly lives up to its reputation for connecting high-quality projects with pre-qualified investors and industry leaders."
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Vineet Budki
Managing Partner & CEO, Sigma Capital
Conference topics
Program
Thurs
18
Fri
19
1h

Registration & Refreshments

08:30am - 09:30am
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5'

Opening Remarks - Welcome Note

09:30am - 09:35am
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30'

Panel Discussion

UAE 2027: Building the Global Capital Hub for Digital Assets

09:35am - 10:05am
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20'

Title Sponsor Presentation

10:05am - 10:25am
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15'

Sponsor Presentation

10:25am - 10:40am
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10'

Sponsor Presentation

10:40am - 10:50am
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10'

Sponsor Presentation

10:50am - 11:00am
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15'

Coffee Break & Networking Session

11:00am - 11:15am
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1h45'

One-on-One Meetings

11:15am - 1:00pm
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1h

Prayer Break & Lunch

1:00pm - 2:00pm
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30'

Panel Discussion

Stablecoins: From Crypto Rails to Global Payments

2:00pm - 2:30pm
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30'

Panel Discussion

Tokenization at Scale: From RWAs to Onchain Capital Markets

2:30pm - 3:00pm
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30'

Panel Discussion

DeFi: Institutional Liquidity, Onchain Credit & Programmable Finance

3:00pm - 3:30pm
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15'

Coffee Break & Networking Session

3:30pm - 3:45pm
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1h15'

One-on-One Meetings

3:45pm - 5:00pm
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5'

Chairman Closing Remark & End of Day One

5:00pm - 5:05pm
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30'

Registration & Refreshments

09:00am - 09:30am
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5'

Opening Remarks & Welcome from the Chairman of the Congress

09:30am - 09:35am
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30'

Panel Discussion

The Agentic Economy: AI Agents, Blockchain & the Future of Digital Commerce

09:35am - 10:05am
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30'

Panel Discussion

The Future of AI Infrastructure: Compute, Data, DePIN & the Machine Economy

10:05am - 10:35am
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10'

Presentation

10:35am - 10:45am
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15'

Coffee Break & Networking Session

10:45am - 11:00am
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2h'

One-on-One Meetings

11:00am - 1:00pm
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1h

Prayer Break & Lunch

1:00pm - 2:00pm
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30'

Panel Discussion

Where Is the Capital Going? Investing in the Next Generation of Digital Assets & AI

2:00pm - 2:30pm
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30'

Panel Discussion

Web3 Goes Mainstream: From Crypto Users to Mass Adoption

2:30pm - 3:00pm
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30'

Coffee Break & Networking Session

3:00pm - 3:30pm
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30'

