Saturday, October 11 marked the annual gathering of the student association Kryptosphère, the Krypto-tour. Born out of a desire to offer the public high-quality events at an affordable price throughout France, this edition was a resounding success.
The Krypto-tour returns to Lyon for an exceptional 4th edition!
For this 4th Krypto-tour, what better location than Lyon, the hometown of Kryptosphère president Raphael Pautard? This 4th edition is also an opportunity to welcome even more participants and guests.
This year, the event welcomes YouTuber Owen Simonin, as well as figures from the world of decentralized finance, such as Paul-Adrien Hyppolite, CEO of Spiko, Adli Takkal Bataille, co-founder of Usual, and Faustine Fleuret, Director of Public Affairs at Morpho.
The event was a great success for all Kryptosphère members. We’ve come a long way. We started out as a small, traditional event, and now we’re one of the biggest events in the French ecosystem.
Raphael Pautard, President of Kryptosphère
On the banks of the Rhône, under the metal structure of a former fire station converted into an incubator, we meet the entire team of Kryptosphère students. These young volunteers welcome more than 600 participants to H7 for a very busy day.
During the 10 hours of the event, there is only a short break for lunch. The rest of the time is filled with a series of keynotes, separated only by round tables on current topics.
In a friendly atmosphere, we meet many figures from the ecosystem. The teams from Meria, Blobb.io, Avalanche, and Bybit are present.
You can try your luck at the MEXC version of the wheel of fortune to win a cool hoodie.
Be careful, though, if you make the mistake of giving them your email address, you’ll get spammed. When we mention the European GDPR regulation, the hostess at the MEXC booth replies in English that she doesn’t know what it is.
Just enough time to chat with the growth manager of the Avalanche protocol and Jérémie Cohen, a well-known content creator in the ecosystem, and we’re off to another round table discussion.
Coexistence between public authorities and crypto companies
Among the topics discussed was the coexistence between public authorities and crypto companies, with Gilles Fedak, CEO of iExec, Valéria Faure-Muntian, General Delegate of ANACOFI, and Faustine Fleuret, Director of Public Affairs at Morpho, also co-founder and former president of the Association for the Defense of Digital Assets (ADAN).
The takeaway is that companies are eager for partnerships and development on both sides of the “spectrum”: traditional finance, banks, insurance companies, financial advisors—all want to work with companies and crypto solutions.
The gap is narrowing, although regulations and public authorities are slowing down the movement. The solution? Go and see representatives and members of parliament; continue to evangelize and communicate, as if we were still in 2017. The road ahead is still long, but the signs are encouraging!
Gilles Fedak takes the opportunity to explain the “absurdity” of the Zucman tax: “If you have $2 million in taxes to pay, you have to sell $4 million worth of Bitcoin: 25% corporate tax, then 33% income tax.”
He continues: “While in Italy there is a tax shield of $200,000, in France you pay at least $2 million. Magical.”
Then it’s Owen Simonin’s turn, aka Hasheur, to take the stage. In a packed room, the crowd waits silently for the iconic figure of the ecosystem. Owen Simonin arrives, relaxed, and begins by greeting the organizers of the Krypto-tour.
He, who no longer accepts many invitations to events, explains that he came for two reasons: to honor the “family” and to enjoy “carte blanche.” With no specific instructions, he can let loose. Which he does, with an hour-long talk on the “antics” of cryptocurrency.
The only world where you are offered money is crypto. Airdrops are unique. The only other notable example was the invitations to join Gmail with 2 gigabytes of storage in the early 2000s. Because at the time, 2 gigabytes were very valuable.
Owen Simonin
DeFi faces the challenge of mass adoption
Then comes the last round table of the day, with the big names in French decentralized finance (DeFi).
Regulators will undoubtedly revisit the taxation of crypto/stablecoin exchanges [which are currently considered crypto/crypto exchanges, and therefore untaxed, editor’s note], which would be a mistake.
Faustine Fleuret, Director of Public Affairs at Morpho
Stablecoins are at the heart of the talk “Is DeFi ready for mass adoption?” Ideal for Paul-Adrien Hyppolite, CEO of Spiko, the only French company to market a tokenized money market fund on the euro and the dollar.
According to him, “stablecoins are the equivalent of banks in the crypto world, but even more exaggerated: Tether, for example, captures all the wealth creation of the currency [via central bank rates, editor’s note], but does not provide any services as a bank would.” “
This idea is echoed by Figue, co-founder of Trevee: ”Stablecoins are both the narrative and the most important problem of blockchain.“ He adds: ”The principle of Bitcoin was to revolutionize currency. With a stablecoin that is 99% in dollars, we have just revolutionized the financing of US debt.”
However, all hope is not lost. Admittedly, the dollar accounts for 97% of stablecoins, and the two giants Circle and Tether capture virtually the entire market.
But the SG Forge initiative with Morpho gives euro stablecoins a new raison d’être, with a real use case. Especially since Donald Trump’s policy of destroying the value of the dollar is costing a lot in exchange rates. According to Adli Takkal Bataille, co-founder of Usual: “A protocol that would have yielded 15% over the year in dollars will have yielded nothing in euros because of the decline in the value of the greenback. “ This volatility is well understood by institutional investors. Paul-Adrien Hyppolite confirms this: ”Despite a higher rate of return on the dollar-tokenized money market fund compared to the euro, our clients much prefer the euro fund.”
Last important point: security
At the end of the day, the audience begins to leave H7 to get ready for the evening cocktail party. It has been a busy day, like a marathon. The first to leave miss the very interesting fire talk between Cédric Fontaine, founder and CEO of Lima Protection, and Jérémie Cohen.
Cédric Fontaine does not have the classic look of a crypto entrepreneur. A true force of nature, former military and police officer, he specializes in close protection.
Protecting people, preventing kidnappings, but also providing advice and support; this profession encompasses many facets that are little known to the general public. However, crypto-related kidnappings are skyrocketing in France, and it is now difficult for entrepreneurs in the sector not to think about their own safety or that of their loved ones. The former soldier offers simple but essential advice: “Don’t flaunt your wealth if you can’t afford close protection. “ Discretion is not enough: ”Secure your home and, above all, your loved ones.“
As he says, ”It’s rarely the influencers who are targeted, but rather their family, their inner circle.”
After the talk, everyone returns home, glancing furtively over their shoulders. Fortunately, there were no attacks or kidnappings to report during the Krypto-tour. In the evening, all the participants gathered on a rooftop to celebrate this wonderful meeting together. It was an opportunity to offer congratulations and celebrate a few birthdays.
A French crypto gathering that reflects our ecosystem: family-like, almost intimate, between figures who have known each other for years and newcomers. In a word: kindness.
The hard work put in by the Kryptosphère volunteer teams deserves congratulations! Well done for this wonderful gathering, and see you next year!
