CONF3RENCE is an annual event in Germany focusing on web3 and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The 2025 edition is held on September 3-4 at Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund, Germany, with a central theme of "Connecting Emerging Technologies & Traditional Economy." ^[4]

Overview

The 2025 event is presented as a leading business-to-business (B2B) event for Web3 and AI, aiming to connect emerging technologies with the traditional economy. The conference features over 200 speakers, more than 150 partners and exhibitors, and hosts sessions across three stages. The program includes over 60 keynotes, panels, and masterclasses. According to the organizers, the event attracts a high-level audience, with 82% of attendees being C-level executives, and is considered a premier event in the DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) region. ^[4]

CONF3RENCE 2025 serves as the flagship event for Digital Week Dortmund (diwodo), a regional initiative focused on innovation and digital transformation. This collaboration integrates the conference into a city-wide tech ecosystem, offering attendees opportunities for learning and networking. ^[4]

Patronage

Mona Neubaur, the Minister for Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy of North Rhine-Westphalia, is the patron for CONF3RENCE 2025. ^[4]

In a statement, she highlighted the region's role in innovation:

“Here in North Rhine-Westphalia, we are driving innovations that are applied worldwide, whether in blockchain or artificial intelligence. Our great strength lies in the combination of excellent infrastructure, numerous universities, and research institutions collaborating with companies and startups. These are the ideal fundamentals for a successful transformation of our economy. I am delighted that CONF3RENCE 2025 is showcasing the digital future and sending strong impulses beyond the borders of North Rhine-Westphalia.” ^[4]

Speakers

The 2025 event features a diverse lineup of speakers from various sectors of technology and business. Notable speakers include:

• Bastian Schuetz, Global Lead, Virtual & Mixed Reality Solutions at Meta
• Philipp Vonmoos, CFO at Solana Foundation
• Dennis Winter, CTO at Boerse Stuttgart Digital
• Frederik Gregaard, CEO at Cardano Foundation
• Denny Morawiak, Managing Director, Germany at Coinbase
• Anthony Day, Marketing Director at VeChain
• Lucian Mincu, Co-Founder and CIO at MultiversX
• Dorothea Ysenburg, Vice President - Global Partnerships Digital Assets and Blockchain at Mastercard
• Konstantin Dagianis, Financial Services Partner & Digital Assets Leader at PwC Germany
• Dyma Budorin, Co-Founder & CEO at Hacken
• Andreas Horn, Head of AIOps at IBM
• Dr. Michael Drass, Chief AI Officer at Deutsche Bahn
• Claudio Bedino, Head of Consumer Growth at Gemini
• Miguel Vaz, Managing Director at Hauck Aufhäuser
• Rob de Graaf, Director, Innovation & Ecosystems at Philips
• Francois Dupont, Sales Engineering Manager DACH at Strategy
• Alexander Höptner, CEO at AllUnity GmbH
• Mona Neubaur, Minister for Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy of North Rhine-Westphalia
• Alireza Siadat, Head of Regulatory EEA at 1Inch
• Willem Behrenbeck, Head AI & Automation at KfW
• Sven Doelle, Head of Innovation and Technology at Adobe
• Michael Louzado, EVP Strategy at Ledger
• Mohamed Ezeldin, Head of Tokenomics & President of Open Campus at Animoca Brands
• Joao Rodrigues Frade, Head of Sector Building Blocks, Innovative Services and Blockchain at European Commission
• Alex Ulbricht, Strategic Lead Data & AI at Fujitsu
• Christoph Hock, Head of Tokenisation and Digital Assets at Union Investment
• Rob Pereira, Commercial Director Education & Healthcare - EMEA UK IN ANZ at PICO XR
• Fahmi Syed, President at Midnight Foundation
• Axel Mitbauer, Country Lead Base Germany at Base
• Bastian Keller, CEO at Bitbull Trading
• Gerry Afentakis, Managing Director, Europe at Zodia Custody
• Vivien, Community Lead, CEO at Pepe
• Bay Backner, Head Producer at Decentraland
• Hendrik Hey, CEO at Welt der Wunder
• Thomas Barkias, Team Lead Cyber Resilience, Crypto, ICT & Operational Risk at European Central Bank
• Karina Pencarski, Global Head of Solutions & Services at Synthesia
• Ingo Rübe, Founder at KILT Protocol
• Kai Tänzler, Senior Expert Digital Euro at Deutsche Bundesbank
• Andrey Fedorov, CMO & acting CBDO at STON.fi
• Haris Khan, Vice President of Growth and Marketing at Rain
• Marco Bodewein, Managing Director at Bullish Europe GmbH
• Alex Scharrer, Head of Capital Markets at NEAR Foundation
• Daniela Boback, Head of BDM at Bundesblock The full list of over 200 speakers is available on the event's official website. ^[4]