The Global Blockchain Congress Awards Ceremony & Closing Remarks

3:30pm - 4:00pm
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Speakers
Techno
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Name 1
Speaker Title
Speaker Company
Tech HOUSE
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Name 2
Speaker Title
Speaker Company
House
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Name 3
Speaker Title
Speaker Company
DRUM & BASS
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Name 4
Speaker Title
Speaker Company
DANCE/ELECTRO POP
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Name 5
Speaker Title
Speaker Company
MELODIC HOUSE
.
Name 6
Speaker Title
Speaker Company
progressive HOUSE
.
Name 7
Speaker Title
Speaker Company
Speakers
Jeroen Gillekens
Principal
Kearney
Christopher Scanlan
Chief Operating Officer
Pelican Investments
Jack Samatov
CEO
Solarious
Antoine Kanaan
Founder & CEO
HAQQ Legal AI
Dan Evseev
Managing Partner
Oversubscribed Capital
Gaurav Dubey
Founder & CEO
TDeFi
Jay Shah
Venture Partner
Mindfulness Capital
Jordan Kotsopoulos
Chief Revenue Officer
Contango Digital Assets
Marwan Kawadri
Investment Director
YZi Labs
Manav Gupta
Founder & CEO
Brinc
Hayden Hughes
Managing Partner
Tokenize Capital
Irina Heaver
Founder
NeosLegal
Miki Mak
Investment Principal
L2 Iterative Ventures
Kate Zems
Head of Agency
Formula by Cointelegraph
Mattia Mrvosevic
Co-Founder & General Partner
Eterna Capital
Daryl Lim
General Partner
TRIVE Digital
Dara Campbell
Senior Executive Officer
Hashgraph Ventures
Harsh Agarwal
Investment Director
Cypher Capital
Kamal Youssefi
Co-Founder & Executive Chairman
Hashgraph Ventures
Sarah Abuagela
Partner & Head of Investments
Ceras Ventures
Laura Estefanía
CEO
Conquista PR
Nikita Sachdev
CEO & Founder
Luna Media Corporation
Rajive Keshup
Partner
Cathay Innovation
Yan Ma
Executive Director
The Spartan Group
Doug Hsu
Investor
CMT Digital
Brendan Ma
Head of Investment Strategy
Arbitrum Foundation
Anna Tutova
Founder
AI Crypto Minds
Talal Tabbaa
Founder & CEO
CoinMENA
Tom Purdon
Ecosystem Lead
Brinc
James Wo
Founder & CEO
DFG
Tess Hau
Founder & General Partner - Founder & Chairwoman
Tess Ventures - Gaia Labs
Chris Keshian
CIO
Triton Liquid Fund
Sebastien Guglietta
Head of Asset Management
Laser Digital
Alessia Baumgartner
VP, Ecosystems
DWF Labs
Petr Hluze
General Partner
Nammu Capital
Cristian Ulloa
CEO & Co-Founder
Liquid Loans
Vineet Budki
Managing Partner & CEO
Sigma Capital
Amit Mehra
Partner
Borderless Capital
Yat Siu
Co-Founder & Executive Chairman
Animoca Brands
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Name 1
Speaker Title
Speaker Company
Tech HOUSE
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Name 2
Speaker Title
Speaker Company
House
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Name 3
Speaker Title
Speaker Company
DRUM & BASS
.
Name 4
Speaker Title
Speaker Company
DANCE/ELECTRO POP
.
Name 5
Speaker Title
Speaker Company
MELODIC HOUSE
.
Name 6
Speaker Title
Speaker Company
progressive HOUSE
.
Name 7
Speaker Title
Speaker Company

14th Global Blockchain Congress: Web3 TV Interviews
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Hadi Malaeb
Co-Founder & CEO, AgoraGroup
Previous Speakers
Abdulla Al Dhaheri
Chief Executive Officer
The Blockchain Center – Abu Dhabi
H.E. Ahmed Bin Sulayem
Executive Chairman & CEO
DMCC
Alex Odagiu
Investment Partner
YZi Labs
Aly Madhavji
Managing Partner
Blockchain Founders Fund
Amit Mehra
Partner
Borderless Capital
Andrew Durgee
Head of Republic Crypto
Arnav Pagidyala
Principal
Bankless Ventures
Bijan Alizadeh
Partner
Cypher Capital
Brian Crain
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Chorus One
Carl Hua
Investment Partner & CTO
Shima Capital
Christophe de la Celle
Chief Commercial Officer
Selini
Diana Biggs
Partner
1kx
Feras Al Sadek
Managing Partner
Ghaf Capital Partners
Forest Bai
Founder
Foresight Ventures
Francesco Filia
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Fasanara Capital
Gokhan Er
Managing Director
IOSG Ventures
Jacob Ko
Founding Partner
Superscrypt
James Parillo
Managing Partner
Figment Capital
Jamie Wallace
Investor
BITKRAFT
Kamran Amin
General Partner
MH Ventures
Kevin Yang
Managing Partner
Gate Ventures
Leeor Groen
Managing Director
The Spartan Group
Lex Sokolin
Managing Partner
Generative Ventures
Dr. Marwan Alzarouni
CEO
Dubai Blockchain Center
Mattia Mrvosevic
Partner
Eterna Capital
Michael Terpin
Founder & CEO
Transform Ventures
Mohammad Alblooshi
Chief Executive Officer
DIFC Innovation Hub
Mohammed Al-Hakim
President
Crypto.com
Rifad Mahasneh
CEO - MENA
OKX
Richard Wang
Partner
Draper Dragon
Robby Yung
CEO of Investments
Animoca Brands
Rodney Yesep
Partner
Hack VC
Roland Roventa
Principal
Mechanism Capital
Shaishav Todi
General Partner
Lemniscap
Shreyansh Singh
Head of Investments
P2 Ventures
Stephen Cheung
General Partner
WAGMi Ventures
Steve Lee
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Neoclassic Capital
Takashi Hayashida
Managing Partner
Taisu Ventures
Tess Hau
General Partner & Founder
Tess Ventures
Yoann Turpin
Co-Founder
Wintermute

