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Blockchain Life 2026 is adding artificial intelligence to its Dubai program. The 17th edition, set for Dec. 1–2 at Festival Arena, will launch an AI Future Forum alongside the main crypto track. Organizers expect more than 15,000 attendees from 130 countries, and say 65% are investors and fund representatives, based on ticket-buyer surveys.
One of the biggest changes to this year’s event is the introduction of the AI Future Forum, a dedicated track focused on artificial intelligence, robotics, emerging technologies and the intersection between AI, blockchain and business.
The new forum will operate alongside Blockchain Life 2026 at Festival Arena, with its own AI Future Stage featuring panels, expert presentations and discussions about emerging technologies.
The organizers describe the forum as a platform for exchanging practical experience, exploring new tools and examining ways technologies such as machine learning and smart contracts can work together.
The addition comes as the crypto industry increasingly explores autonomous systems and AI-powered applications, including the use of blockchain infrastructure for payments, digital identity and machine-to-machine transactions.
Dmitry Fedotov, head of emerging technologies at Abu Dhabi Global Market’s Registration Authority and a returning participant, said the new AI track comes at a time when regulators are increasingly dealing with questions around autonomous systems.
“Returning to Blockchain Life 2026 in Dubai on 1-2 December, speaking for a fourth year running,” Fedotov wrote in a September post. He added that the edition’s AI Future Forum was “a timely move,” as governance of AI and autonomous systems becomes increasingly important.
Fedotov is expected to participate in discussions around emerging technology governance, including questions involving autonomous systems and digital-asset infrastructure.
That regulatory dimension gives Blockchain Life 2026 a broader scope than a conventional crypto conference, particularly as policymakers and financial institutions assess how rapidly developing technologies should operate within existing frameworks.
Dubai’s role as the host city is another central part of the event’s positioning.
The UAE has sought to establish itself as a major destination for digital-asset companies, investors and technology businesses, with Dubai and Abu Dhabi developing regulatory frameworks and infrastructure aimed at attracting the sector.
The official Blockchain Life platform describes Dubai as a leading environment for crypto projects, citing access to capital, venture funding, government support, accelerators and a large digital-asset community among the factors behind the city’s appeal.
Dr. Marwan Alzarouni, a prominent figure in Dubai’s blockchain ecosystem, has also highlighted the concentration of capital and crypto businesses in the emirate.
“The VCs are here, the funding is here and all the big projects are actually based in Dubai,” Alzarouni said in a statement featured by the event organizers.
“The main exchanges as well are based now in Dubai and UAE. So you will see this as the ecosystem.”
The conference is therefore arriving at a time when Dubai is competing for a larger share of the global digital-asset economy, particularly in areas that extend beyond cryptocurrency trading.
For Blockchain Life 2026, that environment provides a backdrop for discussions around tokenization, institutional participation, decentralized finance, crypto infrastructure and investment.
The event is also being structured as more than a two-day conference.
Organizers are planning Blockchain Life Week, with more than 100 side events expected between Nov. 27 and Dec. 6. The wider program is designed to bring together companies, investors and industry communities through private meetings, networking sessions and other events around the main forum.
The main conference will include a global crypto exhibition, startup pitches, networking areas and the Blockchain Life Awards 2026. The startup pitch program will give emerging companies an opportunity to present their projects to investors and industry participants.
The forum will also conclude with an official afterparty on Dec. 2, with organizers advertising access for VIP attendees and speakers.
The event’s networking focus is particularly significant because organizers say 65% of expected attendees are investors and fund representatives, while founders and C-level executives account for 68% of the projected audience.
The figures are based on customer surveys completed during ticket purchases, according to the event website.
As Blockchain Life 2026 approaches, its agenda points to an industry attempting to broaden its identity beyond cryptocurrency markets. Crypto, traditional finance, artificial intelligence and emerging technology are increasingly being discussed within the same ecosystem, while Dubai continues to position itself as a meeting point for the companies and capital behind that transition.
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