NEWSROOM

Lost in a Formula 1 track, the Input | Output (IO) team landed in Singapore for our third stop on the Asia Tour. As the sound of race cars buzzed by, we made our way through a city riddled in juxtapositions. From modern buildings to lush gardens and food stands with Michelin Stars, it’s a piece of the world constantly at the forefront of innovation. And what better way to honor that technical creativity than by attending TOKEN2049?

Building beyond the rebel phase

Just steps away from the beautiful Marina Bay, more than 20,000 builders, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and investors came together to forge connections, and begin writing a better future for all. 

For Charles Hoskinson, TOKEN2049 was a full circle moment. At last year’s conference, he outlined the arrival of a fourth generation of crypto. One defined not only by scalability and governance, but by the ability to bring trust, privacy, and identity into a single framework. This year, he returned to the main stage to show how that vision is taking shape with Midnight, a platform designed to allow verification without compromise - where accountability does not come at the cost of ownership.

The keynote marked a turning point: the blockchain industry has already proven itself, now it must lead. The challenge now is to decide what the next century of digital systems will look like, and to ensure that liberty and inclusivity are woven into their foundations.

From Vegas to Singapore

The IO Village travelled from the bright lights of Las Vegas to the skyline of Marina Bay for a packed two-day agenda, focused on creating space, inviting people in, and showing how this ecosystem is being built collaboratively.

The speakers’ corner kept the crowds engaged with sessions from Midnight Foundation announcing a new collaboration with Google Cloud, Quantum Hosky unveiling their AI-driven soap opera, and the Project Catalyst team demonstrating how community-driven funding models can work at scale.

Over on the IO podcast booth, we made sure everyone had a voice. NEAR Foundation sat down to explore how Cardano Intents are enabling native access to new ecosystems, community members stepped up to record their own stories, and the Input | Output team members jumped in to discuss how our products are already solving today’s challenges. 

And of course, the booth wouldn’t be complete without the DripDropz and IO’s Hydra teams, who explained the common thread between coveted collectible toys, designer handbags, and gaming laptops: they can all be won through the Hydra vending machine!  

Singapore exchanges

TOKEN2049 gave us the stage to share ideas and showcase what’s being built but the evenings were our chance to keep listening, learning, and making sure the path ahead reflects what the world truly needs. 

From an evening with EMURGO that brought together voices from across industries, to a Project Catalyst takeover, these moments give us the opportunity to keep our promise of building with the community, not just for it.

Thank you, Singapore

Singapore just does things differently - offering the perfect balance of speed, excitement, and the serenity necessary to reflect on the future of our industry.  As Charles reminded us: “We have the opportunity to decide how humanity is going to live for the next century. So let’s build it together.’’

You can find all of the session recordings on YouTube here, as well as recaps from our time here on X and LinkedIn.