Crypto and blockchain events have always been a thrill to attend, especially when groundbreaking ideas and prominent personalities are the centrepiece. The energy and euphoria hovers amongst the thousands of enthusiastic attendees—all extremely hyped with interest and curiosity; all avidly absorbing everything around them.
Korea Blockchain Week 2025 has been no different, as companies and enterprises attended with the intention of demonstrating their products and sharing their experiences, while XION Founder Anthony Anzalone, AKA Burnt Banksy, and his team’s goal was to change the game.
Yes, that’s true; there’s always a herd of merchandise collectors. Someone in a team meeting said that the other day, and everyone present laughed because it’s true—one can only imagine they travel to events with an empty piece of luggage they are eager to fill with shirts, caps, hats, bags, and the like.
However, there is no luggage big enough to carry away all the knowledge and information one can collect at these events. What is also immensely interesting to observe is how increasingly true it is that attendees now include global personalities and figures who make a huge impact.
The rise of a new Web3 era
Korean Blockchain Week was no exception. Tens of thousands of people attended, including none other than the US President’s sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump—web3 could not be more bullish than that. What we see is the rise of a new era for cryptocurrency and blockchain. However, it’s not just individuals at the top of the industry who gain attention.
Burnt Banksy, a rising star who began his career creating an NFT from the act of burning a $98,000 Banksy, and then co-founding a $55-million VC fund called Vessel, to building XION, a multi-million-dollar project backed by Circle, Animoca, Draper Dragon, and Hashkey, in just about four years.
He’s making waves across the web3 space and beyond by not being noticed and through his unique vision—while most crypto projects, even those amongst the top 50 worldwide, go on and on about how brilliant their tech is, Burnt Banksy says his goal is to make it disappear for users.
“Why should they care about technology? Why should they know how it works? They don’t,” he says. “People should be able to use it and benefit from it as they do from electricity.”
Nobody needs to know crypto and blockchain
During the “Moving the needle on mass adoption” panel, he said XION has engaged with top brands, such as BMW, Uber, JetBlue and Emirate Airlines, among 100-plus more, “and we never mention crypto and blockchain, because they don’t need to know that they can benefit from it without having to explain gas fees, seed phrases and all the other complexities that turn people away from crypto.”
Burnt Banksy has demonstrated he is a maverick, but XION is the centrepiece of a changing world of crypto—they kicked off the KBW by lighting up the streets of Gangnam with XION Arena billboards. Emblazoned across the busiest section of Seoul, the game drew thousands of players through XION accounts.
And it did not stop there—while most at KBW were engaging with traditional media, the XION founder was out for interviews with local newspapers and radio stations.
This one-of-a-kind Web3 virtual experience came to life with God’s Legacy, a triple-A fighting game by the creators of The Witcher. With one of the largest, one-winner-takes-all prizes ($720,000) in Web3 gaming, free entry, protection against bots and easy biometric sign-in, it was the perfect launch to give everyone an incredible experience built on XION.
While the Arena drew crowds, XION was also forging relationships in confidential settings.
Many doors swayed wide open
“We held critical meetings with high-level investors to share our roadmap for a future where every digital interaction is built with bulletproof trust,” Anthony said. “We also met with Assemblyman Min Byung-deok, the chair of the Korea Blockchain Industry Promotion Association. Many doors have been widely opened.”
He said meetings like these are essential for expanding support across the Asia Pacific and help boost XION’s signal across the global Web3 community.
Anthony took the stage on high-impact panels, such as “From Assets to Payments: PayFi” and “Levelling Up: The Future of Web3 Gaming,” to demonstrate how verifiable proofs secure everyday digital interactions, ranging from micropayments to high-stakes gaming tournaments.
“Building an incredible network is more than one-off experiences — it takes long-term vision and investment,” said Anzalone. “That is why we hosted a private lunch with Foresight Ventures and Animoca Brands to explore scaling XION for mainstream developers and publishers.”
The two-pronged activation
XION also joined Injective’s Ninja Labs, BlockFesta VIP sessions, and community events, such as UKLink and KOL Play Night. Every handshake, every conversation and every late-night networking event allowed them to gain new allies and inspire everyone to think bigger.
XION’s two-pronged activation at KBW, from spectacle to strategic, paid off in media coverage. XION and Anzalone were featured in News1, Electronic Times, and the Korea Herald business section, proving that our story extends beyond crypto circles.
Coverage on Bitcoin.com and BFM 89.9 amplified the narrative to fintech, payments and mainstream tech audiences. XION is not just another blockchain project — it is building critical rails for the next internet by embedding trust into every interaction.
Dedication to APAC
Eric Trump said in Seoul: “I truly have to say every time I speak to Koreans, every time I speak to the great people of the country, I’m truly inspired. You love cryptocurrency. You’re doing it as well as anybody in the region, and you should be incredibly proud of that.”
That’s great political rhetoric. The truth, however, is that South Korea operates on mobile-first instincts. It thrives in tech culture, competitive gaming, and early Internet adoption, making it the ideal environment for XION’s design: mobile-native, walletless, USDC-as-fee, and simple account creation.
In Seoul, “we tested assumptions, listened to gamers, solicited builders’ feedback and showcased our newly released roadmap,” said Anzalone. “APAC is not a side bet; it is core to how we grow.”
Korea Blockchain Week was an accelerator for XION’s Age of Proofs. “With Arena live and relationships forming across the region, we are moving forward at a faster pace than ever,” he added. “We are scaling the chain, onboarding new communities, rolling out developer tools and delivering features that make blockchain feel ordinary.”
Anzalone concluded, stating that XION exists to make blockchain simple, accessible, and invisible. KBW was only the beginning. “We are already thinking bigger, laying the foundation for trust that is invisible in every digital interaction worldwide.”
