The Bitkub Summit 2025 gave me mixed emotions. Here are my reviews:
1. 50k people attended, showing huge interest in crypto amongst Thai’s (this is great)
2. Tickets were free, so shouldn’t be compared to large crypto events like Token2049, which attracts 25k people
3. Most of the attendees were curious to learn - a lot were students, enthusiasts, aspiring builders, retail traders, and passerby’s versus established builders or institutional investors
4. A lot of other categories got clubbed in, such as AI and longevity (crypto volatility burned a lot of retailers so this could be the organizer’s way of attracting more exhibitors and attendees)
Overall, I’m glad that there are crypto events of this scale happening in Thailand and that education is happening quickly.
We can expect more tech startup founders to emerge from these types of events.
Here are a few ways I think they could’ve done better:
1. Push for adoption, not just education (NFT tickets, crypto-related missions; claim this free token and exchange it for your coffee, play & earn games, gamify with actual merchants/exhibitors, etc)
2. Attract international builders. Builders can revive blockchains (think Polymarket on Polygon). KUB chain could use some international action. What would it take to put Bitkub & Thailand on the global stage? A few ideas: A) position as a distribution channel for large foreign defi protocols into Thailand (attracting Thai liquidity via KUB incentives), B) piggyback the new 0% tax laws to attract foreign builders to relocate build, C) fund more local builders provide mentorship to increase the nation’s output and reputation
3. Use Affi Connect. Someone came to me at the event and said “I wish everyone here was on your app - it would be way better”. It’s true. Attendees would’ve had a way better networking experience. I believe the value of an event is in the connections you make — for both exhibitors and attendees. Now imagine having to shake 50,000 hands to identify 10 relevant business connections? Highly inefficient and actually impossible. Affi Connect solves this. Users can simply browse professionals nearby (like Tinder for Biz Partnerships) and send messages. We partner with events for free.
Overall, I had mixed feelings because on one hand, I was happy to see Thailand hitting a high number of attendees. However, on the other hand, I saw that we could improve on the quality of attendees. We need more movers & shakers (founders & investors), not just enthusiasts!
PS - I’m in no way affiliated with Bitkub. What I care most about here is advancing Thailand and the ecosystem as a whole. From the crypto lens, Bitkub is probably Thailand’s best shot (as it stands). As a startup guy who has followed their journey, I’m also cheering for them to win big, especially because they’ve faced adversity against a local conglomerate. It would be a big win for the Thai startup ecosystem and could lead to the “Bitkub Mafia” (PayPal reference, iykyk).