The world of Web3 is evolving at an unprecedented pace, blending art, technology, and entrepreneurship to redefine digital ownership and creativity. In the inaugural episode of a thought-provoking discussion, hosts Michael Ros and Joe Benso sit down with Alexandre Tsydenkov, the founder of NFT Paris – one of the world’s largest NFT conferences. Tsydenkov shares his journey from art collecting to Web3 entrepreneurship, offering unique insights into the rapidly changing landscape of NFTs and blockchain-based innovation.
4th Edition – Grande Halle De La Villette ON 13-14 OF February, 2025 – www.nftparis.xyz
Transcript of the podcast
Joe Benso (Host)
All right, everybody, welcome to Tokened. This is the podcast where we cut through the noise and dive straight into what matters in Web3, NFTs, and tech culture. I’m your host, Joe Benso. Alongside me is my co-host, Michael Ross. Thank you, Michael, for being here.
This is actually our first episode, and we’re here to bring you conversations with the people shaping the future of digital ownership, culture, metaverse, and everything Web3. We’re not here to overhype or sugarcoat anything—just real talk with all the innovators, creators, and thinkers moving the space forward.
Today, we’re excited to kick things off with a big topic: NFTs and crypto going mainstream. We’ll discuss the changing face of crypto regulation, meme coins, and even touch on President Donald Trump’s approach to crypto, including the new Trump coin and how it might be rewriting the rules of crypto. We’ll also explore what this means for NFTs going mainstream and zoom out to look at where the space is headed in 2025.
To help us dive into all of this, we’ve got our special guest, Alexander, co-founder of NFT Paris. Alexander, thank you for joining us.
Alexandre Tsydenkov (NFT Paris)
GM Joe, and GM Michael, thank you for the intro. I’m excited to have a real talk today. I have a ton of things to say on this topic, so whenever you want to dive in, let’s do it.
Michael Ros (Co-Host)
I’m super excited to have you here. It’s also special because I met Joe last year at NFT Paris, which is one of my favorite conversations every year. It’s going to happen again soon. Also, Sleep.io is sponsoring and partnering with us, so I’m thrilled to have you here. Besides us, you have major brands connected to the conference, like Ledger, Animoca, and many more. It’s amazing to have you here, and I’m very happy to hear what you can share about the differences and what you’re planning for the upcoming release of the conference.
Joe Benso (Host)
Yeah, let’s get into it. Alexander, on your first question: How did NFT Paris go from a small idea—or maybe a big idea—to one of the premier destinations in Europe and the power house it is today?
Well, that’s a question I like. We did the first edition in 2022 when NFTs were booming. It was a small edition at Station F with about 1,000 people. Not many people know NFT Paris through this edition because it was the first one. In parallel, there was NFT NYC, which was booming at the time—I think it was their third event. It was the peak hype of NFTs.
There was a contrast between NFT NYC, which started small but was making a ton of money, and us, who were really a small event. We were still students at the time—I was in my last year of school. The first year, once money was there, we didn’t really benefit from it. The year after, we decided to scale. We said, “OK, the first year was a success. Let’s go from 1,000 to 20,000 attendees, from 10 booths to 100 booths.” But then the bear market came, and it was a real challenge.
How do you scale something in such conditions?
Alexandre Tsydenkov (NFT Paris)
It was a tough time, but I think it helped us because we learned a lot. We wouldn’t have learned as much if we were making a ton of money. So, we learned a ton of things, and the year after, we did the same event in the same place, perfecting some things. Now, the market is a bit back, so it’s easier for us to have this powerhouse. But all the lessons came during the tough times.
If you look at the lessons, what are the main lessons you learned from last year? And of course, I see you have another amazing venue this year.
Last year was still in the bear market, but it looked amazing. Everything was very professional, well set up, and had a great atmosphere, even though the market was tough. Now, things are different.
Michael Ros (Co-Host)
But if you look at the learnings in organizing the event, what is your biggest takeaway?
Alexandre Tsydenkov (NFT Paris)
I think it’s counterintuitive. The first year at the Grand Palais, we had a ton of people, and we made the space smaller by closing some areas. It looked super packed, but it was maybe too packed. There were a lot of queues, and people were hyped about the scale of the event, but many were frustrated. The year after, we decided to open everything, build a bigger stage, and improve logistical aspects.
