Why RWA Builders Should Rethink Events: The Real Playbook for Conferences, Community, and Growth in 2025

How do you get users when every event is expensive, every conference looks shiny, and every organizer promises “exposure”?

This article breaks down lessons from Block Chat #124, where Denis Petrovcic, CEO at Blocksquare, and Julia Buchholz, CMO at Blocksquare, talked openly about what actually works when choosing events and building community as an RWA founder. Their experiences span Australia, Singapore, New Zealand, and Europe, across both crypto-native and traditional real estate sectors. Their insights point to a simple truth that most startups miss: your ability to pick, use, and reuse events can be the difference between a marketplace that grows and one that stalls.

Let’s break it down.

The RWA Landscape: Why Conferences Feel Like Two Different Worlds

One challenge that keeps coming up is that RWA builders operate in two completely different universes.

On one side you have the crypto crowd. Tech savvy. Fast moving. Comfortable with volatility. They know what Bitcoin is, they know what Ethereum is, and they want to see smart contracts, composability, and yield. Julia captured the momentum after attending Token 2049 in Singapore. She said she saw “a completely new industry coming in” as bigger players actively sought RWA solutions .

On the other side, you have traditional real estate. This audience is experienced, structured, and cautious. They understand loans, titles, balance sheets, and risk frameworks. They do not care about crypto. They care about clarity and compliance. As Denis explained, when you talk to them, “everybody knows how a bank loan works,” and that makes the RWA model easy to explain once you speak their language .

These two audiences almost never show up at the same event. And that is exactly why RWA startups often waste money: they try to target both at once.

Why Crypto Conferences Still Matter for RWA

Even though crypto events are expensive, they still offer something you cannot get anywhere else. At a crypto conference, people are already invested in learning, networking, and experimenting. Julia explained:

This matters. Because when you show up in person, you stop being another Telegram username. You become someone they trust, and that changes partnerships, BD conversations, and investor interest.

Crypto events are also where early adopters live. You need these people because they test your ideas long before enterprise customers take you seriously.

But here is the trick:

You do not need a booth at every crypto event. You do not need to be a sponsor. If you are early stage, showing up and networking is usually enough.

Traditional Real Estate Events: Slow, Serious, and Exactly Where Adoption Will Happen

The big shift in 2025 is happening in the traditional property world. The Urban Land Institute (ULI) Accelerator Program is the perfect example. Blocksquare was accepted as the only tokenization provider in a cohort backed by nearly 50,000 real estate professionals worldwide .

This matters because real adoption will come from organizations that already control real estate development, financing, and management. They do not move as fast as crypto, but they move with more weight.

As Julia put it:

Traditional events have one big advantage. They are full of decision makers with properties, capital, clients, and established distribution channels. If even one of them understands your value, your marketplace wins.

But you need to show up prepared. These audiences do not want hype. They want clarity and credibility.

Local Events: The Most Powerful Strategy Most Startups Ignore

During the chat, Denis made a point most founders overlook:

If you want traction, start local.

A local gathering might give you ten times the attention of a global event because you are the only one doing tokenization in that room. These are people who understand your geography, your laws, your property markets, and your investment culture.

Denis said it best:

When you build a base of 50 to 100 committed local supporters, you get something scalable: referrals.

Julia shared a perfect example. A workshop in Mandurah was so effective that they turned it into a monthly online session. Same content. New audience. Higher leverage.

This is the kind of consistency that compounds.

How Regional Hubs Multiply Your Reach

One of the most effective ways to scale these local efforts is through regional hubs, a structure Blocksquare created to help marketplace operators build visibility without heavy costs.

Regional hubs give you:

• local branding power

• event funding support

• community-building infrastructure

• access to Blocksquare resources

• credibility inside your market

Denis emphasized how critical local presence is, which is exactly why regional hubs exist. They allow any operator or aspiring operator to anchor themselves in their city and become the trusted educational center for tokenized real estate.

Julia reinforced the value of this model when she talked about how workshops, meetups, and educational sessions create interest far deeper than ads or sponsorships ever could.

If you want to grow distribution, a regional hub is one of the smartest ways to start.

If You Are Bootstrapping, Here’s the Event Strategy That Works

Here is a model Denis and Julia essentially mapped out across the conversation:

1. Local events first

They bring the highest trust for the lowest cost.

2. Crypto conferences for networking

Do not overspend early. Focus on conversations.

3. Traditional real estate conferences for partnerships

This is where institutional adoption happens.

4. Monthly webinars

Present once. Reuse forever.

5. Collaboration with other operators

RWA operators are not competitors. They are accelerators. Julia mentioned that leads often reference other marketplaces they admire.

6. Be consistent

In Julia’s words:

The Adoption Curve Is Here

The energy is shifting. Denis shared how different things were in 2018. Nobody cared about tokenization then. They had to buy their own car park just to tokenize something and prove it worked. Today, institutions are asking for demos, frameworks, and integration plans.

This is the clearest signal yet: real adoption is starting. And the startups who show up now will own tomorrow.

Final Thoughts: Events Matter, But Community Wins

Events are not about stages or booths or sponsorship badges. They are about people. Conversations. Trust. Follow-ups. Education.

As Denis Petrovcic and Julia Buchholz made clear throughout Block Chat #124, the founders who show up, teach consistently, and build locally will be the ones who stay ahead as tokenization moves into the real estate mainstream.

If you want an edge in 2025, you need community. And the fastest way to build one is through a regional hub.

Start a Regional Hub in Your City

If you want to grow fast, build authority, and become the face of tokenized real estate in your region, your first step is simple:

👉 Register as a Blocksquare Ambassador.

It takes minutes, and it gives you access to:

• regional hub opportunities

• event support

• materials and training

• direct guidance from Blocksquare

• the chance to build your own local investor community

• an opportunity to learn from each other and explore local tokenization challenges and opportunities

If you want to shape the future of RWA in your city, this is where you start.

Just say “I want to register as an ambassador” and sign up here.