Press Release
Five Global Megatrends Highlighted at Open Dialogue Expert Forum at the Russia National Centre
Moscow, Russia – 31/01/2026 – (SeaPRwire) – Expert Dialogues were held for the first time within the Open Dialogue framework at the Russia National Centre in Moscow on 30 January. The forum focused on five major megatrends shaping global economic, technological, and social development, bringing together international experts to explore how these forces will influence societies and industries in the decades ahead.

Organized by the Russia National Centre in partnership with the Centre for Cross-Industry Expertise “The Third Rome” and supported by the Presidential Executive Office, the forum brought together experts from around the world to discuss economic, technological, and social transformations.
Maksim Oreshkin, Deputy Head of the Russian Executive Administration for Global Trends, presented five key megatrends that, he said, are already shaping global development and will continue to influence the world in the coming decades.
“By 2026, Open Dialogue has become an international platform uniting experts from across the world to discuss the future of the planet, the global economy, and society,” Oreshkin said. “Understanding these processes is essential for preparing for change and leveraging it in the interests of nations and, above all, people. Today, I will focus on five key megatrends — while not treating artificial intelligence as a separate trend, because it has already become an integral part of our lives.”
1. A New Global Economic Paradigm: Globalisation 2.0
A shift from traditional globalisation to a more decentralised system was described. BRICS+ countries now play a growing role in the global economy, technological development, and demographic trends, while the Global South is increasingly engaging in direct trade and national-currency settlements.
“Globalisation hasn’t ended; it has changed,” Oreshkin said. “Sovereignty — at state, social, and economic levels — is now the key to competitiveness. Only countries that preserve all three levels can lead in a multipolar world.”
China, the USA, India, and Russia are identified as major global powers, while highlighting emerging growth centres such as Indonesia and “connector countries” like the United Arab Emirates. Digital platforms and decentralised networks are also becoming independent participants in the world economy.
2. Platformisation and Institutional Automation
The second megatrend highlights the rise of platforms and automation across all sectors. Platforms and algorithms are increasingly shaping decision-making in healthcare, education, finance, trade, and beyond.
“Platform solutions enhance efficiency and reduce transaction costs through self-adjusting algorithms,” Oreshkin said. “Countries without technological sovereignty risk becoming dependent on external platforms, which can have strategic consequences during conflicts.”
3. Transformation of the Global Financial System
It was noted that traditional financial models face mounting challenges, including rising public debt, widening inequality, and geopolitical fragmentation. Technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, and digital platforms are creating alternative financial mechanisms, including decentralised finance.
“The traditional model of cross-border payments is under pressure. Decentralised systems and digital technologies are reshaping the financial system,” he said.
4. Demographic Shifts and Challenges
The fourth megatrend concerns global population dynamics. Global fertility rates have fallen sharply, with some countries facing critical declines. By the end of the 21st century, the working-age population may shrink significantly, while the proportion of elderly people rises, placing pressure on pension systems and social services.
“Even in Africa, the ratio of elderly to working-age population will rise to 30%, and globally to 56%,” Oreshkin explained. “Education demand will decrease, but healthcare and social service needs will grow. These interconnected trends will amplify each other.”
5. Human Capital Development in the Technological Era
The final megatrend focuses on human capital in a rapidly changing technological environment.
Autonomous systems, digital platforms, and artificial intelligence are transforming education, work, and healthcare, while biotechnologies expand human capabilities.
“AI is both a challenge and an opportunity,” Oreshkin said. “It allows personalized learning paths and supports teachers.
Professions are changing: mid-level specialists will be in demand, and companies must retrain employees from junior positions. The social sphere will also evolve, ensuring active longevity in the new demographic era.”
Global Perspective
Throughout the presentation, Oreshkin illustrated each trend with real-life examples from different continents: a manager from Asia, a farmer from Africa, and a homemaker from Eastern Europe. He highlighted that innovations in Africa could improve education and healthcare, Eastern Europe may see rising living standards and more efficient social systems, and Asia will require reskilling to meet changing labor demands.
“The world has entered a period of significant change in finance, demography, and other spheres. States, companies, and individuals must be prepared. Those who understand and adapt will shape the future,” Oreshkin concluded.
Open Dialogue on Air
This year, Open Dialogue introduced a podcast format — Open Dialogue on Air — featuring global experts discussing key trends in international development. Participants include award-winning Chinese sci-fi writer Chen Qiufan, Dr. Selina Neri of the Future Readiness Academy, Dr. Rais Hussin of EMIR Research (Malaysia), Prof. Wang Feng of UC Irvine, and global strategist Dr. Parag Khanna.
