Real World Applications

Pantera Junior Partner Mason Nystrom led a forward-looking conversation with founders building real-world blockchain applications – where crypto quietly powers the products people already use. The discussion explored how blockchain is shifting from a financial experiment to invisible infrastructure, enabling scalable, secure, and user-owned systems across mapping, identity, and robotics. 

Ariel Seidman of Hivemapper described how decentralized contributors are building a global map that competes with Google Maps – while being rewarded in tokens that align incentives across users and customers. Jan Liphardt of OpenMind unpacked how autonomous machines use blockchains for trust and coordination, envisioning a future where robots transact with stablecoins for energy and services. Zain Zaidi of TransCrypts explained how blockchain-secured identity and employment verification are redefining digital credentials and privacy in a world of AI-generated data.