The Digital Commonwealth enjoys triumphant official launch
SOME of the brightest stars in the digital world gathered and aligned for the official launch of The Digital Commonwealth.
Hosted by swish London eatery Smith and Wolensky, the Champagne, wine and waves of canapes flowed as more than 160 special guests helped to celebrate the occasion.
Proceedings were kicked off by founder and CEO James Bowater who welcomed the crowd with a heartfelt speech highlighting the tireless endeavours which had led up to The Digital Commonwealth’s official opening.
The audience then heard from the evening’s first keynote speakers – Dr Lisa Cameron MP, chairperson of the Crypto and Digital Assets All-Party Parliamentary Group -and Michael Amar, co-founder of Paris Blockchain Week.
“It’s a pleasure to be involved in this project. I think it’s so, so important,” said Dr Cameron.
“I’m very excited. I think the name is amazing, I have to say, ‘Commonwealth’ is very important to the UK in terms of really harnessing the potential across the Commonwealth and making sure that, no matter where you live, people can reach their potential, and can engage.
“Also, I think there’s another aspect – common wealth – in that finance and wealth has not been that common. There’s not been a lot of financial inclusion. So, we hope through this technological revolution we’re experiencing that we can ensure that no matter where you are in the UK or the world that you can have access to finance and that inclusion is at the heart of this sector.”
The first of two panel discussions was hosted by moderator Dr Maxine Room who orchestrated discussion on ‘The Importance of Education & Engagement in Web3 Communities’. The panellists were Elise Soucie of Global Digital Finance, James Bowater of The Digital Commonwealth, Kaitlin Argeaux of Crypto Mondays London, On Yavin from Cointelligence, and Stefania Barbaglio of Cassiopeia Services.
Will Ralston-Saul, CEO of Jade City, then delivered an entertaining keynote address, followed by a second keynote from MoonBlast.io co-founder Chris Waton.
Another wave of fine food from the Smith and Wollensky kitchen heralded the start of the final panel discussion, hosted by The Digital Commonwealth Editorial Director Darren Parkin.
Panellists facing the topic ‘Is 2024 The Year The Digital Asset Industry Comes of Age’ were Simon Buckingham from Paris Blockchain Week, Swissborg’s Alex Fazel, Jake Lee of The Digital Commonwealth, Will Ralston-Saul of Jade City, and Chris Waton from MoonBlast.io.
Proceedings were then wrapped up with a keynote address from Alex Fazel, before closing remarks from James Bowater.
Sharing the link to new website, James Bowater explained to the assembled guests what the The Digital Commonwealth was.
“Well, in its simplest form I’ve designed it to be a community-centric hybrid organisation that focuses on delivering high quality independent news, events, education and now that I am free of business news conflict it will also encompass my venture capital arm,” he said.
“Our focus remains as before, but slightly enhanced on all emerging technologies including AI, Blockchain, Crypto Assets, DeFi, DePin, Digital Assets, Gaming, FinTech as a whole, Frontier tech, the Metaverse, Tokenisation and the all-encompassing Web3, though given how fast things are developing, that will probably become Web4, 5 and 6 in pretty short order!”
He then further explained how the importance of remaining on-topic and relevant saw the creation of The Digital Commonwealth Roundtable - an independent, agnostic and inclusive industry body.
“Which, critically, is free of fees thus keeping out special interests and skewed agenda. This body is limited to two representatives per company and will have a term limit of 18 months before rotation with the exception of the six permanent members who I am delighted to re confirm tonight.
“The Roundtable will help shape the narrative of our newsroom and set the agenda for our Rolls Royce event series.”
The six were announced as Dr Lisa Cameron MP, Lord Holmes of Richmond MBE, Loretta Joseph (deputy chairperson), The Honourable Albert Isola, Professor Sarah Green, and James Ramsden KC.
“I am delighted to announce tonight formally that I have booked six dates at the Mansion House - the ‘greatest coffeehouse’ in the world to hold day long micro summits - the highlight of which is the three-course silver service networking lunch washed down with exceptional wine in the spectacular Egyptian Hall where the Lord Mayor hosts his banquet,” James added.
“Assuming all is well we will become a ‘Summit in Residence' for the next five years! Lord Mayors come and go every year so I’ll be involving them as much as possible and I’m delighted to know the current one Professor Michael Mainelli whose mayoral theme is very appropriately ‘connect to prosper’.”
Photos by Benjamin Arthur
