Tokenize:LDN
I'm glad @steevc brought this to my attention as I had no idea it was even happening. I looked on the official website and noticed @wellsforall and @alessandrawhite would be presenting at the event. There were actually two conferences in one space. There was the Tokenisation one and the Fintech one. I'm highly interested in both areas so I had all the reasons I needed to attend :)
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Reaching the Excel was easy, as is most parts of London, on public transport. It was my first time ever on the Elizabeth Line. My first impressions of that line were all positive. I didn't travel in rush hour, so that may be why, but I think it's probably the best line on the London Underground network. I like the DLR (not a part of the Underground), and some of the Overground trains too. I feel these Elizabeth line trains, being so modern, would perform better in rush hour traffic. I guess I'd have to ride it one day during busy times to know for sure.
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It'd been a while since I was last at the Excel building. It looked pretty much like the last time I was there. It's been well maintained I think. I can't say the same for the immediate surroundings though. Many new towers of glass and metal have been erected in the neighbourhood since I was there but not enough to completely change the character of the place. There is still a lot of the open sky line that I remember.
Day 1
I almost missed @mcsamm's presentation, having arrived about 2 minutes after it began. I was actually on time, but I was trying to help someone I met on the platform at the train station sort out his badge. I'm quite familiar with the Wells For All project but it was still nice to witness Mr Sam's calm but masterful presentation style.
Several people asked interesting questions after the presentation, including about the underlying blockchain; Hive. I was glad to engage some people about "how Hive works" and some of the geeky aspects. It's amazing that even now in December 2025, when I'm about to enter my 9th year on this platform, some people still have never heard of us. Once the platform is explained to them, they too often can't believe they'd only just heard about "such a great idea".
There were many interesting presentations on different stages. I only had access to the "free" ones, and some schedules clashed or overlapped, but I was able to catch a few good ones. I also spoke to a few companies exhibiting on the floor of the hall. I had some Katsu Curry with rice which, interestingly enough, was what I ate at the Excel the last time I was there years ago.
Day 2
I slept in a bit since I didn't have to rush out of the house as I did on the first day since @alessandrawhite's presentation wasn't scheduled as early as @mcsamm's. I even managed to have breakfast and a chilled out coffee session at home haha. The presentation itself was magnificent and captivating. I wouldn't be surprised if a few people joined Hive afterwards. I would :)
It was on the second day that, thanks to @steevc, again, I noticed that the Christmas Market/Coffee section was sponsored by Hive. I don't know why I tuned it out on the first day but once I saw it, I couldn't unsee it, as they say :).
"THE CHRISTMAS NETWORKING MARKET"
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Perhaps the best part of the event happened after the fact. I had the privilege of hanging out with the crew for some good chats at the Hive Christmas Networking Market and, later on, in Canary Wharf where we were treated to a scrumptious dinner by @bitterirony and @alessandrawhite 🙏. It was probably some of the best vegan food I've ever had.
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I used to work in Canary Wharf but that didn't help with navigation. On the way home, I went completely the wrong direction for about 10 minutes before deciding to ask for directions to the Elizabeth Line. To be fair, the Elizabeth Line is new so it wasn't there when I worked in the area a decade ago. That's my excuse 😅
Peace & Love,
Adé
What a great post about this Event, Ade. I really enjoyed all the London pics and was good to hear Hive was present. We need not only more of those „Marketing Events“ for out Blockchain but also a System that makes especially the weeks after onboarding easier. Creating a Hive Account was not that Hard but understanding how things work here - Hive, HP, delegations, joining the right communities, create a good post etc - all that took me some time to understand but I luckily had a mentor @hatoto that gave great support during that time.
Greetings to UK!
Thomas
Thank you. We had a good time.
You're right about the onboarding process, especially communities. I think communities are key to being successful on this platform.
It was cool to get a few Hivers together and I hope we reached some others. Some I spoke too seemed interested, but it would have been good if we were set up to create accounts on the day. That is something for next time.
I got away from Canary Wharf okay, but northbound trains were messed up. At least I was able to get home in a reasonable time.
We need to get the UK more active so we get more meetups around the country.
Yes we need to revive the UK Hive spirit :)
Maybe I'll try contacting some ancient folks to see what they're up to