Blockchain Life 2026 takes place on 1 to 2 December in Dubai, and Matthias Mende, creator of bonuz and co-founder of Dubai Blockchain Center, is on stage again with a keynote.
Blockchain Life is one of the largest Web3 events in the world. The organisers expect more than 15,000 attendees, over 200 speakers and visitors from more than 130 countries, with 200+ booths. This year the forum runs together with AI Future, during the UAE's key business week right before the F1 Grand Prix.
The keynote: the shift
Mende's talks always come back to one question: how does Web3 reach everyone, not only the people already inside it. This keynote is about that shift. It brings real industry statistics and facts, and what bonuz learned building the technology itself.
"Being invited back to this stage is an honour," Mende says. "At bonuz we build everything in our own lab, millions of lines of code by now, so what I show is not theory. It's what works when real people use it."
Why it matters for bonuz
bonuz is built in Dubai by Bonuz Technology DMCC. It is a new kind of marketing: think Pokémon Go meets a real-world GTA, with quests like in World of Warcraft. People explore the city, check in at real places and complete quests, and brands, venues and events see every verified visit and choose the rewards, from vouchers and loyalty cards to digital keepsakes.
Blockchain Life brings together the founders, investors and builders who decide where Web3 goes next. It is the right room to show that mass adoption starts with experiences people actually enjoy.
Three terms, in plain words
- Web3: apps where people own their accounts and what they collect, instead of a platform owning it for them.
- Mass onboarding: getting everyday people, not only crypto natives, to use these apps without learning anything new.
- Real-world quest: a game played in the city. You go to a place, check in, complete a task and earn a reward the venue chose.
What to watch
- Now: speakers and the agenda are being announced on blockchain-life.com.
- 1 December: day one of the forum and Mende's keynote on the shift to mass adoption.
- 2 December: day two, with the side events and the after party.
- The week after: the F1 Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi, which keeps the whole region busy.
Join the talk
Tickets are on blockchain-life.com. If you want a discount, the code DBC gives you 10% off.
See you in Dubai.
