WebX 2025 - Blockchains are Cities (S4E3)

Episode 3 of the eXponential Finance podcast, hosted by Norbert Gehrke, titled "WebX 2025 - Blockchains are Cities (S4E3)" was published on November 1, 2025 and runs 27 minutes.

November 1, 2025 ·27m · eXponential Finance

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Summary

Once again, we're coming to you live from WebX Tokyo, where the future of decentralized technology is being debated, designed, and deployed.Our next guest needs little introduction. He’s one of the sharpest, most influential minds in the entire space: Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly, a four-billion-dollar crypto fund that has backed some of the most iconic projects in the industry.Haseeb is famous for his foundational thesis: Blockchains are Cities. He argues that just as no single city can house everyone, no single blockchain can rule them all. Instead, we’re witnessing the rise of a digital world with multiple, competing metropolises—each with its own unique culture, economy, and purpose.In this wide-ranging conversation, we explore:- Why Japan, despite its regulatory head start, has fallen behind in the global crypto race.- The fundamental difference between blockchains and traditional networks, and why it changes everything for investors.- And finally, we dive into the inevitable collision of the two biggest technologies of our time: Blockchain and AI.Haseeb argues that AI models will become so powerful, and so politically important, that decentralized, censorship-resistant systems will become not just an option, but a necessity.This is a masterclass on first-principles thinking from one of crypto’s leading investors.👉 Subscribe to our weekly LinkedIn newsletter, the "Japan FinTech Observer", here: https://lnkd.in/gNjUuSxG

Episode Description

Once again, we're coming to you live from WebX Tokyo, where the future of decentralized technology is being debated, designed, and deployed.

Our next guest needs little introduction. He’s one of the sharpest, most influential minds in the entire space: Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly, a four-billion-dollar crypto fund that has backed some of the most iconic projects in the industry.

Haseeb is famous for his foundational thesis: Blockchains are Cities. He argues that just as no single city can house everyone, no single blockchain can rule them all. Instead, we’re witnessing the rise of a digital world with multiple, competing metropolises—each with its own unique culture, economy, and purpose.

In this wide-ranging conversation, we explore:

- Why Japan, despite its regulatory head start, has fallen behind in the global crypto race.

- The fundamental difference between blockchains and traditional networks, and why it changes everything for investors.

- And finally, we dive into the inevitable collision of the two biggest technologies of our time: Blockchain and AI.

Haseeb argues that AI models will become so powerful, and so politically important, that decentralized, censorship-resistant systems will become not just an option, but a necessity.

This is a masterclass on first-principles thinking from one of crypto’s leading investors.

👉 Subscribe to our weekly LinkedIn newsletter, the "Japan FinTech Observer", here: https://lnkd.in/gNjUuSxG