In Geneve, Switzerland, Decentral House, a new initiative to unite the blockchain and Web3 space, has emerged. On the night of December 14th, several industry leaders from organizations worldwide discussed how blockchain is transforming the world.
Decentral House: Merging The Physical With The Digital In One Spot
Decentral House aims to serve as a hub for existing blockchain projects. This will enable them to collaborate, bring their ideas to life, and participate in initiatives supported by major players in the Swiss financial industry.
The new hub was created to provide these projects with a place to materialize the discussions and ideas of Conferences and Summits that take place throughout the year. According to Decentral House founder and managing partner at STORM, Sheraz Ahmed, the physical place will integrate with the digital world to drive blockchain adoption.
In the silence of this Decentral House, Ahmed believes that builders can speak about their projects and create a deeper connection. During the event, Ahmed told us:
Decentral House is a centralized meeting point for the decentralized community. There’s a little bit of irony there. We definitely believe that there’s need to break down the silos that are created within our industry. I mean, a lot of people talk online, they build online, but we never really get the chance to meet in person. Even beyond just having a cocktail, a drink, and the likes, but being able to sit down and speak when there is silence. When you go past the small talk, past the, “Hey, how are you? It’s nice weather outside, which event are you going to next? Ah, that’s great. Okay, see you soon.” And when there’s silence, you can really think and have those deeper conversations (…).
Ahmed highlighted the importance of Switzerland for the nascent sector, claiming that while many projects are based on a blockchain, the industry itself is “based on Switzerland.” This is due to the country’s banking system which allows the industry to gain access to capital and a solid legal framework.
In other words, Switzerland is considered a “Safe Haven” for the blockchain community. Decentral House will provide a platform for like-minded individuals and events within this sanctuary.
More Than A Co-Working Space, A Sanctuary
Created as a long-term project running for at least two years, Decentral House will operate as much more than a co-working area. Web3 builders can join the initiative via different tiers and receive access to industry events, specialists in fundraising and compliance, and other services critical for their success in the nascent sector.
The initiative is finalizing deals with major companies and organizations within the Web3 space and legacy sectors. Ahmed firmly believes that Decentral House can be a place that will help all actors work towards adoption and innovation:
(…) if we can bring everyone around the same table, they can then truly create the innovation that we’re seeking. And so in order to do that, we’re creating a two year program that goes through four phases of ideation, iteration, validation, and execution. So we ideate, we brainstorm, create those ideas, we will then iterate on them, maybe there are some better than others. How can we move them? Then we will validate them, validate them with the board, get the funding.
The latter has been a critical question for many industry projects; many have the team and ideas but struggle during their fundraising phase. Others speed up this process and launch ideas that still require refinement. On the latter, Ahmed said:
The fact that they go so quickly today into the real world, they don’t get the funding and the real eyeballs that they need to make it. So they’re going to get that validation from doing the two previous steps. And then once they’re validated, then we will execute on them and activate those proof of concepts, MVPs. And that’s where I truly believe mass adoption will follow.
During the event, members of the Cardano Foundation, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the World Trade Organization (WTO) spoke on the impact of blockchain technology and the use cases that can help people in their everyday lives.
Let’s continue with the recap! 🎊
Now it’s time to thank the #speakers, who entertained us with fascinating discussions on the future of the digital economy, the coexistence of real and virtual worlds, and how global organisations are using the potential of #Web3. 🌍 pic.twitter.com/G5trBqLAgx
— Decentral House (@DecentralHouse) December 16, 2023
This was just the first of many debates, connections, and events that will take place in Decentral House to tear down the physical barriers that will allow the digital space to bloom. Ahmed concluded:
(…) people tell me that Washington DC is the UN capital of the world with all the NGOs, et cetera, go there and try to access those people, try to speak with directors of the UN, you will not be able to. You have a barricade of security guards. They also will not want to speak to. (…) So, Geneva and Switzerland break down the barriers. And in order to (encourage) adoption, we need to break down the barriers. We cannot have all of our masks and shields up and try to improve and grow. We need to have those barriers broken down. And that’s why (we picked) Geneva.
Cover image from Unsplash, chart from Tradingview