First held in April 2025 at the Russia National Centre, the Open Dialogue brought together over 3,000 experts from dozens of countries. By presidential decree, it will now be held annually.
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Contact for the media
Brand: Russia National Centre
Contact: Media team
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About Author
Disclaimer: The views, suggestions, and opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the experts. No Digi Observer journalist was involved in the writing and production of this article.
Press Release
ChangeNOW Brings Martin Masser Into Its Crypto Super App
Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, August 5th, 2026, Chainwire
The former TON executive joins as Director of Strategic Partnerships to form the connections behind ChangeNOW’s next phase.
Former TON executive Martin Masser joins ChangeNOW to build strategic partnerships, ecosystem relationships, and media momentum behind its next phase.
Masser comes with experience across traditional banking, Web2 and Web3, including senior growth and business development roles within the TON space. At ChangeNOW, he will lead strategic relationships with blockchain networks, wallets, fintech companies, payment providers and other infrastructure partners.
His appointment comes as ChangeNOW grows beyond standalone crypto services, transitioning to one connected product where users can buy, store, swap, trade, send, receive and grow digital assets. The industry has already built most of the individual components. What it hasn’t solved is the experience of using them together; clients are still expected to switch between platforms, understand different networks and connect the pieces on their own. ChangeNOW’s super app strategy is designed to move that complexity beneath the product.
“Martin brings a rare mix of commercial relationships, product and media understanding,” said Pauline Shangett, Chief Strategy Officer at ChangeNOW. “He knows what the technology can do, what the business needs and how to make the market pay attention. That is exactly the perspective we need as we build the ChangeNOW super app.”
Masser’s role will focus not on accumulating partnership announcements, but on identifying relationships that can make ChangeNOW’s infrastructure more complete and remove unnecessary steps from the сlient experience.
“The best partnerships create access, adoption and attention. My focus is to build relationships that make the product stronger, simpler and more useful, and then help the market understand why they matter. If you are building wallets, networks, payments, stablecoins, fintech infrastructure, consumer crypto or Web3 products, I want to hear from you,” said Masser.
For consumers, ChangeNOW is combining the core activities of managing crypto within one environment. For businesses, it is developing an integrated set of tools for crypto payments, exchange, stablecoin settlement, digital asset management and Web3 integrations.
As ChangeNOW expands into a crypto super app, its next phase is connecting the right networks, wallets and partners. Masser’s role will be central to building those relationships and turning them into product value, adoption and market momentum.
About ChangeNOW
ChangeNOW.io is a crypto super app built for every crypto move, giving newcomers, professionals, and businesses the tools they need to access Web3 finance in a simple and secure way.
Since 2017, ChangeNOW has grown from a fast, secure, and limitless instant exchange into a trusted platform where storage, swaps, trading, staking, and asset management are covered in one simple experience for millions of clients worldwide.
About Martin Masser
Martin Masser is Director of Strategic Partnerships at ChangeNOW, where he is building partnerships around the company’s expansion into a crypto super app. His career covers traditional banking and capital markets in London and Web3, including his previous role as Head of Growth at TON Foundation. Martin works at the intersection of growth, infrastructure, and partnerships, connecting products and industry players to make crypto services work as one seamless user experience.
Contact
PR Team
CHN Group LLC
pr@changenow.io
About Author
Disclaimer: The views, suggestions, and opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the experts. No Digi Observer journalist was involved in the writing and production of this article.
Press Release
allwhere Expands UK Operations with Upgraded Depot
New York City, New York, August 5th, 2026, FinanceWire
allwhere, the leading IT asset lifecycle management platform, today announced the expansion of its UK operations with the opening of a larger, upgraded depot. The investment increases warehouse capacity, streamlines fulfillment operations, and strengthens allwhere’s ability to support organizations managing employee devices across the United Kingdom.
The upgraded facility represents a significant investment in allwhere’s existing UK infrastructure, enabling the company to deliver faster turnaround times, greater operational efficiency, and additional inventory capacity as demand for global device lifecycle management continues to grow.
“As more organizations build distributed teams, the operational side of IT has become increasingly important,” said Tony Solomon, VP of Global Operations at allwhere. “This investment strengthens the foundation of our UK operations, allowing us to fulfill orders more efficiently, scale alongside our customers, and continue delivering the high level of service they expect from allwhere.”
Built to Support Growing IT Operations
The expanded UK depot enhances every stage of the device lifecycle by improving warehouse operations and increasing fulfillment capacity.
