New Delhi: The second edition of the News9 Global Summit began today in Stuttgart. Due to the TV9 Network, the event attracts Indian-German leaders. It is about “Democracy, Demography, Development: India-Germany Connect”. In a period of more than two days, various speakers discuss trade, sustainability, and technological relationships between the countries.
In one of the midday sessions on digital innovation, Jerome de Tychey appeared on the stage. He is the founder and CEO of Cometh, a French blockchain gaming startup, and president of Ethereum France, so he was providing a sharp call to action. He focused his speech on the topic of ‘Technology: Innovate or Perish’. De Tychey emphasised that blockchain should develop rapidly in order to resist the global changes.
According to de Tychey, a third of French citizens own cryptocurrency, one out of ten. He cited a 2024 Chainalysis report indicating that France had an adoption rate of about 10% of crypto. The proportion is almost one out of four among those below 35 years. Young people regard blockchain as the means of actual change. This influx is in line with what Ethereum France is doing.
De Tychey made it easy for newcomers. The cost of establishing a blockchain wallet is free. It is just as simple as taking an email address. He emphasised the open-source background of Ethereum. “This lets anyone build on it. You are suddenly full of infinite value, safe and boundaryless in your pocket.” Cometh embodies this. The platform, which is a mixture of gaming and DeFi, was launched in 2021. NFTs are owned by the players as actual assets. It raised funds of $10 million, and it now has biometrics to facilitate painless logins.
He tackled risks head-on. Any asset transfer system is associated with money laundering risks. De Tychey quoted UN statistics: 95 per cent of the worldwide laundering occurs through cash. “Blockchain flips that. Its public register allows it to be more easily and securely tracked as compared to anonymous bills.” The recent PSAN laws in France support this. They allowed such firms as Cometh to be active legally and increase trust.
The ethics of AI and green energy were subsequently covered by panels. His words reverberated 25 years of relations between India and Germany: stagnate, and tech leaves you behind.
