Conversation with the founder of Token2049: Seven years of hard work and off-stage skills behind the world’s largest crypto event

Preface

"He named you. You must be special."

-- K (Protagonist of "Blade Runner 2049")

In 2017, the big screen in Hong Kong is still a science fiction blockbuster about bioengineering replacing human beings in the future. Desolation, ruins, future cities, guns and spaceships are intertwined between light and shadow. Bathed in golden, warm light, human clones face off against their predators.

At that time, the concept of a blockchain-led global financial system had not yet swept the mainstream cultural system. "Blade Runner 2049", which won the Hollywood Film Award in the same year, mainly explored human nature, identity, memory, and humans and artificial life. The theme of blurred boundaries between bodies.

While most people are still wandering around in hazy hallucinations of artificial creatures in the future, Alex Fiskum is the one who experiences the movie clips in reality.

This European from Norway and living in Hong Kong created the world's largest encryption event in 2023 - TOKEN2049 in Singapore. The 2049 conference attracted more than 10,000 participants, more than 400 sponsors, 250 speakers and spawned more than 450 side events. More than 70% of the attendees were from outside Asia, including 10 % to 15% come from the United States. TOKEN2049 has truly become a global encryption festival from an Asian regional encryption summit.

Under the hustle and bustle of Token2049, the rumor that Alex and his Token2049 team may be the biggest winner in the bear market spread among the attendees. "I heard that the organizer of TOKEN2049 made 15 million US dollars this time!" The figures circulated always make people stunned.

Regarding the rumors, Alex bluntly stated that people underestimated the material cost, time and effort required to organize such an event. They are currently preparing for the Singapore Token2049 event in 2025.

So who is Alex, the co-founder of TOKEN2049? What exactly does TOKEN2049 mean? Deep Wave TechFlow talked to Alex about the story behind it.

**TechFlow: What kind of experience do you have in the crypto field? Everyone is very curious about your background. Can you share it with us? **

Alex:

My background is in venture capital, focusing on financial technology (fintech), and I work in Hong Kong.

Around the second half of 2016, cryptocurrency began to enter our field of vision. At that point, we started trying to interact with it from a research perspective and made an initial investment on a personal level. I still vividly remember taking screenshots on my phone when I saw the price of Ethereum (ETH) skyrocketing, and ETH prices were consistently over $10, $50. Later, we became more and more interested in it, but at that time we didn’t have many connections in the Web3 cryptocurrency space.

Therefore, the original intention of **Token****2049 is actually that we **** explore how to quickly expand our network in this field. **So, we decided to host an event where we would invite the smartest people we knew in the field, and then they would recommend other instructors and programs, and it really snowballed.

I remember our first event in 2018 attracted about 1,500 people. Obviously, this is a great opportunity to get to know everyone in this field because it provides us with a network.

So, my experience with cryptocurrency really started from a venture capital perspective. At the time, we thought it was an interesting potential investment opportunity, and we started trying to get involved. We looked for many ways to get involved, from attending conferences to building projects to investing in exchanges. Since then, 2049's business has grown.

TechFlow: Why do you choose to develop Crypto in Hong Kong now?

Alex:

My past experience is indeed somewhat complicated. I've lived in Sweden, Switzerland and Norway, studied in Norway, Singapore and China, and worked as a data scientist in the Philippines before gradually moving to Hong Kong.

I think where I am today is the result of a lot of chance factors and random circumstances. At first, I never thought about settling in Hong Kong, but I'm so glad I chose here and I've been living here for eight years now. **Literally the only other place on earth I would consider moving to is Singapore. **

Most of our team is also based in Hong Kong. In the spirit of cryptocurrency, our team and organizational structure are also relatively decentralized. **We have five team members in Hong Kong, as well as team members in the UK, Thailand and the Philippines. **We also have some extended team members in Singapore and elsewhere.

