Miami hosting tech summit to help community harness vast potential of Web 3.0

With all the clamoring in Miami over the burgeoning technology industry, it seems appropriate that innovators, entrepreneurs and financiers from around the country should gather here to discuss emerging trends driving the digital economy.

From Nov. 28 through Nov. 30, the InterContinental Hotel downtown along Biscayne Bay will host the inaugural Miami Web3 Summit. Leaders in venture capital, digital assets, financial services and government will give attendees insights about how they can interact with — and capitalize on — the third generation of the internet.

Speakers ranging from Miami Mayor and tech advocate Francis Suarez to Milken Institute’s fintech director Nicole Valentine will analyze trends in cryptocurrency, the evolution of NFTs, or nonfungible tokens, and more.

Tech speaker and investor Kyle Ellicott, who helped organize the gathering, saw Miami as the ideal location because of its status as an emerging tech industry hub.

“Every two and a half or three years, we have a change in projection of where the industry is going,” Ellicott said of technology.

“We’re in that phase of change now and we’ve seen a huge discussion around institutional needs, when it comes to the platforms and services it requires for financial institutions to become more involved. We’re talking about banking and finance, venture capital and access to big funds.”

With Web 3.0 — the internet’s next generation — still in its early stages, he thinks now is the time for professionals to understand what it could mean for their jobs.

Web 1.0 was known for the early stages and commercial uses of the internet, when users were given a product such as a Yahoo search engine, to interact with. More than 25 years later with Web 2.0, users now can customize digital experiences and there’s been a proliferation of social media channels to leverage business.

Ellicott said the central purpose of the upcoming summit is to educate people from all backgrounds about Web 3.0 in an inclusive way.

Valentine of the Milken Institute sees the vast potential of Web 3.0 for financial companies. As a Black woman working in technology, she said that the next generation of the internet can thrive if Black women and other people of diverse backgrounds are included.

“It’s important that Black women have access to Web 3.0 as builders, creators, developers, and equitable earners,” Valentine said. “Black women are natural community builders and it’s important that these communities work within Web 3.0 to shape and create a digital ecosystem that provides opportunities for everyone at the digital and financial table.”

Furthermore, as the public continues to understand the risks and rewards of cryptocurrency, Ellicott said education about Web 3.0 is as important as ever.

“More education is needed, not less,” he said. “We’ve had just over a decade for all of the financial plumbing for this whole new world to take shape. This is an industry, in tech, that is interacting with everything.”

General admission ticket prices for the summit begin at $749 and provide access to each day of the Miami conference, including exhibitions, breakfast, lunch and receptions.