Pharrell Williams on the Potential Power of Web3: ‘It’s Unlocking Something That Is Scaring the System’
At VeeCon 2022 — the first-ever NFT-ticketed conference — music mogul Pharrell Williams shared with attendees his belief that Web3 could hold the power to create real global change.
During an onstage interview with entrepreneur and event creator Gary Vaynerchuk, he said: “You come here talking to the people about the blockchain and Web3. What you should know is, this is a moment in time where everything is changing right now.
“You all are looking at these old systems—you know that they’re antiquated, you know that they don’t work. And you are standing up, and you’re saying, ‘No more.’
“Blockchain and Web3—it’s unlocking something that is scaring the system… They are working really hard to put laws together to try to legislate around your concept, your idea. You all are the most powerful human beings on this planet. You don’t know it yet.
“Yes, we’re in a recession. Yes, your crypto is gonna go down like everything else. But you know what? It’s gonna hold, because it was founded on something very different than what Wall Street was founded on,” he added.
Williams also described a couple of Web3 endeavors he’s working on, including the Gallery of Digital Assets, which he described as “a safe space for traditional artists who’ve done really well to have a place where they can transition into the digital world.”
He added, according to Decrypt, that other platforms help veteran artists enter Web3, but that it “might not be what you want it to be at the end.”
Another initiative is Black Ambition, a nonprofit program aimed at supporting startups from Black and Latinx entrepreneurs.
Black Ambition has a Web3 category, and the program provides mentorship to chosen startups along with up to $1 million in funding.