But after the last mission, I figured that maybe it was better when it was packed, even though the experience wasn’t perfect. I think most of the value in an event is just being excited about having a ton of people in the same place, even if things are a bit crazy. You might not have the perfect experience in terms of queues or logistics, but I think it’s better. People are looking for human energy, so we’re trying to bring that back this year.
Another big lesson is how much side events were popping up. Side events are eating the main events, that’s for sure. So, we’re trying to counterbalance that by having a venue where you can host side events inside. We’re really trying to become a powerhouse, and I think that can only happen if you have side events. Otherwise, most people just want to do a side event, so you have to offer something that fits.
Joe Benso (Host)
Can you talk a little bit about those side events? That’s a unique approach. You have the main event, NFT Paris, but you’re also bringing in other industries. Maybe you can talk about those special events and which topics you’re most excited about as the space matures.
Alexandre Tsydenkov (NFT Paris)
This year, we have four summits: XYZ Paris, which is around AI and Web3; Ordinals Paris, which is Bitcoin and Ordinals; NFT Paris, which is fashion, culture, gaming, and art; and RWA Paris, which is around finance and Web3. So, we have much more topics than we used to. I’m excited about AI and Web3 intersections. We’re going to launch something soon around AI and Web3, which I can’t talk much about yet, but it’s going to be interesting.
AI is a topic I really like. It’s an industry that’s going to make the most sense for crypto because user experience is hard. Having AI to assist you with anything on-chain is super interesting. It’s also an industry that’s going to have a ton of developments outside of crypto, so it’s very interesting to have these innovations here all the time.
When it comes to side events, it’s more about selling space from a business standpoint. We have Apechain doing a cocktail, Lugna doing a cocktail, and Solana communities, Apechain, Nustash, Ethereum communities, and NFTFi doing a breakfast. So, there’s something for everybody inside the event. That’s what I’m interested in.
Michael Ros (Co-Host)
Is there any speaker you’re really looking forward to this year?
This year, we extended the topics. We have Microsoft, Google, and OpenAI speaking on AI, which is going to be really interesting. On the Web3 side, it’s more traditional. We have 400 speakers, but I’m excited to see what projects like Bored Ape Yacht Club and Pudgy Penguins are going to do this year. There’s a revival happening, and it’s time to see if they can transform that into reality.
I’m more bullish than I was last year in the bear market. I thought projects would look totally different when the bull market came back, but it’s not the case. It’s interesting to see the same leaders still in the space.
It’s really impressive to see such a well-run conference and event, especially during a bear market. I was there last year, and it was interesting to see the level of engagement. Curious about your thoughts on the European Web3 builders versus U.S. builders.
I think it’s a broad global space. There was definitely demand for an event in Europe, and Paris is a nice place for events. VivaTech is working very well, and it’s a big tech conference. So, it has definitely helped us. During the Biden administration, there were a lot of people coming to Paris for conferences, but now it’s changing. I’m glad for the industry overall because the U.S. is the powerhouse, and France is not currently a powerhouse in terms of builders. So, it’s a good net positive for the industry.
One of the things that attracted me to this space, especially getting into NFTs, was the idea of collaboration. The technology lends itself very well to incentivizing people to collaborate. Even through the bear market, communities like Bored Ape Yacht Club are very collaborative and international. As the space matures, people realize there are powerful incentives to collaborate. Can you talk a little bit about that?
Joe Benso (Host)
Yeah, I can talk about the collaborations for the event itself. Traveling internationally is great, and collaborations like the one with Sleep.io make it super easy to pay in crypto and find accommodations in a new city. That’s something that speaks to me as well. It’s very convenient.
Alexandre Tsydenkov (NFT Paris)
At NFT Paris, we don’t have a ton of collaborations beyond Sleep.io. We have a lot of sponsors, but we usually don’t do collabs. In the case of Sleep.io, it’s very relevant because people need to travel, so it solves the pain points of our audience. We have a deeper partnership with them, and it’s exciting for people to have everything in one place, like the DJN Hotel, where everybody’s going to be staying. It makes sense to organize side events around the same venue.
Joey, you just mentioned the NFT market. There are a lot of discussions about NFTs—what they are, whether they’re good or bad. Some people still think about monkey pictures. How do you see the perception of the word NFT nowadays, and do you see it changing?
