That’s A Wrap on HederaCon 2025

The inaugural HederaCon 2025–Hedera’s first user conference since 2018–proved that great things happen when the community comes together. On February 25th, more than 600 community members, developers, founders, and industry leaders gathered in Denver for a jam-packed day of industry insights, technical deep dives, and an exploration of the big ideas shaping the digital economy.

Two Tracks, One Vision

HederaCon featured two distinct content tracks: The Mainstage Sessions tackled big-picture discussions on the industry’s most pressing topics, while the Technical Stage provided deep dives into Hedera’s technology, developer tools, and real-world applications.

Whether you were in the audience, watching the livestream, or catching up later, all sessions are available to watch on YouTube — ensuring no one misses out on the HederaCon action and insights.

Inside the Mainstage Sessions

• The conference opened with Opening Remarks from Hedera co-founders Dr. Leemon Baird and Mance Harmon, reflecting on Hedera’s journey and its mission bringing trust to different ‘worlds’. They emphasized the community’s role, stating, “Hedera the ledger itself, the platform, is just the plumbing. The real magic is what you build on it”. This inspiring session set the tone for a day of insights and Hedera’s continued role as the trust layer of the digital economy.
• In “Cross-Border and More: What’s Fueling the Growth of Crypto Payments?” panelists examined the rapid rise of crypto payments, highlighting key drivers behind cross-border settlements, merchant adoption, and real-world use cases.
  Speakers: Ahmed Zifzaf (Worldpay), Sushil Prabhu (Dropp), Alisa DiCaprio (Swift)
  Moderator: Rob Allen (Australian Payments Plus).
• “Why the RWA Megatrend Isn’t Stopping Anytime Soon” saw experts examine the growth of real-world assets (RWA) and its impact on global markets in an era where tokenization is reshaping the financial landscape.
  Speakers: Edward Nwokedi (RedSwan), Eli Cohen (Centrifuge), Chase Merlin (Brale)
  Moderator: Rob Massey (Deloitte)
• “How Interoperability Will Unlock the Future” brought together leaders from various different blockchain ecosystems to look at the critical role of seamless blockchain communication and standards, as well as its impact on the industry’s future.
  Speakers: David Hawig (Web3 Foundation), Simon Baksys (LayerZero), Maghnus Mareneck (Interchain Labs), James Friel (Axelar)
  Moderator: Eric Piscini (Hashgraph)
• “AI, Meet DLT: Scaling Responsibly” unpacked one of the hottest topics in the space: how distributed ledger technology (DLT) enables ethical AI development and ensures secure data provenance.
  Speakers: Greg Whalen (Prove AI), Jim Nasr (Acoer), Rebecca Liao (Saga), Jonathan Dotan (EQTY Lab)
  Moderator: Shyam Nagarajan (Hedera)
• “Hello, Future? Reflecting on the Hedera Journey So Far” offered a thoughtful look at Hedera’s milestones, its evolution over the years, and the path forward for the Hedera ecosystem.
  Speakers: Miguel Carpena (ioBuilders), Brandon Davenport (Hgraph.io), Greg Scullard (Hashgraph)
  Moderator: Brandon Hargreaves (HbarBull)
• “Why Wallets Need a Refresh” dove into the key changes needed to streamline the user experience and share how these industry trailblazers are leading the charge in transforming the wallet landscape.
  Speakers: May Chan (Hashpack), Jess Houlgrave (Reown), Michael Lewellen (Blockaid)
  Moderator: Brandon Davenport (Hgraph.io)
• “DLT Pioneers in Conversation: Charles Hoskinson & Dr. Leemon Baird” was a pivotal fireside chat bringing together two blockchain visionaries to discuss the evolution of the DLT space, key industry-wide initiatives such as the DeRec Alliance, and how the industry can collaborate to move forward. i
  Speakers: Charles Hoskinson (Cardano), Dr. Leemon Baird (Hashgraph)
  Moderator: Ryan Solomon (Genfinity)
• “Enabling the Next Wave of NFT Innovation” dug into the technological and infrastructure challenges shaping the future of NFTs.
  Speakers: Michael Kantor (KiloScribe), Manu Cabrera (Kabilla), May Chan (Hashpack)
  Moderator: Ty Smith (Hashgraph)
• “Fireside With Dapper Labs’ Roham Gharegozlou” featured a conversation between Roham Gharegozlou and Devin Saxon (Hashgraph), exploring what makes digital collectibles so compelling and how intellectual property remains a frontier for on-chain innovation.
• “Fireside With Calaxy’s Spencer Dinwiddie” delved into the NBA star’s journey into blockchain, why the team chose to build on Hedera, and how Calaxy is driving innovation in the creator economy space.
• “From Combat to Creators: Consumer Use Cases Taking DLT Mainstream” took attendees to the front lines to discover ​​which consumer messages are advancing Web3 adoption and which are missing the mark.
  Speakers: Solo Ceesay (Calaxy), Robert Bryan (Karate Combat)
  Moderator: David Wachsman (Wachsman)

