SPEAKER
Prior to FTX, Can co-founded and co-chaired the Blockchain Practice Group at Fenwick & West LLP, where he played a pivotal role in structuring and launching cryptocurrency projects globally and advising major exchanges (such as Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken, and more) on regulatory compliance. Can holds a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School, a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Princeton University, and has authored numerous policy papers, and presented at many blockchain conferences worldwide.
He holds a Ph.D in Physics and had worked at research institutes in Japan and abroad.
In 2007, he worked at Nomura Asset Management, where he had been involved in research analysis, quant/analytics, and equity investments in Japanese and foreign equities.
From 2019, he started a project at Nomura Holdings to commercialize digital assets, mainly security tokens.
In 2022, he assumed responsibility for business development in all digital assets, including crypto assets.
He is in his current position at Laser Digital Japan, which was established in 2023.
With over a decade of expertise in machine learning, embedded systems, and distributed computing, Ala has previously led engineering efforts at leading tech companies including VMware and Instacart, where he specialized in large-scale system design, predictive scaling, and AI productization. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from McMaster University, with research spanning wearable sensors, pattern recognition, and human-centric sensing platforms. Ala is also a published academic with numerous IEEE and ACM contributions, and a holder of multiple patents in applied AI and cloud computing.
Ala’s current work at Crucible Labs—an ecosystem product studio for TAO—focuses on building high-performance crypto wallets and staking infrastructure for large-scale decentralized participation. He is also a vocal advocate for the sovereign ownership of compute, data, and capital in the age of artificial intelligence.
Founder and CEO, Outblaze
Veteran technology entrepreneur/investor Yat Siu is the co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands, a global leader in blockchain and gaming with the goal to provide property rights for virtual assets. Yat began his career at Atari Germany, then established Hong Kong Cybercity/Freenation, the first free web page and email provider in Asia. In 1998 he set up Outblaze, an award-winning pioneer of multilingual white label web services. After selling one of its business units to IBM, he pivoted Outblaze to incubate digital entertainment projects. One of those projects is Animoca Brands.
Yat has numerous accolades, including Global Leader of Tomorrow at the World Economic Forum, Young Entrepreneur of the Year at the DHL/SCMP Awards, and recognition as one of Cointelegraph's top 100 notable people in blockchain.
Before founding Hashed, Simon co-founded Knowre, an innovative ed-tech startup in the US and Korea, where he served as Chief Product Officer. Under his leadership, Knowre was recognized by Fast Company as one of the World's Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Education and was later acquired by Daekyo, South Korea's largest education company.
Kim's expertise extends to policy-advising, having served as a member of the 4th Industrial Revolution Committee of the South Korean Parliament. He also held a position as a Director of the Korea Blockchain Association and a member of the Busan Blockchain Free Zone committee.
With a strong technical background, Kim studied Computer Science and Engineering at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH).
Prior to Virtuals Protocol, Sean worked at Gartner Research and held a leadership role in the Indonesian mobile gaming industry, driving user growth and product strategy. He is a proud Navy veteran.
Ryuichi joined B Dash Ventures in 2013. He led the growth and management of B Dash Camp, while also engaging in investment activities. He is now focused on blockchain-related investments, having stepped away from B Dash Camp operations.
Prior to joining B Dash Ventures, he served as Editor-in-Chief at technology media outlets such as TechCrunch Japan and CNET Japan, where he was involved in media management and event planning.
She is responsible for expanding Berachain’s presence across the APAC region, driving ecosystem growth, strategic partnerships, and community engagement.
Ella has been a veteran in the web3 industry since 2016. Prior to Berachain, she was Head of Ecosystem at Cronos, where she played a key role in the blockchain’s rapid adoption and growth. She also served as Director of Partnerships at Stellar Development Foundation and has held various roles in investment, advisory, and DeFi.
Ella has a background in banking and corporate finance and holds an M.B.A. from UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Prior to his journey with Hashed, he was a software engineer at AWS working on IoT and Robotics. He was also the founder of a last-mile logistics startup. He graduated from CMU where he studied robotics and computer engineering.
Since September 2024, Tomoe Makino has served as the Head of Japan at Tools for Humanity, the technology company supporting World.
Prior to joining Tools For Humanity, he held leadership roles at Google, YouTube, and Twitter, and served as country manager for TripAdvisor and Activision Blizzard Japan. With over 20 years of experience in the US tech industry, Tomoe has a proven track record in innovation, growth strategy, and business leadership. He has also served as an advisor and committee member for various government and local government bodies.
After designing derivative products at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities, Taishi worked at EY Tax Co., providing international tax consulting related to finance before moving to Deloitte Tohmatsu where he handled similar services focused on financial institutions and funds. He was involved in launching and marketing the blockchain game JobTribes and NFT marketplaces, listing DEAPcoin on Japanese and foreign CEXs, supporting several DeFi projects through development of on-chain liquidity and alliances/economic structuring.
In 2022, he founded DeFimans Co. Ltd. and is currently providing consulting services to various web3 projects, including those associated with publicly listed companies and global DeFi projects.
In 2023, as part of his role at Nikko, he founded Proof of Japan Inc., a joint venture with the firm utilizing AI and Web3 technology to support Japanese culture. Representing Nikko Securities, he also serves as Secretary of the Japan Cryptoasset Business Association's (JCBA) Use Case Subcommittee (since 2023).
He joined Nikko's Open Innovation Lab (NOIL) at its establishment in 2020 after participating in the internal venture pitch program. At NOIL, he coordinated 'Next-gen Tech x Regional Revitalization' projects and launched key initiatives such as the 'KOSEN Intercollege Challenge' (2021) and a Furusato Nozei-linked finance scheme (2022).
Previously, he worked in SMBC Nikko Securities' Investment Banking division, which he joined in 2012, specializing in Consumer Retail & Healthcare M&A and financing after 2014.
Prior to Mysten, Ken spent nine years in New York working across finance and entertainment with MUFG, Sony, and Warner Music. He most recently led the consultancy business unit at Utopia Music, a 1,000-person Swiss music fintech company.
Born in Japan and raised in the UK, Ken holds a B.A. from Brown University.
With over 15 years of experience within traditional finance firms in New York and technology startups in Silicon Valley, Lu has a unique and global perspective across finance and tech.
Before joining the Solana Foundation, He was also with Fireblocks for numerous years and holds a BA in Business Administration from Ross School of Business at The University of Michigan.
He joined the blockchain industry in 2018 as Managing Director, Head of APAC for Ledger.
Glenn has an extensive career in the financial services and fintech, working for S&P Global Market intelligence as Head of North Asia based in Korea and Hong Kong for 9 years, and prior to that, at Shinhan Financial Group in asset custody and funds administration.
Before founding Elysia, Yoon spent eight years in the corporate sector and began his web3 journey as a business development specialist for the ICON Foundation.
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