HODL 2025 officially opened at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai on May 15, 2025, for a two-day program focused on crypto regulation, digital-asset risk, DeFi, tokenisation, compliance and blockchain banking. Trescon organized the event, which was scheduled for May 14–15. Its opening announcement also said that DIFC Governor Essa Kazim announced a Dubai Future Finance Week planned for 2026.
What was HODL 2025?
HODL 2025 was a Dubai conference organized by Trescon. HODL’s official website describes the event as the renamed continuation of the World Blockchain Summit. The organizer’s opening release said the series had held 29 global editions since 2017; that figure is Trescon’s description of its own event series.
The conference brought together discussions of digital assets and finance. The announcement reported sessions on crypto regulation, insurance and digital-asset risk, decentralised finance (DeFi), tokenisation, compliance and blockchain banking. These are reported program topics, not evidence that the event itself changed regulation or financial markets.
When and where was HODL 2025 held?
HODL was scheduled for May 14–15, 2025, at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai. Trescon’s May 15 opening-day release said the event officially opened that day and described it as a two-day conference. The organizer’s May 2 advance announcement projected more than 5,000 attendees; the opening-day material does not provide a final attendance count, so that number should be understood as a forecast, not verified attendance.
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What was on the program?
Crypto regulation and compliance
A day-one panel titled “Crypto rulebook: Global best practices and regulatory measures” was moderated by Saqr Ereiqat, Secretary General of the Dubai Digital Asset Association. The opening release listed Dyma Budorin of Hacken, Samir Safar-Aly of the MENA FinTech Association, Erwin Voloder of the European Blockchain Association and Belal Jassoma of DMCC as panelists. The release also reported discussion of compliance and regulatory approaches.
Insurance and digital-asset risk
The program included a session on insurance and digital-asset risk, with Relm Insurance CEO Joseph Ziolkowski among the named participants. The organizer’s release quoted Ziolkowski describing insurance as a “$6 trillion market,” but it gave no source, measurement year or geographic scope for that figure. It therefore should not be treated as a verified current estimate.
Other speakers and participants
The opening announcement also named Corbin Fraser of Bitcoin.com, Nils Andersen-Röed of Binance, Gracy Chen of Bitget, Rifad Mahasneh of OKX and Robert Crossley of Franklin Templeton. This is not necessarily a complete speaker roster. Trescon listed Liquid Loans as platinum sponsor and named Coinvoyage, Tata Consultancy Services, Gofaizen & Sherle, Facephi, Skygate Network, FMCPay, Pays Solutions and PEP among other sponsors. These listings describe event-reported participation, not endorsements.
What is Dubai Future Finance Week?
According to Trescon’s opening-day announcement, DIFC Governor Essa Kazim announced an inaugural Dubai Future Finance Week planned for 2026 during HODL’s opening ceremony. The release described it as bringing together several finance-related events. That announcement confirms the plan as reported in May 2025; it does not establish whether or how the initiative was subsequently implemented.
Does HODL show Dubai is becoming a global financial innovation hub?
Trescon presented HODL as contributing to the Emirates’ position as a global financial innovation hub, and its founder and chairman, Mohammed Saleem, said the company was proud to contribute to Dubai’s vision of becoming a global financial powerhouse. Those statements express the organizer’s view. The event announcements cited here do not provide an independent measure showing that HODL advanced Dubai’s standing, attracted a verified number of attendees, or produced lasting financial or regulatory outcomes.
For readers assessing the significance of the summit, the distinction is important: the conference took place, the organizer reported a program and a finance-week announcement, and the attendance figure was a pre-event projection. Those facts describe the event; they do not independently prove broader economic impact.
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