Today, ION closed out TOKEN2049 Dubai with a full-house fireside chat on the KuCoin Stage — a moment that brought together vision, infrastructure, and a room full of people who believe in what comes next.
Our CEO, Alexandru Iulian Florea, joined our Chairman Mike Costache for a 15-minute session titled “The New Online Is On-Chain”, diving into how ION is building a new foundation for digital life, starting with the social layer.
In the crowd: a packed audience, plenty of familiar faces from the Web3 world, and one very special guest — our global ambassador, Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The message: We’re not fixing what’s broken. We’re building what should’ve existed all along.
Iulian kept it simple and sharp:
“People don’t want to ‘go crypto.’ They just want things that work — and they want to own what’s theirs.”
That’s what ION is here to do: bring privacy, data ownership, and digital sovereignty to the apps people already use. Seamlessly. Invisibly. Without making them jump through hoops.
From messaging to login, from payments to full dApp deployment, the ION Framework bakes in decentralization without the wires poking out.
Online+ and the dApp Builder: this is how we scale
During the session, Iulian shed light on Online+, our soon-to-be-launched social dApp built for the way people actually use the Internet — the same UX people expect, but completely different rules under the hood.
He also dove into the ION dApp Builder — our upcoming no-code tool that allows anyone, from creators to community leaders to small businesses, to launch fully decentralized apps in minutes.
“We’re not here to impress. We’re here to deliver. And if we do this right, the next billion users who come on-chain won’t even realize it. They’ll just know the internet finally makes sense.”
Khabib: Present in person, aligned in values
Our global ambassador and guest of honor, undefeated UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, was in the front row for the conversation. Iulian acknowledged him not for star power, but for shared principles.
“Khabib doesn’t show up for hype. He shows up for principle. And that’s how we’re building ION — quietly, consistently, and with no shortcuts.”
Khabib put it even more simply:
“I came here because this project aligns with how I see the world — with discipline, focus, and doing things the right way.”
What’s next
Today’s fireside chat wrapped up a big week in Dubai, but it’s just the beginning.
With Online+ launching soon and the dApp Builder coming later this year, ION is moving fast toward a future where digital freedom is a default, not a perk.
If you missed the chat, we’ll be sharing clips, quotes, and takeaways over the coming days.
Until then, we’re back to building. The new online is on-chain — and it’s just getting started.