It has been called the Davos of Web3 — a summit at the Louvre in Paris. Now it comes to the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Joining me is Zohair Dehnadi, Founder of Proof of Talk and Xschool. Welcome to the show.
Thank you for having me.
You launched Proof of Talk in 2023 to bring trust back to Web3. Has the industry earned it back?
Yes and no. Yes with institutions. Probably no with the public. When we started it was a few months after FTX — trust was at its lowest. Since then the industry got licensed, regulated, wrapped into ETFs. The US passed the stablecoin law. BlackRock and Franklin Templeton put their names on tokenised funds. Bitcoin was down 30% in summer but tokenisation continued and institutions stayed. Trust is earned when you stay in drawdowns — not in a rally.
What changed to bring names like BlackRock and Franklin Templeton into the room?
Three things. First, the fog lifted — a bank executive can now say crypto without his legal team calling him. Second, these firms went from observers to operators — tokenised funds, on-chain treasuries, live settlement. Once something moves from pilot to the P&L, the CEOs show up. Third — Proof of Talk is small by design. 95% of speakers are C-level or above and there is no pay to play. Citi launched its tokenisation report on our stage for the first time in the world. Franklin Templeton announced a partnership and went live on Bloomberg from inside the Louvre.
Why Abu Dhabi first and why now?
In a fragmenting world, this is one of the few places where US capital, Asian builders, and Gulf sovereign money can still sit at the same table. Capital is now flowing into Abu Dhabi rather than out of it.
Where do private conversations differ from the public panels?
Three gaps. A speed gap — on stage they say exploring, over dinner they are far along the path. A competition gap — on stage it sounds crypto versus banks, off stage it is banks raising crypto funds. And a Gulf-specific one — on a panel a sovereign says they are watching, but they are very likely already allocated.
What would make December a success?
Not headcount — vision density. How many decision-makers who can actually pave the path for the future of finance are in the room. If a sovereign has a new partner, a bank has a new arrangement, and a founder has a new term sheet by the time Finance Week starts — we will be very happy.
Zohair, thank you very much and best of luck.
Thank you. Thank you for having me on.
