Some of the most compelling global voices in the world’s most dynamic digital sectors are bound for Dubai as Binance Blockchain Week returns to the Coca-Cola Arena.
The influential two-day gathering is the annual flagship event for Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by users and trading volume. Being staged on December 3 and 4, Binance Blockchain Week 2025 is set to be even larger and more impactful than last year’s event.
The arena conference represents the pinnacle of the brand’s 1,500 global events and will once again unite the world’s leading minds in the Web3 and blockchain ecosystem.
It is a second consecutive appearance in Dubai for the event that will pay homage to the next phase of Web3, embracing new challenges and celebrating milestones that continue to shape the industry’s evolution.
Web3 is an emerging iteration of the World Wide Web – often called the “decentralised web” – built on blockchain technologies such as decentralisation, tokenomics and privacy-enhancing tools.
This latest Binance conference has secured an impressive line-up of keynote speakers. They represent every corner of the industry, ranging from exchanges and smart contracts to education, investment and regulation.
In light of the industry’s rapid growth, and Binance’s expanding global footprint, Binance Blockchain Week 2025 is set to mark a new chapter of innovation, collaboration and adoption.
The confirmed speaker line-up includes Michael Saylor, executive chairman of Bitcoin treasury company Strategy, marking his first speaking appearance at a UAE crypto event, along with Brad Garlinghouse, the chief executive of Ripple, and Lily Liu, president of the Solana Foundation.
Raoul Pal, co-founder and chief executive of financial knowledge and education platform Real Vision, plus CZ, founder of free online children’s educational platform Giggle Academy and co-founder of Binance, are also set to give their insight.
They will be joined by a distinguished line-up of thought leaders that includes Avery Ching, the co-founder and chief executive of Aptos Labs, Alex Svanevik, chief executive of onchain analytics platform Nansen, Illia Polosukhin, co-founder of NEAR Protocol, and Polygon Labs co-founder Sandeep Nailwal.
Joining them are David Namdar, the chief executive of BNB Network, Abdulla Aldhaheri, chief executive of the Blockchain Centre Abu Dhabi, Celo co-founder Rene Reinsberg, and Christian Angermayer, the founder of Apeiron Investment Group.
“We’re thrilled to welcome this esteemed group of thought leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs who have not only guided the industry but championed its growth,” says Richard Teng, chief executive of Binance. “Their collective expertise will elevate discussions and inspire the community, from professionals to everyday users, as we move into a new era for the industry.”
Other key leaders from Binance will join Teng in taking to the stage. These include co-founder Yi He, along with Rachel Conlan, chief marketing officer, and Catherine Chen, head of Binance VIP & institutional.
So what can visitors expect of this esteemed guest list across the two days? And why is the showpiece event returning to Dubai?
Binance Blockchain Week 2025 bridges all corners of the ecosystem, from high-level government dialogues to grassroots community engagement, according to its organisers. They also say the host city stands as a global hub for Web3 innovation and is home to thousands of blockchain companies.
Binance highlights the broader region’s progressive regulatory landscape and thriving tech ecosystem as continuing drivers of blockchain advancement beyond Web3.
“Bringing together opinion leaders, key builders, regulators, and community members, Binance Blockchain Week is more than a celebration,” a spokesman for the event told The National. “It is a platform that amplifies the industry’s most influential voices and pioneering projects, fostering collaboration and insight into the future of blockchain technology.”
The 2024 iteration drew more than 4,600 attendees to hear what 120-plus influential speakers had to say across two presentation stages. The event reached a staggering 2.2 billion people on social media and clocked up 1.6 million views on Binance Live.
Binance says it remains devoted to building an inclusive crypto ecosystem to increase the freedom of money and financial access for people around the world with crypto as the fundamental means.
The platform is trusted by more than 280 million people in more than 100 countries for its “industry-leading security, transparency, trading engine speed, protections for investors, and unmatched portfolio of digital asset products and offerings”, from trading and finance to education, research, social good, payments, institutional services and Web3 features.
Visitors can now register for their spot at Binance Blockchain Week 2025, which has Celo as its title sponsor, with Solayer and NEXPACE as platinum+ sponsors.
Tickets are available from the Binance Blockchain Week website.
This page was produced by The National in partnership with Binance Blockchain Week
How Tesla’s price correction has hit fund managers
Investing in disruptive technology can be a bumpy ride, as investors in Tesla were reminded on Friday, when its stock dropped 7.5 per cent in early trading to $575.
It recovered slightly but still ended the week 15 per cent lower and is down a third from its all-time high of $883 on January 26. The electric car maker’s market cap fell from $834 billion to about $567bn in that time, a drop of an astonishing $267bn, and a blow for those who bought Tesla stock late.
The collapse also hit fund managers that have gone big on Tesla, notably the UK-based Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.
Tesla is the top holding in both funds, making up a hefty 10 per cent of total assets under management. Both funds have fallen by a quarter in the past month.
Matt Weller, global head of market research at GAIN Capital, recently warned that Tesla founder Elon Musk had “flown a bit too close to the sun”, after getting carried away by investing $1.5bn of the company’s money in Bitcoin.
He also predicted Tesla’s sales could struggle as traditional auto manufacturers ramp up electric car production, destroying its first mover advantage.
AJ Bell’s Russ Mould warns that many investors buy tech stocks when earnings forecasts are rising, almost regardless of valuation. “When it works, it really works. But when it goes wrong, elevated valuations leave little or no downside protection.”
A Tesla correction was probably baked in after last year’s astonishing share price surge, and many investors will see this as an opportunity to load up at a reduced price.
Dramatic swings are to be expected when investing in disruptive technology, as Ms Wood at ARK makes clear.
Every week, she sends subscribers a commentary listing “stocks in our strategies that have appreciated or dropped more than 15 per cent in a day” during the week.
Her latest commentary, issued on Friday, showed seven stocks displaying extreme volatility, led by ExOne, a leader in binder jetting 3D printing technology. It jumped 24 per cent, boosted by news that fellow 3D printing specialist Stratasys had beaten fourth-quarter revenues and earnings expectations, seen as good news for the sector.
By contrast, computational drug and material discovery company Schrödinger fell 27 per cent after quarterly and full-year results showed its core software sales and drug development pipeline slowing.
Despite that setback, Ms Wood remains positive, arguing that its “medicinal chemistry platform offers a powerful and unique view into chemical space”.
In her weekly video view, she remains bullish, stating that: “We are on the right side of change, and disruptive innovation is going to deliver exponential growth trajectories for many of our companies, in fact, most of them.”
Ms Wood remains committed to Tesla as she expects global electric car sales to compound at an average annual rate of 82 per cent for the next five years.
She said these are so “enormous that some people find them unbelievable”, and argues that this scepticism, especially among institutional investors, “festers” and creates a great opportunity for ARK.
Only you can decide whether you are a believer or a festering sceptic. If it’s the former, then buckle up.
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
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Student Of The Year 2
Director: Punit Malhotra
Stars: Tiger Shroff, Tara Sutaria, Ananya Pandey, Aditya Seal
1.5 stars
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Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
TWISTERS
Director: Lee Isaac Chung
Starring: Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos
Rating: 2.5/5
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