"The Agora Group are great hosts!

As always, the event was extremely well organized with well curated startups and investors. It was great to catch-up with some old friends and also make some new acquaintances. In addition to the strong startups and investors, the keynotes and panel discussions provided a solid backdrop of the latest happenings in Web3. They made sure that everyone felt welcome and took extra care to connect people.

A must-to-attend if you're in the region. I'm already eager for the next one!"
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Amit Mehra
Partner, Borderless Capital
Previous sponsors & partners

"Embarking on a 16-hour journey from Brazil to attend this event wasn't a simple feat for our startup. However, from the moment we set foot here, the rapport established with prospective venture capitalists worldwide has been remarkably encouraging.
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Now, as we return home, we do so with more than just promising conversations; we carry the weight of over 12 major venture capitalists expressing keen interest in our venture, eagerly scheduling follow-up discussions.
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I would like to extend heartfelt gratitude to the organizers of the GBC for their tireless efforts in orchestrating such a remarkable gathering. Your dedication has provided us with invaluable opportunities."
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Lucas Schoch
Founder & CEO, BWS
Previous sponsors & partners

Gallery

A few snippets that show the true essence of the Global Blockchain Congress

  • One-on-One Meetings
  • Panel Discussions & Presentations
  • Networking Sessions
  • Cocktail Reception & Gala Dinner
Highlight videos
Testimonials
Open quote
At Nammu Capital, we work across stablecoins and onchain finance, and GBC has become a fixture in my calendar. This was my 6th edition, across Dubai, London, and Singapore.

What brings me back is the room: Two days with investors and operators actually working in the space. The 1-on-1s and panels anchor the day, and the conversations between them are where the relationships are built.
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Few events get that ratio right.
Close quote
Petr Hluze
Founding Partner, Nammu Capital
Open quote
The experience at this event was amazing! Everything was more than well arranged. We were promised at least 10 meetings with investors, but it was closer to 20!

The difference between other events and Agora is that everyone knows why they are there. 1 side comes to raise funds, the other side is searching for a project to put their funds in.

I can advise EVERYONE to go to the next one. Met incredibly interesting people.

In one word, “amazing”.
Close quote
Randy van Brienen
CEO, Bitsliced
Open quote
We are thrilled to share our positive experience at our first attendance at the GBC.

This event has proven to be an invaluable platform for forging personalized and tailored connections within the blockchain community.

Unlike larger, overwhelming conferences, the GBC strikes the perfect balance in size, fostering an environment conducive to quality networking. This setting allowed us to engage meaningfully with key individuals who showed a genuine interest in our project. We are eagerly anticipating the next GBC.

Our experience this year has set a high precedent, and we look forward to participating again! 
Close quote
Christian Trejo
CSO & Co-Founder, BBAChain
Open quote
As the Head of Business Development at Cointelegraph Accelerator, my role involves attending numerous significant conferences annually. This extensive travel schedule often leads to experiences with overcrowded events, which can be quite exhausting.

