For almost 10 years, LendIt Fintech has been producing successful events worldwide.
This week the company launched a new event called Merge: Where Banking and Fintech meet Web3.
This year, LendIt’s in-person Europe event will focus on the collision between Web3, defi, fintech, and trad fi. On Thursday, March 24, the company hosted a launch party at Rise London with 130 guests.
Attendees can take a quick jump across the pond, take the chunnel, or hop on the local tube to the Tobacco Dock in Whitechapel, London, from Oct 17-18, 2022.
Merge: The first of its kind
In the blizzard of events that saw the popularization of crypto, defi, NFTs, collectively called Web3: industry leaders took notice. Decentralized or centralized, permissioned background checks or trustless anonymization: in any form, the new age will have a profound impact on the world of finance.
Peter Renton, Co-Founder, and Chairman of LendIt Fintech said that Merge would capture the business side of Web3, a movement that will not take over the world unless embraced by banking and integrated with fintech.
“This is where finance is going; we believe that Web3 will impact every single fintech company and bank, and it will happen fairly quickly. We think it’s really important that we all get together to learn from each other,” Renton said.
Bo Brustkern, Co-founder, and CEO of LendIt Fintech said he was excited to take part in this first-of-a-kind event, building on his experience at EthDenver and DAODenver.
“I began my crypto journey in 2014. For eight years, we’ve been waiting for the right moment to launch a serious, business-focused conference on the inevitable convergence of banking, fintech, and crypto,” Brustkern said.
“The time is now, and we are thrilled to put the full weight of our considerable editorial capabilities against this opportunity.”
Renton said regulation and wholesale adoption is coming to the Web3, defi, and crypto spaces, and that those who get out ahead have a chance to be industry leaders; the world reacts to trendsetters.
Become a trendsetter
“Fintech and banks have finally gotten to the place where they can get along and understand each other,” Renton said, “and now they are going to have to deal with the new Web3 group, which is more challenging: It’s going to be super important that we get on the same page.”
Merge is the first conference and expo dedicated to the impact of Web3 on financial institutions and ways to harness this shift to gain a competitive advantage.
Expect 700+ attendees, 65+ speakers, and a host of more than 2,000 in-person meetings.
Two days of live content, two days of networking and presentations in the expo hall, and three nighttime parties across the city of London.
LendIt is also pleased to present the Strategic Advisory Board. The company reached out to leaders who can help cross the new divide between Web3 and fintech, hand-chosen to help put the content together and keep Merge on track.
Two-year Europe gap ends with Merge
After a two-year pandemic gap, LendIt is excited to return to London for an event about the new financial future. Brustkern said it’s the first time LendIt is focusing purely on the convergence of these tremendous forces in financial services.
“What do bankers and fintech need to know about crypto?” he asked. “What do Web3 red-pillers need to know about fintech and banking? What do regulators need to prepare for? How will it all play out?”
He added that sponsor interest from the community insiders already in the know has been extraordinary.
“We expect this one to pop.”
Brusktern and the LendIt team hosted a launch event with partner Rise London, Created by Barclays, on Thursday afternoon. Attendees to the launch party received a commemorative NFT through partner POAP.
History in the making
Built in 1812 as a trading hub for commodities like wine and Tobacco arriving from the New World, Tobacco Dock originally spanned 70 acres.
Now occupying just two-fifths of the original site, over 16,000 sqm will serve as an entrepot for a new kind of treasure.
Merge welcomes the untold future generations of digital commerce.
“Those who jump in early are going to be the leaders of tomorrow in this space,” Renton said. “This event is going to provide an opportunity to help move that along. Web3 needs to grow up to be taken seriously, fintech needs to stay on the cutting edge, and banking needs to embrace the new potential opportunities.”
