TOKEN2049 is a series of crypto and Web3 conferences, and its main Singapore edition ran October 7 and 8, 2026, at Marina Bay Sands. The organizer states a scale of more than 25,000 attendees, 300 speakers, and 500 exhibitors, and its published agenda included several sessions on AI agents and blockchain payments. A session title shows what a speaker planned to discuss, not whether the product described works, so the AI claims made at such events are best checked against specifications and published usage data.
Key takeaways
- TOKEN2049 Singapore took place on October 7 and 8, 2026. The organizer's own Singapore page gives two figures, 25,000+ attendees and 15,000 people, so counts should be read as approximate.
- The series began on March 20 and 21, 2018, in Hong Kong. The Dubai edition was postponed from April 21 and 22, 2026, to the same dates in 2027, and Singapore returns on October 6 and 7, 2027.
- The day-one agenda listed AI sessions such as "The Agent Economy: Why AI Needs Crypto." The agenda has no stage or track devoted to AI.
- The x402 payment standard for AI agents moved to the Linux Foundation in 2026. Its public releases list members but report no usage figures.
What TOKEN2049 is
A press release from February 2018 announced the inaugural TOKEN2049 conference for March 20 and 21, 2018, at the Kerry Hotel in Hong Kong. The brand now runs as two main editions, one in Singapore and one in Dubai, each with its own dates, venue, and attendance claims. The organizer asks that figures from one edition not be applied to the other.
For Singapore, the organizer describes more than 25,000 attendees, more than 7,000 companies, over 300 speakers, more than 500 exhibitors, and more than 1,000 independently organized side events across the city during the conference week. Its Singapore page also carries a line describing 15,000 builders, investors, founders, and operators in one place, so the page is not consistent with itself. No independent count was located, so these are promotional figures from the organizer.
The editions in 2026 and 2027
| Edition | Dates | Venue | Status as of October 24, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singapore 2026 | October 7 and 8, 2026 | Marina Bay Sands | Held |
| Dubai 2026 | April 21 and 22, 2026 | Madinat Jumeirah | Postponed on March 13, 2026 |
| Dubai 2027 | April 21 and 22, 2027 | Madinat Jumeirah | Announced; tickets on sale |
| Singapore 2027 | October 6 and 7, 2027 | Marina Bay Sands | Announced; tickets on sale |
The organizer's notice on the Dubai postponement cites ongoing uncertainty in the region and its effect on safety, international travel, and logistics. It describes the move as a postponement, not a cancellation. Registered tickets carry over to 2027, and holders could ask to transfer to Singapore instead.
Where AI appeared on the Singapore agenda
The agenda page groups sessions by stage, and the stages carry company names such as OKX, BingX, MEXC, and Bit Digital. None is labeled as an AI stage. The page, as read on October 24, 2026, showed the first of three pages of sessions, so the table is a sample from day one, not a full count.
| Session title (as published) | Stage and listed time |
|---|---|
| Crypto x AI: Funding the Next Industrial Revolution | BingX Labs Stage, 10:20 am |
| AI Agents Trading on the Blockchain | BingX Labs Stage, 11:00 am |
| Making AI and Finance Private by Default | BingX Labs Stage, 11:20 am |
| The Agent Economy: Why AI Needs Crypto | OKX Main Stage, 4:35 pm |
| Bitcoin for the Agentic Economy: The Next Frontier in Payments | Bit Digital Stage, 4:45 pm |
The common thread is software agents that pay for services or trade on their own. The titles are the organizer's descriptions of planned talks. This article does not summarize what was said in them, because no transcript or neutral record was found.
The payment standard behind the agent talks
One concrete piece of infrastructure in this area is x402, an open standard built on the HTTP 402 "payment required" status code. On the project's site, an AI agent sends a request, receives a payment-required response, pays in stablecoins, and then gets access, without creating an account or managing an API key.
The Linux Foundation announced on April 2, 2026, that Coinbase was contributing the protocol, which Coinbase, Cloudflare, and Stripe had initially developed. Initial participants included Amazon Web Services, Google, Mastercard, Microsoft, Shopify, Stripe, and Visa. On July 14, 2026, the Foundation announced its operational launch and said 40 organizations had joined since April. On October 1, 2026, it named Michael Hursta executive director and reported more than 50 active members. None of these releases gives transaction volume or adoption data, and the agenda titles read for this article do not name x402. Membership shows interest from companies, not use by customers.
Checks that apply to any conference claim
- Is there a published specification or code that can be read?
- Is the product live, on a test network, or only a proposal?
- Does an independent party report usage, or only the company that built it?
- Is the AI doing the work, or is AI only the label on a payment or token project?
- Is the speaker also a sponsor or an issuer of a token?
This article reports events and says nothing about the value of any token or the merits of any purchase. Anyone weighing a financial decision linked to AI and crypto can consult a licensed professional and a regulator's investor materials.
FAQ
When and where was TOKEN2049 Singapore 2026?
The main conference was held on October 7 and 8, 2026, at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. A week of side events surrounded it.
Is TOKEN2049 Dubai still happening?
Yes, on a new date. The 2026 edition was postponed on March 13, 2026, and the organizer now lists April 21 and 22, 2027, at Madinat Jumeirah.
Does TOKEN2049 have an AI track?
The published agenda has no AI stage or track label. AI sessions appeared among sessions on the main stages, with titles about agents, privacy, and payments.
Are AI agent payments in wide use?
No public figure found supports that claim. The Linux Foundation's x402 releases name members but report no usage numbers, so scale remains unestablished.
Related reading
- What counts as an AI crypto project
- AI tools used in crypto markets
- AI-labeled coins and the banking sector
- A verified funding timeline for Cohere
More in AI news.
Last verified: October 2026
Sources
- TOKEN2049, event pages for Singapore and Dubai, agenda for October 7, 2026, and organizer reference file, 2026
- TOKEN2049, "TOKEN2049 Dubai 2026 event update," March 13, 2026
- PR Newswire, "TOKEN2049 Attracts Global Industry Enthusiasts to Discuss the Future of the Token Economy," February 2018
- x402 project overview, 2026
- Linux Foundation, "Linux Foundation is Launching the x402 Foundation," April 2, 2026
- Linux Foundation, "Operational Launch of x402 Foundation," July 14, 2026
- Linux Foundation, "Michael Hursta appointed Executive Director of the x402 Foundation," October 1, 2026