YGG Co-founder Beryl Li Returns to Davos for World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024
Yield Guild Games (YGG) co-founder Beryl Li represented the guild once more in Davos, Switzerland, attending several events happening alongside the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024 (WEF24) on January 14–19, 2024. On her panels, she talked about bridging the technological gap in developing countries, the Metaverse, the Bitcoin ETF, regulation, and the possibilities of Real World Asset (RWA) tokenization.
Artificial intelligence was also a popular topic this year, with several discussions exploring its potential as well as its ramifications. Beryl opened up the idea of blockchain being the balancing factor to AI, providing provenance, verification, and proof of humanness.
Bridging the Technology Gap
The Futures Possibilities Index 2024 launch was met with a panel titled “Future Possibilities 2024: New Pathways to Better Growth.” The event was organized by Horizon Group and Newsweek Vantage. Joining Beryl at the event were HE Ohood Khalfan Al Roumi, the UAE’s Minister of State for Government Development and the Future, Suzanne DiBianca, Executive Vice President and Chief Impact Officer at Salesforce, Margareta Drzeniek, Managing Partner at Horizon Group, and Monika Lessl, Senior Vice President and Head of Corporate R&D and Social Innovation at Bayer. Together with moderator Nigel Holloway, Editorial Director at Newsweek Vantage, they discussed the different themes of the FPI report, such as economic differences, new technology, and the transformational trends shaping the world today.
The Future Possibilities Index Report revealed that there was a large technological gap when comparing Western countries to the rest of the world, where emerging economies are slower to adopt innovations.
Beryl shared with the audience that organizations like YGG have been able to create a bridge to educate people about web3 and assist with onboarding in regions such as Southeast Asia, India, and Latin America. With the help of entities like YGG, countries can potentially leapfrog to match Western countries, much like how China and the Middle East have been narrowing that technology gap in the last 15 years.
“YGG is narrowing that technology gap and creating opportunities for people to become the first adopters of web3 technologies. A big part of it is education,” said Beryl.
An Ever-Evolving Metaverse
With the tagline “Unite, Innovate, Transform: Advancing Web3 Together,” CRYPTO2030 was an ideal platform for industry leaders, innovators, and experts to band together, creating an interactive environment for people to learn and network. The event was hosted by DWF Labs and featured the panel “The Future of Play-to-Earn and the Metaverse,” which Beryl joined alongside Jane Thomason of Kasei Holdings, Philippe Gerwill of Aimedis, and Anna Tutova of Coinstelegram. The panel was moderated by Guido Schmitz-Krummacher of Swiss Platinum Consulting AG.
A big point of discussion during the CRYPTO2030 panel was defining the Metaverse, where Beryl noted that it is still an evolving concept that revolves around enhancing the digital experience. She also talked about on-chain reputation as one of the newer developments in web3 that YGG has been championing through initiatives like Superquests, the Guild Advancement Program (GAP), and Reputation and Progression (RAP). These programs have been opening up more opportunities for the web3 gaming industry by validating a person’s contributions on an immutable blockchain.
However, while the value of on-chain reputation has been especially clear in gaming, Beryl emphasized that it has the potential to branch out to other industries such as financial services.
Insurance companies and banks will be able to uncover a person’s achievements and tendencies through their on-chain activity. Being on-chain also means that it will be easier to identify bots, which have been increasing in number in the past few years. Blockchain provides an opportunity to create a proof of humanness that improves overall security.
The Path to Adoption Continues
Described as an immersion into blockchain, the Web3 Hub was an opportunity for many to engage in meaningful discussions, networking, and uncovering new insights. Beryl was part of the selected guests invited to participate in high-level roundtable sessions. She joined the panel “Crypto Trends 2024,” with Fredrik Haga of Dune Analytics, Niklas Kunkel of Chronicle Protocol, Benedek Orban of KryptonZK, and Koenraad De Jonghe of Bitget.
A lot of discussion revolved around the recently approved Bitcoin ETF and what it means for the web3 space. Beryl found it a positive development because it allows more capital to flow into web3 with Bitcoin being recognized as an asset while also opening the door for other cryptocurrencies. Ethereum could be next, or indexes could be created encompassing DeFi or blockchain gaming projects.
A Cavalcade of Bright Ideas
Beryl was also invited to be one of the judges of the CryptoValley Startup Competition. With the overarching theme of tokenization and setting the foundation for the future of blockchain, many startups participated to showcase their ideas, products and services. From tokenizing hotels to watches, the CryptoValley event featured numerous presentations, all tackling the idea of unlocking the potential of new technology.
“It was inspiring to see so many high-quality startups attend the competition,” remarked Beryl, noting how the innovative solutions from these up-and-coming companies are a step in the right direction, as more and more people start to see how web3 can transform society.
Professionals from different industries are now coming together and setting the foundation for 2024 and beyond, despite the challenges of Crypto Winter. Within the lens of the town of Davos, YGG is helping bring more of the world’s greatest minds into web3 and its potential to transform not only gaming but all industries.
For more information about the World Economic Forum, visit the website.
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