MANAMA, BH / ACCESS Newswire / October 6, 2025 / FinTech Forward 2025 (FF25), the region's premier strategic financial technology event, today announced that two globally renowned innovators will headline this year's edition as title speakers: Changpeng Zhao (CZ), former CEO of Binance and Dhiraj Mukherjee, Cofounder of Shazam. Their participation reflects the flagship event's growing role as a global stage for innovation, convening leaders who have transformed industries and reshaped how millions around the world engage with technology and financial services.
Zhao, widely recognised as CZ, is the founder and former CEO of Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. Under his leadership, Binance grew to serve more than 235 million users across 180 countries, offering access to over 350 digital assets. From its founding in 2017 to becoming a global leader in less than a decade, Binance's journey highlights both the scale and speed of transformation in financial technology. His insights will provide unique relevance to FF25's exploration of the future of money, markets, and global financial innovation.
Mukherjee co-founded Shazam, the revolutionary app that revolutionised how people discover and connect with music. Launched in 2002, Shazam was among the first mobile applications to harness artificial intelligence at scale, ultimately achieving more than two billion downloads worldwide. The company was acquired by Apple in 2018. Mukherjee is now widely recognised as a thought leader on responsible innovation and the future of digital ecosystems. His career highlights the power of technology to shape human experiences, making his perspective particularly valuable to FF25's conversations on creativity, disruption, and impact.
Their presence further strengthens the event's ability to convene diverse perspectives on the forces shaping the future of finance. Both will be speaking at fireside chats, CZ in a session titled "Crypto in transition: legitimacy, trust and the future of modern finance", and Dhiraj's fireside chat is set to tackle how to strategically plan for the long-term success and achieve durable, sustainable impact.
Taking place on the 8th and 9th of October 2025 at Exhibition World Bahrain (EWB), FF25 is hosted by Bahrain Economic Development Board (Bahrain EDB), leveraging the Kingdom's position as a regional financial hub and gateway to the USD 2.15 trillion GCC market. Bahrain is recognised for its agile and forward-looking regulatory framework, pioneering initiatives in areas such as open banking, digital assets, and cloud adoption. Combined with a highly skilled bilingual workforce and advanced tech infrastructure, the Kingdom has become a launchpad for fintechs and international firms expanding into the Middle East.
By welcoming visionaries such as CZ and Dhiraj Mukherjee, FinTech Forward 2025 reaffirms its status as the Middle East's leading fintech forum and highlights Bahrain's unique role as a hub for global business and a catalyst for the future of finance. For more information about FinTech Forward 2025 and to register, please click here.
For more information, please contact:
Abdulelah Abdulla
Communications Department
Economic Development Board
Phone: +973-39798919
E-mail: [email protected]
SOURCE: Bahrain Economic Development Board
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