Welcome & Introduction | Kartik Talwar at Pragma Tokyo 2026

ETHGlobal Co-founder Kartik Talwar opens Pragma Tokyo 2026 by welcoming more than 400 attendees from 35 countries and connecting the summit with the 600-person ETHGlobal Tokyo hackathon. He explains Pragma’s purpose, a single-track, non-technical conference where founders and executives share what they are building, what they have learned, and where crypto and web3 are heading. The format is designed to make every session accessible, avoid schedule conflicts, and give attendees direct access to the people shaping the industry. Talwar previews a full day focused on Japan’s crypto market, Ethereum, tokenized stocks, real-world assets, stablecoins, self-custody, payments, institutional finance, AI agents, and production-ready software. Featured organizations include bitFlyer, the Ethereum Foundation, ENS, Backpack, Rakuten Wallet, Alpaca, Curvegrid, HashPort, SuzuPay, AWAJ, Secured Finance, Securitize, and Startale. The introduction frames Pragma as a practical look at how regulation, infrastructure, and products can bring onchain finance to wider audiences. 00:00 Introduction and Welcome to Pragma Tokyo 00:20 ETHGlobal Hackathons and Summits 00:35 ETHGlobal Tokyo Hackathon Overview 01:15 Why the Conference Is Called Pragma 01:44 Single-Track and Accessible Format 02:13 Founders, Future Trends, and Practical Ideas 03:00 Twelve Sessions and Direct Speaker Access 03:19 Attendees and Event Partners 04:02 Morning Fireside Chats and ENS 04:54 Tokenized Stocks and Global Markets 05:21 Japan Regulation and Agentic Finance 05:59 AI Software and Self-Custody 06:33 Payments, DeFi, and Institutional Repo 07:13 Securitize and Startale Sessions 07:55 Opening Remarks and First Session _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇯🇵 *Pragma Tokyo 2026* Pragma Tokyo 2026 was held on September 25th at the Toranomon Hills Forum in Tokyo, Japan and was an in-person summit for builders and leaders in the web3 ecosystem. Watch the full Pragma Tokyo 2026 YouTube Playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLT7ZDw43Z98U ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow Kartik Talwar X: https://x.com/kartiktalwar ✅ Follow ETHGlobal X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCfF9ZO8Ug4xk_AJd4aeT5HA _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship? 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city