Hong Kong is a very dynamic city. In my opinion, it is almost an international city, very connected and interconnected. For me, Hong Kong is definitely the most unique city, you have quick access to pristine beaches and you can go on a 10 to 30 minute hike. For a Norwegian like me, the climate, food, etc. are very exotic.

Of course, from a company structure perspective, since we held our first event in 2017, we have started to grow here gradually, we employ people here and have a team in Hong Kong. That being said, there is nothing stopping us from moving to Singapore and that may be our choice in the future.

**TechFlow: Initially, why was it named 2049? What does 2049 mean? **

Alex:

There are several reasons for this. One of the reasons was to make him sound mysterious, and I wanted our listeners to understand that. It also foreshadows something to come. This number makes people feel very sticky, so there must be a sense of technology and future buried behind the name.

For example, if a conference name is difficult to pronounce, it may be popular among Chinese, Korean, or Japanese audiences, but may not be as easy to remember for European and American audiences. We find numbers are easier to remember, so we often see people refer to them as 2049. Participants from different countries can easily remember this name. Overall, one of the important aspects is that there is an implicit message in this number that portends the future in 2049 and beyond. **

**TechFlow: This time in Singapore 2049, in addition to Asian faces, we saw many people from Europe and the United States. Do you have any statistics? How many people are from the United States? In your opinion, what attracts them to this conference? **

Alex:

I think that's a part of our business that we do really well. **2049 is definitely still an international event, not a local one. **For example, when I look at our data, it's also interesting to see how it changes over time. At last year's event, about 70% of attendees were from overseas. And this year, more than 80% of attendees are from overseas and we have more than 10,000 participants, which means we attract a large number of international participants to Singapore. **If I look deeper into the data, I estimate that about 10% to 15% of attendees are from the United States. **

And this is during Formula One (F1) racing week, hotel prices are not cheap, I think it is an achievement that we can attract so many attendees to fly to Singapore during that week to participate in TOKEN2049.

Why can TOKEN2049 attract so many international audiences?

I think there are several reasons. First of all, 2049 itself is a global event. We’ve done it in Hong Kong, Singapore and London. I think people underestimate the time and effort required to organize an event. To give you an idea, we** have now **** started preparing for the Singapore events in 2024 and 2025. **

If we focus on something more regional, local, like the ecosystem in Hong Kong or the cryptocurrency landscape across Asia, or from a more macro perspective, like the regulatory situation in the U.S. or Europe, we can't attract international attention. audience. So we combine content from East and West, and I think that gives people a great platform to fly to Singapore.

Singapore is a transportation hub between the East and the West, and it is relatively easy to fly from Singapore to other places, such as to places further east, whether it is China or Japan. We are focused on making 2049 an international event and we always put that first. Whether it's from a speaker, sponsor, or our community perspective.

**TechFlow: From the perspective of crypto investment, what did you discover after communicating with the crypto investors attending this conference? **

Alex:

We communicated with important investors in the crypto investment community and their investment volume increased significantly after FTX. **They believe that the market in November last year was closer to the bottom, both from a liquidity and private trading perspective. **But we also note that secondary market trading has slowed, which may reflect caution among retail investors. Now may not be the time to be too focused on risk investing.

Regarding market sentiment during 2049, most people believe that the market has bottomed, but I do not make price predictions. Compared with November last year, the market in September was more panicked, while November was more uncertain.

Currently, it is widely believed that new projects and enterprises are emerging, especially in Asia, which is more active than in the West. Additionally, many well-known cryptocurrency venture capital firms continue to invest and allocate capital.

**TechFlow: Everyone is curious, how much money did the organizer make this time? The US$15 million is currently widely rumored. I know this topic is a bit sensitive. Can you disclose it a little bit? **

Alex:

I would like to emphasize that many people may underestimate the actual cost of hosting an event during an F1 weekend in Singapore. For example, hotel prices in Singapore can triple as the F1 season approaches. And for large events, the cost will be higher because it involves a lot of manpower and resources. When we arrange the TOKEN2049 event before the F1 race, it means that we not only have to book the venue in advance, but also invest a lot of time and resources in preparation. When considering the economic benefits of TOKEN2049, people should understand that hosting such an event requires huge investment, including costs for venues, equipment, personnel, etc. Organizing an event like this requires a huge amount of work and we are currently planning events for 2025.