I think it has definitely changed. At some point, there was a lot of pressure to change our brand name because NFTs had a bad connotation. But now, it’s more neutral. People still use the term NFT, even in French rap songs. It has some negative connotations because most collections dropped 98%, but people forget over time. Now, the state of NFTs is much more positive than it was two years ago. It’s almost neutral, which is why we can have NFT Paris and RWA Paris with speakers who don’t mind being attached to NFTs.
I think we’re in the expansion cycle—tons of hype, then a drop, then a slow recovery. In 10 years, it will be a thriving industry. We just need time.
Do you remember your first NFT?
Alexandre Tsydenkov (NFT Paris)
My first NFT was on Nifty Gateway. I spent a lot of money on very expensive stuff at the wrong time. I pivoted quickly and made some money on the Tezos ecosystem before returning to Ethereum. I don’t remember the first one, but it was part of the Nifty Gateway collections.
Do you have a grail NFT that you either have or wish you had?
Alexandre Tsydenkov (NFT Paris)
I can’t talk about it right now. I’ve been focusing on unknown collections, and we’ll see how it goes. It’s either a complete loss or something big, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to share low-cap stuff.
A lot of technologies are coming together—AI, generative AI, art, and NFTs. As more utility comes to the space, and with things like meme coins shaking up the industry, what’s your take on how this is bringing the masses into the space and what it means for NFTs and Web3?
Alexandre Tsydenkov (NFT Paris)
I think it’s definitely a net positive. The U.S. is the main place of innovation in the space. In 2021, 80% of the companies and sponsors at NFT Paris were from the U.S. The fact that we have clear regulations now is very bullish. I’m all for experimentation, innovation, and regulation later. That’s what we tend not to do in Europe, where we want to regulate things before they happen.
I think it’s very bullish because we’re going to see a ton of people launching things. Of course, there will be scams, and people will lose money, but overall, it’s necessary. If you want one good thing, you need a hundred bad things. It’s the reality, and you need economic incentives. I think this is all going to happen really fast, and it’s like the Wild West again. I’m really excited, and I think we’re all very lucky to be in this industry, which is not mature enough yet. It needs these Wild West conditions to have new stuff.
Next year, we might see meme coins as a new topic at NFT Paris. We hesitated this year because there’s too much overlap with the audience. We have a meme coin panel, but I don’t know if we need a meme coin conference. Most meme coin founders are anonymous, and projects change quickly. It’s hard to create a conference around that.
Joe Benso (Host)
Is there anything you want people to take away from this year’s event?
This year is really a year of experimentation for us. Bringing these summits together—AI, Ordinals, RWA, and NFT Paris—is exciting. I’m looking forward to seeing what the finance people tell the AI people and what the meme coin guys say. It’s very uncommon to have all these people in the same place, and I think we did it by having different brands. I’m excited about the potential opportunities that would have never happened otherwise. Our role is to bring collaborations that you can’t do if you don’t meet in person.
Joe Benso (Host) We have a segment of rapid-fire questions for you, Alexander. Are you up for it?
Alexandre Tsydenkov (NFT Paris) Sure, let’s do it.
Michael Ros (Co-Host) Minting at 3 a.m. or waiting till the floor drops?
Alexandre Tsydenkov (NFT Paris)
Alexandre Tsydenkov (NFT Paris) Minting at 3 a.m.
Michael Ros (Co-Host) AI or Web3?
Alexandre Tsydenkov (NFT Paris) Web3.
Michael Ros (Co-Host) PFP NFTs or utility NFTs?
Alexandre Tsydenkov (NFT Paris) PFP NFTs.
Joe Benso (Host)(Co-Host) Hodl or flip?
Alexandre Tsydenkov (NFT Paris) Hodl.
Joe Benso (Host) Bored Apes or Pudgy Penguins?
Alexandre Tsydenkov (NFT Paris) Bored Apes.
Michael Ros (Co-Host) That was a perfect one to finish with. Really looking forward to seeing you in a few weeks in Paris. Thank you for joining us today and being a part of Sleap.io. Congrats on last year’s event, and looking forward to this year’s event.
Thank you, Michael. Thank you, Joe.
