TOKEN2049

The first TOKEN2049 was held on March 20–21, 2018, at the Kerry Hotel in Hong Kong, co-hosted by Christopher Strauch and Raphael Strauch. Christopher Strauch said the conference aimed to build a bridge between Asian and global markets and to discuss the token economy from the perspective of “forecasting what the space will look like come 2049.”⁠[1][1][1][1]

Co-founder Alex FiskumAlex FiskumAlex Fiskum is a co-founder of the crypto industry conference series TOKEN2049 and a co-founder of the artificial intelligence conference SuperAI.Open the full entry recalled that the conference was initially started as a way to rapidly expand the team’s network in the crypto industry; the first edition in 2018 drew about 1,500 attendees.⁠[2][3][3]

On March 13–14, 2019, TOKEN2049 was held in Hong Kong as the flagship event of Asia Crypto Week, with more than 2,000 participants expected. In 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, TOKEN2049 was also held in London.⁠[4][4][4][5]

In February 2022, TOKEN2049 announced that its Asia edition would return and move to Marina Bay Sands in Singapore for the first time, taking place on September 28–29 alongside the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, with more than 3,000 attendees expected. Founder Raphael Strauch said that after holding the event in London, the team was returning to Asia, “the first home of TOKEN2049.” The Singapore edition that September ultimately drew a record 7,000 attendees.⁠[6][6][6][6][7]

On November 9–10, 2022, TOKEN2049 was held at Magazine London as the flagship event of London Crypto Week; attendee capacity was full two days before the event. At the time, TOKEN2049 held one edition each year in Singapore and in London.⁠[7][7][7][8][8]

The Singapore edition in September 2023 brought together more than 300 exhibitors and more than 10,000 attendees, 80% of whom were overseas visitors.⁠[9]

The first Dubai edition was held on April 18–19, 2024, at Madinat Jumeirah, with TOKEN2049 Week side events running from April 15 to 21. Tickets sold out more than two weeks before the event, with 10,000 attendees confirmed; Alex Fiskum said 90% of them came from overseas. Speakers included Telegram CEO Pavel Durov and Binance CEO Richard Teng.⁠[9][9][10][10][10][10]

The Singapore edition was held on September 18–19, 2024, at Marina Bay Sands, with 20,000 attendees, more than 400 exhibitors, and more than 800 side events. This edition featured the first NEXUS startup competition, in which 10 finalist teams pitched to venture capitalists; the official afterparty, AFTER 2049, was held at the Marina Bay Sands SkyPark Observation Deck.⁠[11][12][12][12]

The Dubai edition held from April 30 to May 1, 2025, drew 15,000 attendees from more than 150 countries, with more than 200 exhibitors and more than 500 side events; attendance grew by about 50% year over year.⁠[13][13]

Ahead of the Singapore edition on October 1–2, 2025, 25,000 attendees from more than 160 countries were expected, and the venue expanded across all five floors of Marina Bay Sands. This edition featured the first 36-hour TOKEN2049 Origins Hackathon, and the NEXUS startup competition was held for the second time. PR NewswirePR NewswirePR Newswire is an American press release distribution service founded in New York in 1954 by Herbert Muschel. It sends news releases from companies, organizations, and public relations firms simultaneously to the media and the investment community, and is one of the pioneers of the commercial newswire industry; since 2016 it has been a business of the communications software company Cision.Open the full entry was a community partner of the Singapore edition.⁠[14][14][14][14][14]

On March 13, 2026, the organizers announced that the Dubai edition, originally scheduled for April 29–30, would be postponed to April 21–22, 2027, citing uncertainty in the region and its impact on safety, international travel, and logistics. Earlier, on February 28, the United States and Israel had gone to war with Iran, affecting airspace and flights in the United Arab Emirates. Purchased tickets carried forward automatically, and ticket holders could also transfer to the Singapore edition in October 2026.⁠[15][16][15][16][16]

On August 6, 2026, the organizers announced the first 100 speakers for the Singapore edition, including PolymarketPolymarketPolymarket is a prediction market platform founded by Shayne Coplan in 2020, on which users buy and sell shares in the outcomes of political, sports, financial, cultural, and other events, with trading prices regarded as the market’s estimate of the probability that an event will occur. It rose to prominence during the 2024 US election, returned to the US market in 2025 by acquiring a licensed exchange and clearinghouse, and received a major investment from Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, while facing gambling-regulation and insider-trading scrutiny in US states and several countries.Open the full entry founder and CEO Shayne CoplanShayne CoplanShayne Coplan is the founder and chief executive officer of Polymarket, the prediction market platform he founded in 2020, and advocates using market prices to aggregate people’s judgments about the probability of events. He attended New York University before leaving to start a company, and has led Polymarket’s fundraising, its return to the U.S. market, and its product expansion.Open the full entry, Nasdaq Chair and CEO Adena Friedman, Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson, and Eric TrumpEric TrumpEric Trump is an American businessman and the second son of US President Donald Trump; he has long served as an executive at the family business, the Trump Organization, and ran it with his older brother while his father was president. Since 2024 he has been one of the main public faces of the Trump family’s crypto businesses, co-founding World Liberty Financial and the Bitcoin mining company American Bitcoin.Open the full entry, with 25,000 attendees from more than 7,000 companies across 160 countries expected. Alex Fiskum said that with the Dubai edition moving to 2027, the team was putting its full focus on the Singapore edition this year, and more than 70% of the exhibition floor had already been booked. PR Newswire again served as a community partner of the Singapore edition.⁠[17][17][17][17][17][17]

