All right, perfect. Oh, nice. Yes. Well, formally from myself, good morning everyone or as we say in crypto GM and uh really a warm welcome to the second edition of ETH Sophia, the pearl jewel of Eastern European crypto conferences, guys. Come on, I want to feel the energy.
[Applause] So I would really really want to thank each and every one of you for not going to Korea. Uh and maybe you don't know but it's like we have um Korea blockchain week happening and we have overlap a little bit with Sophia Crypto meetup and we had a lot of people going to Korea. So thank you guys for not going to Korea and instead support supporting ETH Sophia. In the end we do this for you. Uh, we want you to get inspired to meet the European crypto crowd and um discover projects and opportunities and I although I enjoy going to some of the larger global crypto events quite a lot.
Um, I believe in the value of regional ones such as ETH Sophia where the main event is actually the main event. Um here we have only one primary location where everyone meets and um you are in it currently. It's called Jonathan Innovation Center. If you have an event plan, it's just about you know who you want to meet, not where to meet them and how to how to go there. And I think that's valuable and actually I'm not alone.
Um, some of the like good part of the feedback that we received last year was about the more genuine connections that attendees and speakers were able to form in this boutique setting of uh, ETH Sophia. So, size does matter, but when it comes to events, it goes both ways. Um, so it's a it's only a two-day event, so make sure you make the most of it. Meet people in the real world and not on Telegram where we usually uh meet, interact with them and see what happens. Um, we have tried to make this experience as smooth as possible for you.
And now a few thoughts about Ethereum and the crypto space in general. I'm not sure if you realize it. I guess you do to some extent since you're here. Um, but we are at an inflection point and I'm sure you have heard this before in the years past, but it's actually happening. The Ethereum ecosystem is no longer a playground for niche financial innovation.
It's now the infrastructure that will power the next technological upgrade of the global financial system. And to clo to quote Larry Frink from BlackRock, every stock, every bond, every fund, every asset can be tokenized. If they are, it will revolutionize investing. And I can only add one thing. Every asset will be tokenized.
And that will happen on many permissionless blockchain networks, but mainly on the most neutral, decentralized, programmable, reliable, lowrisk network with proven track record of developer excellence and a community of culture. the community culture actually reflecting the early cyberpunk ideals and in 2025 that network is only one and that's Ethereum. So I want to urge you to join the revolution if you haven't already and become part of this movement. Educate yourselves and prepare yourselves because the future belongs to the brave and open-minded. Ethereum is doing to finance what Bitcoin is doing to money.
Be part of the disruption. Don't get disrupted. Finally, I want to thank the ETH Sophia team for fighting, really fighting for over eight months to make this event happen. Thank you, Tina, Marty, Ivana, Stephie, Ellie, Sally, Elia, and of course, a big thank you to all the sponsors. Thank you for the trust and for the support.
And that's all from me for now. I'll be back here for the D5 panel at uh4 to 4. I yield the stage to professor Dr. Dimiter Deitrov, director of the University of National and World Economy. Thank you very much.
[Applause] Heat. [Music]
Automatic transcript — names and jargon may be misspelled.