• “The Great Reset: Why US Crypto Policy Is Suddenly Different” featured timely discussions on the shifting regulatory landscape in the U.S. and its impact on crypto adoption.
  Speakers: Teresa Goody Guillen (BakerHostetler), Caitlin Long (Custodia Bank), Marta Belcher (Filecoin Foundation)
  Moderator: Nilmini Rubin (Hedera)
• “Fireside With Linux Foundation’s Daniela Barbosa” saw Shyam Nagarajan (Hedera) sit down with Linux Foundation’s Daniel Barbosa to discuss Hedera’s pioneering contribution of its codebase to the Linux Foundation Decentralized Trust under ‘Project Hiero.’
• “Swap, Lend, and More: A Look at DeFi on Hedera” featured a panel of builders discussing the factors behind DeFi’s recent growth and what’s on the horizon.
  Speakers: Brady Gentile (Bonzo Finance), Thodoris Karakostas (Chainlink Labs), Victor Holotescu (Buidler Labs)
  Moderator: Charles Adkins (Hedera Foundation)
• “Neuron on the Intersection of DePIN and AI” showcased CEO and Co-Founder James Dunthorne (Neuron) as he explored how Neuron’s aviation technology sets a new standard for safety in the air, and how it leverages the Hedera network for DePin and AI in its use case.
• “Wen ETF? Fireside With Canary Capital’s Steven McClurg” had Steven McClurg sit down with Gregg Bell (HBAR Foundation) to explore the current ETF landscape, what’s next for crypto ETFs, and how global market shifts are shaping the future of this emerging asset class.
• “On-Chain Stars: Projects on Hedera and Integrations to Watch” was a deep dive with Hashgraph’s Greg Scullard and Michael Garber at what’s next for the Hedera ecosystem.
• The “Closing Keynote” by the HBAR Foundation’s Charles Adkins was a forward-looking keynote discussing the Foundation’s strategic roadmap and a look at what’s ahead in areas such as AI, DeFi and tokenization.
  Speaker: Charles Adkins (HBAR Foundation)

Exploring the Technical Track

• After introducing developers and builders to the technical stage, Ed Marquez led the audience into the “Hedera 2025 — What’s Next” roadmap session which outlined upcoming advancements in the Hedera technology stack.
  Speakers: Richard Bair (Hashgraph), Ed Marquez (Hashgraph)
• “Journey of a Transaction: Navigating the Hedera Network” offered a hands-on look at how transactions flow through the Hedera network.
  Speakers: Richard Bair (Hashgraph), Jasper Potts (Hashgraph)
• “The Road to EVM Equivalence” explored Hedera’s work towards full Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility.
  Speaker: Nana Essilfie-Conduah (Hashgraph)
• “Lessons Learned Implementing dApps on Hedera: 3 Testing Tips” helped attendees gain actionable insights for building reliable, high-performance dApps on Hedera.
  Speaker: Alberto Molina (iOBuilders)
• “Smart Contracts in Any Language: How to Onboard the Next Million Developers” was a discussion on making smart contracts more accessible through multi-language support.
  Speaker: Grigore Rosu (Pi Squared)

• “Pushing the Boundaries of HCS Through On-Graph Content” introduced developers to key Hedera Consensus Service (HCS) standards that facilitate efficient file data management, recursion within the service, and dynamic NFTs.
  Speaker: Michael Kantor (KiloScribe)
• “Unlocking Programmability on Hedera: The Next Evolution of Payment Infrastructure” focused on how Actalink is revolutionizing programmability on Hedera, enabling developers and enterprises to build next-gen financial infrastructure for payments. Speaker: Sumit Kishore (Actalink)
• “Block Streams & Block Nodes: Insights and Implementations” equipped attendees with the knowledge to leverage the technical underpinnings of block streams and block nodes for advanced applications on the Hedera network.
  Speakers: Richard Bair (Hashgraph) and Jasper Potts (Hashgraph)
• “Hiero: A Vendor-Neutral Home for the Technology of Hedera and Future DLT Standards” gave the audience insights into Hedera’s open governance processes and the best practices that enable us to maintain vendor neutrality.
  Speakers: Hart Montgomery (LF Decentralized Trust) and Hendrik Ebbers (Hashgraph)
• “Tokenization Unleashed: Exploring HTS, EVM, and Hybrid Models on Hedera” took a deep dive into the future of tokenized assets on Hedera.
  Speaker: Ty Smith (Hashgraph)

After a day packed with learning and networking, attendees capped off the experience at The Ħ-Bar after-party, hosted by Hedera and Developer DAO at the iconic Meow Wolf, an immersive art collective known for its interactive installations that blend storytelling and visual art. Attendees immersed themselves in a one-of-a-kind atmosphere, complete with cocktails, snacks, and DJ sets that set the vibe.

HederaCon 2025 was more than just a conference — it was a launchpad for the next wave of innovation in the Hedera ecosystem. Whether you joined in person or are catching up now, the ideas shared will shape what’s next.

Thanks for being a part of this journey as we build the trust layer of the digital economy. Hello future!

That’s A Wrap on HederaCon 2025 was originally published in Hedera Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.