I connected an AI agent to my own wallet through scoped, revocable permissions — never my keys — and kept a six-month dry-run journal before letting it touch real funds. You'll leave with the permission-not-possession pattern, what the journal caught that I didn't, and why the industry's custody shortcut isn't the only way.

Futures Worth Building, Talent & Workforce [placeholder]

In blockchain, proof of work shows that real effort was done. In your career, open source is your proof of work: a public, verifiable record of how you solve problems, respond to code review and collaborate with others.

That record matters more than ever. AI can now write code and generate pull requests, so what makes a developer worth hiring, promoting or trusting with critical systems? And in Web3, where many teams are distributed and hiring is global, contributions often matter more than a CV.

This panel brings together maintainers, contributors and people who hire engineers to share real stories and practical advice:

• What employers look for now: which skills have gained value, and which have lost it.

• Standing out: building a visible track record without green-square farming or AI-generated PRs.

• Using AI well: making it your advantage rather than a replacement for understanding.

• Where open source leads: paths into Web3 and decentralized teams, and growing from contributor to maintainer and leader.