However, I was pleasantly surprised by the high caliber of attendees at the recent GBC conference. The event's selective audience truly set it apart. Notably, two of our portfolio companies from the Cointelegraph Accelerator have garnered substantial preliminary commitments following their participation in this conference. We are now eagerly anticipating the conversion of these commitments into actual investments.
Close quote
Anna Shakola
Business Development Manager, Cointelegraph Accelerator
Open quote
When we participated in the 1st edition of the Global Blockchain Congress, we were able to secure funding and partnerships that allowed us to get to where we are today. To all the Blockchain projects, whether in the early or advanced stages, we assure you that the Global Blockchain Congress experience is unlike any other summit. This Congress is an exclusive, closed-door opportunity to connect with the greatest investors from the MENA region.
Close quote
Daniel Santos
CEO, Woonkly
Open quote
I always admire the events organized by the Agora Group and the Global Blockchain Congress was one such initiative. Being a partner at NewTribe Capital, we always struggle finding new investment opportunities in the top growing startups that could deliver us long term benefits but the 1 on 1 format implemented by this event was unique and very efficient indeed.

I'd recommend this as a must attend event.
Close quote
Juliet Su
Partner , NewTribe Capital VC
Open quote
It was truly a pleasure to be part of such a well-organized and high-caliber event. 

I was particularly impressed with the quality of discussions, the caliber of investors and projects in attendance, and the structured approach to facilitating meaningful connections.

The Agora team did an excellent job curating a platform that fosters real engagement and strategic opportunities.

Overall, it was a fantastic event, and I appreciate the opportunity to connect with key industry stakeholders. I look forward to future collaborations with Agora and seeing how the congress continues to evolve.
Close quote
Jimi Ibrahim
CBDO, IOPn
Open quote
Agora have seen the vision prior to that being a vision in Dubai when they were hosting the GBC when Crypto was still seen as something negative.

What they have done has been super successful in navigating the storm, and what we see today at the GBC is just brilliant, with so many great minds & amazing projects coming together all under one roof. There was a real vibrant atmosphere, and everyone understood that we are in a building phase and we were able to have this togetherness, all down to the amazing Agora team for putting this show together and making everything flow so smoothly.
Close quote
Mohamed Ezeldin
Head of Tokenomics, Animoca Brands
Open quote
We had the privilege of joining the 14th Global Blockchain Congress (GBC) in Dubai. This premier event brought together top Web3 investors, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders, providing a unique platform to exchange insights and forge meaningful connections.

We had the opportunity to connect with key leaders shaping the Web3 landscape and discover innovative founders leveraging MENA’s strengths to drive blockchain adoption. Their fresh perspectives and groundbreaking ideas reinforced the region’s growing impact on the global Web3 ecosystem.

A big thank you to Agora Group for hosting this incredible event!
Close quote
Takashi Hayashida
Managing Partner, Taisu Ventures
Open quote
Pitches are good and all, but have you ever sat on a table for 8 hours with 30 minutes one-on-one meetings with 50 rotating investors? Agora is next level. I went to this conference last year, and it was like speed dating with investors.

THIS IS EXACTLY HOW IT SHOULD BE.

If you’re in Dubai or can get there, and are looking to raise funds for your project, this is your jam.
Close quote
Nikita Sachdev
Co-Founder , LunaPR.io
Open quote
The Global Blockchain Congress was an incredibly efficient and high-impact event. In just two days, we connected with top-tier investors and made the most of every moment to achieve our goals. We also met outstanding startups that are driving innovation in the industry. The event wasexceptionally well-organized, with comprehensive materials that made follow-ups seamless. Overall, a fantastic experience!
Close quote
William Hsu
CSO, FinTax
Open quote
I am very pleased about the performance and success of the Agora Global Blockchain Congress event! You feel all the efforts and dedication that the team put into turning this conference into a hit! From the registration counter, to the main stage where they picked the best panelists and to the section where start-ups pitch to investors all was very well done! It is truly a quality conference.
Close quote
Feras Al Sadek
Managing Partner, Ghaf Capital Partners
Open quote
The 2nd SEA edition of the GBC in Singapore was awesome!

Curated, small number, cozy environment for unique networking, well-designed 1-on-1 speed meeting with founders.

It was a great experience at one of the nicest venues in Singapore, with a curated crowd. Well done—we made valuable connections and found several potential investment opportunities.
Close quote
Steve Lee
Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Neoclassic Capital
schedule
The Global Blockchain Congress
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