Paris Blockchain Week 2025 convened the industry’s top experts for key announcements, engaging discussions, and high-level networking from April 8-10 at the Carrousel du Louvre, attracting around 9, 600 participants from 95 countries to explore Web3 innovations. A notable highlight was Fastex and Bahamut, an EVM-based layer-1 public blockchain, which introduced a unique consensus called proof-of-stake-and-activity (PoSA). Pavel Aramyan, Fastex’s Web3 program lead, presented Bahamut’s approach that enhances traditional proof-of-stake by weighting validator rewards based on on-chain smart contract usage. Validators deploy smart contracts tied to their nodes, accumulating “activity” that raises their chance to propose blocks and earn higher rewards. Complementing the main event, the Paris Blockchain Week Hackathon (April 5-6), organized by BizThon with Solana Foundation and XRPL Commons at VO2 Offices, featured three tracks including the Bahamut challenge. Eleven teams competed to integrate PoSA into decentralized applications (DApps), competing for a €10, 000 prize pool. Winners included: - 1st (€5, 000): Looser Bracket – “Gaming Meets Liquidity” - 2nd (€3, 000): Rod For Bahamut – “Boost Smart Contract Earnings with PoSA” - 3rd (€2, 000): Monolith – “Memes Coin Launchpad” - Special Recognition: Pixamut – “AI Pixel Wars on Bahamut Chain, ” earning priority for Bahamut Foundation Grants On April 7, Fastex hosted the “Future Confidence Conference” near Notre Dame, unveiling a roadmap featuring PercentMe, a DeFi lending protocol on Bahamut, and consumer products like YoWallet, YoHealth, YoPhone, YoSIM, and YoBlog. Meri Mirijanyan, head of payments at Fastex, highlighted the merging of traditional finance and crypto, noting 70% of Fortune 500 companies’ growing crypto interest.

She stressed the Fastex Card’s global usability via Mastercard, designed to simplify and secure everyday payments. On April 9, Fastex’s chief legal officer Vardan Khachatryan spoke on “The Influence of Digital Assets in the Global Economy” panel. He emphasized that clear stablecoin regulations are critical for mainstream institutional adoption of tokenized money. Together with industry leaders from Animoca Capital, Flipster, Freedx, and Paybis, he highlighted the need for regulatory clarity to advance broader digital asset integration. The week concluded with a vibrant party at La Machine du Moulin Rouge, gathering over 2, 000 attendees including developers, founders, investors, and policymakers. Sponsored by Fastex, the event transformed PBW’s energy from formal sessions to celebration, featuring house and downtempo music into the early morning, alongside lounges for networking and deal-making. This informal setting fostered collaboration and inspired attendees with fresh connections and momentum. To learn more about Fastex, PoSA, and the Bahamut blockchain, visit their official channels. Disclaimer: Cointelegraph does not endorse the content or products mentioned. Readers should conduct their own research before making decisions, as this article is for informational purposes and not investment advice.