Newcastle | Stand with Crypto in the UK
The next stop on the Stand With Crypto UK Tour is Newcastle University, and we’re bringing post-freshers energy to the Toon!
Join us on October 17th, 2025, for a jam-packed morning of networking and game-changing pitches, featuring industry leaders including Coinbase, local start-ups, student innovators and our special guest, veteran local MP and Chair of the Science, Tech and Innovation Select Committee, Dame Chi Onwurah MP.
Expect pizza, investment insights, and fresh ideas fuelling the future of crypto and Fintech in the UK.
Meet and connect with SWC Ambassadors, innovators, and builders who are shaping the UK’s Web3 landscape.
Full speaker Line-up:
Dame Chi Onwurah MP
MP for Newcastle Central | Chair, House of Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee
Dame Chi Onwurah is the Labour MP for Newcastle Central and Chair of the House of Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Committee. A chartered engineer and former Head of Telecoms Technology at Ofcom, she has long championed innovation, digital inclusion, and the role of technology in driving economic growth. In Parliament, Dame Chi leads work on emerging technologies, research policy, and the UK’s place as a global science leader - combining her technical expertise with a deep commitment to ensuring innovation delivers opportunity across all regions of the UK.
Aadi Kulkarni
International Policy, Coinbase | Blockchain and Public Policy
Aadi Kulkarni works in international policy at Coinbase, one of the world’s leading digital asset platforms. His work focuses on shaping the global policy environment for blockchain and digital assets, supporting balanced, innovation-led frameworks that promote consumer protection, competitiveness, and responsible growth.
Adam Walker
Founder, Blockchain Pharma | Tackling Medicine Shortages with Web3
Blockchain Pharma is redefining how medicines move through the UK healthcare system. Our platform uses the power of blockchain to create a single, trusted view of the medicines supply chain, ensuring that every pack can be traced, verified, and authenticated before it reaches patients.
By connecting manufacturers, wholesalers, pharmacies and hospitals through secure, shared data, we’re helping the NHS anticipate shortages before they happen and build greater resilience into patient care.
Founded by a team of NHS and industry pharmacy leaders, Blockchain Pharma brings together technology, policy, and purpose, using digital innovation to solve one of healthcare’s most urgent challenges: ensuring patients get the right medicine, at the right time, with complete confidence in its authenticity.
Ian Griffiths
Serial Entrepreneur | Co-founder, WhoCanFixMyCar.com
After graduating with a Mathematics degree from Durham University, Ian began his career in investment banking, first in debt capital markets and later building one of the largest index arbitrage trading books in London.
Following the 2008 financial crisis, Ian co-founded WhoCanFixMyCar.com, which grew to become the UK’s leading marketplace for car servicing and repairs. Backed by leading VCs including Active Partners, Venrex, Mercia and Shell Ventures, the company scaled nationally before being acquired by a Japanese trade buyer in 2023.
Today, Ian advises VC-backed DTC businesses on data-led growth and strategy while developing a new venture at the intersection of Web2 user experience, Web3 technology, and consumer data.
Dr Bill Papapostolou
Founder, Unruggable | Blockchain Engineer & Academic
Dr Bill Papapostolou holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Newcastle University, where his research on combustion modelling produced 16 peer-reviewed papers. His background in quantitative modelling led him to algorithmic trading and ultimately to blockchain engineering.
Combining academic precision with technical innovation, Bill founded Unruggable, a Newcastle-based open-source hardware wallet and self-custody platform designed to protect users from scams and hacks.
Bill’s journey exemplifies the transition from academic research to blockchain entrepreneurship, demonstrating how local innovation can tackle global challenges in digital security.
Josh Robson
Founder & CEO, Skillora | Innovating Youth Sport & Wellbeing
Josh Robson is the founder and CEO of Skillora, an AI-powered platform using gamification and digital rewards to keep young people engaged in grassroots sport. With a background in Multidisciplinary Design Innovation (MA) and nearly a decade in product strategy, gaming, and Web3, Josh has helped introduce over 250,000 users to Web3 technologies.
Through Skillora, Josh combines gamified challenges, soft-skill development, and digital incentives to support youth mental health and long-term participation in sport. He also leads one of Sri Lanka’s largest student innovation programmes, empowering students to design solutions to UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Josh’s work highlights how Web3 and digital innovation can drive real-world impact in wellbeing and youth development.
Israel Egede
Founder, Foren | MSc Forensic Science, Teesside University
Israel Egede is a multidisciplinary technologist and MSc Forensic Science student whose work bridges blockchain development, data integrity, and forensic innovation.
Beginning his journey in biomedical science and later blockchain engineering, Israel has contributed to several high-impact blockchain projects. His passion for combining scientific rigour with emerging technology led to the creation of Foren, a pioneering platform that uses blockchain and AI to improve forensic evidence management and trust in justice systems.
At this event, Israel will share how blending scientific thinking with blockchain innovation can create new pathways for technology, transparency, and justice.
Kai Pitt-Richardson
Community Leader North East, Solana Super Team
How to get involved in Blockchain Innovation in the North East
Don’t miss this opportunity to be part of the movement. Let’s build a better digital future, together.
Spaces are limited. Reserve your spot today!
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