Funding associated with this activity is typically determined years in advance, making this a capital-intensive business model. We don't want to disclose specific numbers at this time, but thanks to our amazing team, business is doing very well.

Think of it as our secret recipe when it comes to strategies on how to make money from events. Similar to the "which came first, the chicken or the egg" question. To be successful, you need to attract speakers, audiences, and sponsors, but without any one, the others suffer.

TechFlow: TOKEN2049 canceled London and added Dubai. What are the reasons for this**? **

Alex:

I love London and identify as European. But this year, we have chosen not to hold the 2049 conference in London, but to move it to Dubai. This is not to say that we have given up on London permanently, but it is because of a variety of considerations.

Although London’s cryptocurrency ecosystem is active, it is still not as large as Singapore and Dubai. It's not easy to scale an event in London, especially in the heart of the city. We have chosen the West Greenwich area for our 2022 event and although it is centrally located, it will take participants 20 to 30 minutes to reach. To expand the event to 10,000 people, it may be necessary to look for a location further away from central London. Add to that the high costs of London and by all accounts this is a huge challenge in the short term.

In contrast, Dubai's development momentum is strong. Its extensive range of venues, accommodation, logistics and transport make it our top choice. Although Dubai often has a variety of small events, we hope to bring a unique and truly global Web3.0 event brand to it.

**TechFlow: Are there any unforgettable moments in TOKEN2049 this time? **

Alex:

I have organized the 2049 Conference for seven years, and this year’s experience is different from previous years. Although organizing such a large event is emotional and stressful, and involves a lot of money and participants, this year I feel like we reached new heights.

In the past, despite much preparation in advance, the stress of preparation continued to build as the event drew closer. **I always feel that after the 2049 conference is over, you will almost feel like you built a sandcastle on the beach, and then the waves come and the sandcastle is washed away, and you have nothing left, and you have a whole year It's all being built, so much time and resources invested, and then suddenly it's all gone. **

But this year, I feel we achieved unprecedented results. The 2049 Conference is no longer a one-time event, but has formed a truly ongoing community, which is reflected on our social media. I'm sure that over time, our community will have a greater network effect.

I am extremely proud of the success of the entire event, especially when seeing the sponsor booths and the main stage. This gives me a huge sense of satisfaction. **People like to see overnight success, but behind it is often more than ten years of work. **As I emphasize, this is a team effort and we could never have accomplished such a feat without our team.

**TechFlow: It seems that you are also doing investment. Can you share with us other businesses you are doing besides activities? **

Alex:

Working at Token 2049 fills me with excitement. We often learn about many secret projects well in advance, and some projects contact us long before they even go to market because they want to promote them at our events before they go public. **Being able to see what goes on behind the scenes of these projects is a privilege and may not be available to everyone. **

During our events, we saw a variety of decentralized projects, including some large ones, in areas ranging from decentralized storage to decentralized computing, especially related to artificial intelligence of. There are many such projects participating in the 2024 event, and they also plan to participate in the event in Dubai. **I noticed that many people were particularly interested in the topic of artificial intelligence at the Dubai event. **

Although I am responsible for the operation of TOKEN2049 full time, we are more like a family office. We are also looking for some projects for strategic investment. **

Postscript

Alex is a low-key person. He stands behind the scenes of the bustling stage of Token2049 and watches all of this silently, just like the lyrics in "Ascetic":

**I want people to see me, but not know who I am. **There are no results for no reason. What people see is the excitement of Token2049, and the organizer has attracted a lot of money, but behind it is Alex and the team’s 7 years of dedication. hour.

The end of "Blade Runner 2049" left many unanswered questions, and TOKEN 2049 is not over either. In April 2024, the Dubai Conference will allow us to meet again.