Start your day in the Networking Pavilion: a space for registration, coffee, and conversation. Meet fellow attendees, reconnect with industry peers, and ease into the day’s agenda with time to connect and engage before sessions begin.

 Framing the day’s discussions, this address invites us to align on purpose, potential, and the shared path forward for Australia’s digital future.

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Paul Derham - Paul Derham, MC and Chair of DECA

The Gold Coast Council opens the Digital Economy Conference with a message of welcome and support. As a city embracing innovation and economic growth, the Gold Coast is proud to host this national conversation on the future of technology, business, and opportunity.

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Mayor Cr Tom Tate - City of Gold Coast

This address outlines Australia’s direction in the digital economy, highlighting priorities across innovation, infrastructure, and financial systems. It reflects on the evolving role of digital assets, regulation, and national capability in shaping a secure, competitive, and forward-looking digital future.

This session presents new insights into how blockchain and digital assets are contributing to the Australian economy. From innovation and job creation to productivity and investment, we explore the data behind the sector’s growth and the benefits it brings to the nation.

​The Australian Computer Society addresses the digital asset and Web3 community to share its perspective on national capability, professional standards, and the evolving technology landscape. This address reflects on the role of builders in shaping Australia’s digital and economic future.

More information coming soon

As financial infrastructure evolves, traditional banks and global networks are leading innovation in payments. This session brings together key players to explore how trust, scale and collaboration are driving the future of banking, digital commerce and financial connectivity across Australia and beyond.

Quantum computing is moving closer to reality. This session explores what a quantum future means for blockchain security, how protocols are adapting, and why preparing now is critical to protecting digital infrastructure, assets and trust in the years ahead.

Sushmita Ruj - University of New South Wales

Trade digitalisation promises speed, transparency and efficiency - but how does that translate in practice? This session explores the lived experience of businesses navigating digital trade systems, highlighting progress, pressure points and what is needed to ensure technology delivers meaningful outcomes.

Autonomous agents are emerging as powerful actors in blockchain systems and digital economies. This session explores how agentic technology is being built into Web3 infrastructure, transforming how we coordinate, transact, and create value across decentralised networks and digital asset platforms.

In an increasingly digital and interconnected world, businesses are under pressure to scale quickly while maintaining operational control, compliance, and efficiency. This session explores how the convergence of cloud infrastructure and intelligent business management platforms enables organisations to streamline operations, adapt to local and global demands, and build agile, future-ready systems.

Digital asset platforms are evolving beyond trading. This session explores how products like custody, staking, payments and onramps are shaping a new generation of services that prioritise utility, access and long-term engagement across the digital asset and Web3 economy.

Payments are evolving through new technologies, smarter infrastructure and global connectivity. This session explores how leading innovators and regulators are shaping a payment landscape built on trust, efficiency and integrity across digital rails, value transfer, compliance expectations and cross-border ecosystems.

Global digital asset businesses are looking to Australia for clarity, innovation and opportunity. This conversation explores what attracts international players, where alignment is emerging across borders, and how Australia is positioning itself in the evolving global digital asset economy.

As systems become increasingly integrated and data flows nonstop, digital identity sits at the core of the connected economy. This session explores how identity, infrastructure and trust frameworks are evolving to support secure, seamless experiences in a real-time digital environment.

Tokenisation is unlocking new ways to access, trade and manage real-world assets. This session explores how financial systems are evolving through asset-backed innovation, increased transparency and efficiency, and what this shift means for markets, institutions and global capital flows.