Davos 2025: A Watershed Moment for Hedera and the Future of Tech

By Monique Morrow

As the snowy peaks of Davos receded in behind me on the train back to Zürich, I found myself reflecting on a truly invigorating week at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2025. This year's gathering felt different, a palpable shift in the global conversation towards tangible solutions and a renewed sense of urgency in leveraging technology for the greater good.

For Hedera, Davos 2025 was a watershed moment. We weren't just present at the table, we were actively shaping the dialogue around key themes that are core to our mission, showcasing our commitment to global collaboration through our sponsorship of USA House, collaborating closely with The Hashgraph Association; to drive real-world impact, and engaging with key policymakers through our government affairs and policy team led by Nilmini Rubin.

Hedera hosted several events like:

Building Trust: The Foundation for Responsible AI

A roundtable lunch session where panelists explored ethical AI development, governance frameworks, privacy, and security, as well as the evolving crypto regulatory landscape. Panelists also examined how blockchain’s decentralized data structures can create new paradigms for data security, identity verification, and AI model training. Speakers included Josh Harris (EVP of Palantir), Michelle Zatlyn (COO of Cloudflare), Teresa Guillen Goody (Partner at BakerHostetler and Former Attorney at the SEC - U.S. Securities Exchange Commission), Eric Piscini (CEO of Hashgraph), moderated by Jeremy Kahn (AI Editor at Fortune).

Re-imagining Financial Markets with Real-World Asset Tokenization

In the future, nearly every real-world asset will be digitally represented on a distributed ledger, enabling these assets to be tokenized, shared and transferred across the globe seamlessly without intermediaries. This session brought together an all female panel of thought leaders, innovators, and industry experts to explore how tokenization is re-imagining financial markets by breaking down siloes and modernizing legacy systems. Speakers included Sandy Carter (COO of Unstoppable Domains), Betsabe Botaitis (CFO of Hedera), Lisa Loud (Executive Director of Secret Foundation), and Megan Nilsson (Host Crypto Megan Podcast and Co-Owner of ATH Vodka).

The Future of AI: Advancing Decentralized Technologies

A panel and networking reception where panelists explored the evolution of AI and how its rapid adoption brings pressing challenges in the areas of trust, transparency, and accountability. These industry leaders also explored how the intersection of hardware, decentralized technologies, and AI is setting a new standard for secure operations. Speakers included Bryan Rich (Senior Managing Director, Global AI for Health, Public Sector, Defense at Accenture), Jonathan Dotan (Founder of EQTY Lab), Shyam Nagarajan (COO at Hedera and Former Partner at IBM for Responsible AI), moderated by Dr. Leemon Baird (Co-Founder of Hedera and Hashgraph).

Sustainability: The climate crisis took center stage, and Hedera's role in enabling verifiable carbon markets and transparent ESG reporting resonated deeply. Numerous discussions highlighted the need for trusted data and auditable processes, areas where our distributed ledger technology offers unique advantages.

USA House: Hedera's sponsorship of USA House provided a unique opportunity to engage with global leaders in government, business, and civil society. This prominent platform allowed us to foster dialogue, build relationships, and demonstrate our commitment to supporting American innovation and leadership on the world stage. We hosted meetings with influential figures like Kimbal Musk, sparking conversations about the intersection of technology, sustainability, and social impact.

Tokenization: From real-world assets to fractional ownership, the potential of tokenization was a recurring theme.

AI-DLT Convergence: A fascinating trend emerged around the convergence of AI and DLT. Leaders recognized the potential of combining AI's analytical power with DLT's security and transparency to create innovative solutions in areas like supply chain management, healthcare, and fraud prevention. Hedera's high-throughput platform and robust security features make it an ideal foundation for these emerging technologies.

The Hashgraph Association Impact: The Hashgraph Association played a crucial role in amplifying Hedera's presence at Davos. Their active engagement in discussions around interoperability, education, and developer support highlighted the growing Hedera ecosystem and its potential to drive real-world adoption.

Beyond these specific highlights, I was struck by the growing recognition of the need for trust and transparency in the digital age. Hedera's commitment to governance, security, and sustainability resonated with leaders across sectors who are seeking reliable and responsible technology partners.

Davos 2025 reinforced my belief that Hedera is playing a pivotal role in shaping the future of technology. We are not just building a platform, we are building a trusted foundation for a more equitable, sustainable, and empowered world.

Key takeaways for Hedera:

• Increased awareness and recognition: Davos provided a powerful platform to showcase Hedera's capabilities and contributions to a global audience.

• Valuable partnerships: We engaged with leaders across sectors, forging new connections and exploring potential collaborations that can drive adoption and impact.

• Reinforced market position: The discussions at Davos validated Hedera's focus on key areas like sustainability, tokenization, and the convergence of AI and DLT, solidifying our position as a leader in the DLT space.

• Ecosystem Growth: The Hashgraph Association's efforts in fostering a vibrant and growing community around Hedera were evident at Davos, demonstrating the collective strength of our ecosystem.

• Policy Influence: Our government affairs team effectively communicated Hedera's vision and values to key decision-makers, paving the way for greater collaboration and regulatory clarity in the future.

Finally, it was nice to see Hedera Council Member, Shuchi Rana at WEF Davos who articulated very well why ServiceNow is a member of Hedera.

“Hello Future! Hello Hedera!”