Sponsors and Partners

The 2025 conference is supported by a wide range of sponsors and partners from the technology, finance, and corporate sectors. Key partners include:

• Bitvavo
• OKX
• Bonk
• MEXC Ventures
• Wirtschaftsförderung Dortmund
• PwC
• AKKA Studio
• Trezor
• Hive
• Pionex
• Tangem
• Ledger
• OneKey
• Stellar
• Mercedes-Benz Dortmund
• Swissborg
• ElevenLabs
• Hacken
• Blockpit
• Cashlink
• TokenPay
• Coca-Cola
• Bundesblock
• Cointelegraph
• Bitkom
• Fraunhofer IML
• European Crypto Initiative
• MarketAcross
• TU Dortmund University
• Bankenverband
• Bitcoin.com This list represents a selection of the more than 150 organizations partnering with the event. ^[4]

Visionary Ventures Startup Award

CONF3RENCE hosts a startup competition called "Visionary Ventures – The CONF3RENCE Startup Award." The award is aimed at founders in the fields of Web3, Blockchain, AI, VR/AR, and the Metaverse. The process involves an application phase, followed by a review and pre-selection of finalists by a venture capital jury. The final live pitch competition takes place at Signal Iduna Park during the conference. ^[4]

Venue and Location

The event is held at Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund, Germany. The venue is the home stadium of the Borussia Dortmund football club and is the largest soccer stadium in Germany, with a capacity of 81,365. ^[4]

Dortmund is located in North Rhine-Westphalia, which is part of Europe's third-largest metropolitan region. The venue is accessible from several airports, including Dortmund Airport (15 minutes), Düsseldorf Airport (40 minutes), and Cologne Airport (70 minutes). It is also a 10-minute journey from Dortmund's main train station. ^[4]

History

2024 Event

Organized by CONF3RENCE and Blockchance, the 2024 event was held at Signal Iduna Park from 15-16 May 2024. ^[1][2]

BLOCKCHANCE was a major Web3 conference in the DACH region and Europe in 2023, with over 6,000 attendees, 350+ speakers, and 100+ exhibitors. By partnering with CONF3RENCE in early 2024, the team consolidated into a flagship event in Europe’s economically strongest region, the Ruhr area, and established itself as a significant event on a global level. ^[1]

The 2024 event included over 150 partners, 29 panels, and more than 200 speakers, with 82% of attendees being C-Level executives. ^[1][2]

CONF3RENCE has solidified its position as the premier Web3 event in the DACH – region for decision-makers and executives across all industries. The event successfully convened the brightest minds and the most innovative companies in the realms of Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies, NFTs, Metaverse, and AI. It served as a powerful platform for understanding and leveraging the transformative potential of blockchain technology – a cornerstone of Web3 – as high-profile enthusiasts shared their groundbreaking ideas, innovations, and visions for the future. - the website stated^[1]

During the 2024 conference, attendees were involved in opportunities that arose from bridging the traditional economy with Web3. The event combined elements from both worlds to create applicable solutions and support the expansion of blockchain and AI technology. ^[4]

2024 Speakers

Speakers at the 2024 event included: Monique Jeanne Morrow, Steven Mc Auley, Konstantin Dagianis, Jan-Oliver Sell, Mona Neubaur, Yat Siu, Dr. Stefan Berger, Robert Delille, Timo Kistner, Bastian Schütz, Dyma Budorin, etc. ^[1][3]

2024 Partners

Partners for the 2024 event included:

• Multiversx
• pwc
• Tezos
• Veracity
• Stellar
• Smart Valor
• Tangany
• Altura
• Alchemy Pay
• DMD Diamond
• European Blockchain Association
• Berachain
• XDC
• The Defiant, etc. ^[1]