On October 6, 2026, the organizers announced that the Singapore edition had sold out ahead of the event, with 25,000 attendees from 160 countries, and six stages, 250 speakers, and 500 exhibitors. As planned, the institution-focused TOKEN2049 Institutional would debut on October 8, a private gathering of 250 senior executives from finance and digital assets; the venue would feature a city pavilion for the first time, the Dubai Pavilion, with 10 exhibitors including Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism and the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). Formula One drivers Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, and Jenson Button were also invited to attend.⁠[2][2][2][2][2][2]

On October 7, 2026, the Singapore edition opened at Marina Bay Sands. On the first day’s agenda, Balaji Srinivasan held a discussion with Shayne Coplan on prediction markets. Coplan said that pricing questions or risks that previously had no price produces prices that can serve as reference points for over-the-counter deals, swaps, and block trades; he also noted that in the Russia-Ukraine war and the conflict in the Middle East, many people on the ground use Polymarket as an alternative news source. Coplan discussed the possibility of an on-chain asset connected to the platform, but announced no ticker, date, or distribution structure.⁠[18][18][19][19][18][18]

The same day, at the Singapore edition and ahead of the main stage session with Eric Trump and Zach Witkoff, TOKEN2049 announced its expansion into the United States: the first TOKEN2049 New York is scheduled for June 16–17, 2027, with 15,000 attendees expected. The organizers designated New York as the third flagship and a permanent annual fixture after Singapore and Dubai, describing the move as bringing the conference to “the heart of global capital markets”; beyond the two-day main conference, TOKEN2049 Week will host a series of events across New York City. Tickets went on sale immediately at $599.⁠[20][20][20][20][20][20]

Alex Fiskum said that bringing TOKEN2049 to the US had been “a long time coming,” that attendees and partners had been asking for it, and that the team had been waiting for the right moment and setting.⁠[20]

World Liberty FinancialWorld Liberty FinancialWorld Liberty Financial is a crypto finance venture launched in September 2024, co-founded by members of the families of US President Donald Trump and Steve Witkoff, among others; it issues the governance token WLFI and offers the US dollar stablecoin USD1 as its main product. Over the Trump family’s large income from token sales, foreign investors taking stakes, and regulatory approvals, it has faced ongoing conflict-of-interest questions from members of the US Congress and ethics watchdogs; the company and the White House have denied any wrongdoing.Open the full entry co-founder Eric Trump appeared on stage with Zach Witkoff that day in a session titled “The Future of Finance, Built in America.” Eric Trump said that the fastest driver of digital asset growth would be the AI trade; he acknowledged that over the past year capital had rotated out of crypto and into artificial intelligence, putting downward pressure on crypto prices, and said capital was starting to flow back. He envisioned AI agents paying directly through digital wallets and stablecoins, for example booking hotels or arranging travel on users’ behalf.⁠[18][21][22][22][22][21]

As of October 2026, TOKEN2049’s announced 2027 schedule was: Dubai on April 21–22 (Madinat Jumeirah), New York on June 16–17, and Singapore on October 6–7 (Marina Bay Sands).⁠[23][24][25]

The TOKEN2049 website is operated by BOB Group Limited, a company registered in Hong Kong; Alex Fiskum said in September 2023 that most of the team was based in Hong Kong. He explained that the “2049” in the name was meant, first, to sound mysterious; second, to hint at the future; and third, because a number is easier for audiences in different places to remember than a name that is hard to pronounce.⁠[26][3][3][3][3][3]

TOKEN2049: Official website: https://www.token2049.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[27]

X: Public account: https://x.com/token2049 (opens in a new window)⁠[27][28]

LinkedInLinkedInLinkedIn is a social networking platform for professionals. It was founded in 2002 by Reid Hoffman and others, launched in 2003, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2011; after Microsoft acquired it for approximately $26.2 billion in 2016, it became a wholly owned Microsoft subsidiary. Its revenue comes from membership subscriptions, advertising, and recruitment solutions.Open the full entry: Public profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/token2049/ (opens in a new window)⁠[27]

YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry: Public channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/TOKEN2049 (opens in a new window)⁠[27]