Customers can expect benefits including:
- Faster fulfillment, expedited shipping, and improved turnaround times for deployments and retrievals
- Increased warehouse capacity to support growing inventory needs
- More efficient storage, inventory management, and redeployment workflows
- Standardized operational processes that improve consistency and scalability
- End-to-end lifecycle support managed through a single platform
Whether onboarding a new employee, retrieving equipment from an offboarded team member, storing spare inventory, or preparing devices for redeployment, the upgraded facility enables allwhere to execute these workflows more efficiently while maintaining complete visibility through its platform.
Software and Operations, Unified
Unlike traditional asset management solutions that rely on disconnected software, logistics providers, and warehouses, allwhere combines workflow automation with global operational infrastructure.
Organizations can manage procurement, deployment, inventory, retrievals, storage, repairs, redeployment, and IT asset disposition through a single platform, while allwhere handles the operational execution behind the scenes.
The expanded UK depot further strengthens this model by providing the operational capacity needed to support larger fleets, faster fulfillment, and increasingly complex IT programs.
Continuing to Invest in Global Infrastructure
The UK depot expansion is part of allwhere’s continued investment in its global logistics network. allwhere currently operates full-service depots in the UK, Canada, EU, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. Later this year, the company plans to further scale its infrastructure into the APAC region, with upcoming depot services in Australia, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and more.
As organizations continue to scale distributed workforces, allwhere remains focused on expanding the operational infrastructure that powers modern IT teams—combining intelligent software with local logistics expertise to simplify device lifecycle management around the world.
About allwhere
allwhere is a laptop retrieval and IT procurement company that automates the IT asset lifecycle for companies ranging from startups to enterprises. From procurement and deployment to storage, maintenance, and retrieval, allwhere provides the infrastructure businesses need to support a global, distributed workforce.
Contact
Head of Marketing
Brent Singleton
allwhere
info@allwhere.co
About Author
Disclaimer: The views, suggestions, and opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the experts. No Digi Observer journalist was involved in the writing and production of this article.
Press Release
Borderless.xyz Teams Up with Mastercard to Advance Trusted Cross-Border Stablecoin Payment Flows
New York, New York, August 5th, 2026, FinanceWire
Borderless.xyz will explore how Mastercard Crypto Credential can help bring greater trust and confidence to cross-border stablecoin payments.
Borderless.xyz and Mastercard are collaborating on a new pilot to explore how Mastercard Crypto Credential’s standards-based framework can support trusted interactions across cross-border stablecoin payment flows.
Stablecoins are increasingly being used to move value across borders, creating new opportunities for faster and more efficient payments. As adoption grows, participants need trusted ways to understand who they are interacting with and whether counterparties have met appropriate standards and requirements.
Through the pilot, Borderless.xyz and Mastercard will explore how Mastercard Crypto Credential can address that challenge by providing assurance signals that participants can incorporate into their own approval, compliance and risk processes.
Mastercard Crypto Credential helps support trusted and verifiable interactions across digital asset ecosystems. Through common standards and trusted assurance signals, it is designed to help bring more confidence, transparency and certainty to transactions across blockchain networks.
The collaboration pairs Mastercard’s work in building trust and standards for digital asset ecosystems with Borderless.xyz’s network of stablecoin payment providers. Together, the companies are exploring how trusted governance signals can help reduce friction and bring greater confidence to cross-border stablecoin payments as adoption grows.
“One of the biggest friction points for stablecoin payment operators isn’t the payments. It’s that compliance doesn’t scale the same way the network does. Every new provider means starting the verification process over. Correspondent banking solved this decades ago: originating compliance trusted downstream, no re-execution at every counterparty. Mastercard is applying that model to digital asset payments. Borderless.xyz is the network it runs through.” – Kevin Lehtiniitty, CEO and Co-Founder, Borderless.xyz
“Innovation is most powerful when it builds over time. Our relationship with Borderless.xyz began through Start Path and has continued to grow as the digital asset ecosystem has matured,” said Raj Dhamodharan, executive vice president, Blockchain & Digital Assets at Mastercard. “Today, we’re excited to take the next step together, exploring how Mastercard Crypto Credential can help bring greater trust and confidence to stablecoin payment flows across a growing network of participants.”
The pilot brings together several of Borderless.xyz‘s network participants consisting of Infinia, Walapay, and Koywe, many of whom are also alumni of Mastercard Start Path, the company’s startup engagement program. These partners will leverage Mastercard Crypto Credential as some of the first stablecoin payment operators to run on the single-audit compliance model at network scale.
About Borderless.xyz
Borderless.xyz is a global stablecoin orchestration and liquidity network. Its single API connects wallet infrastructure to 15+ licensed stablecoin providers across 100+ countries. It lets businesses enter new markets without new integrations, get failover so payments don’t drop, and make providers compete for your volume on price. Borderless.xyz is SOC 2 Type II certified and headquartered in New York. To learn more, users can visit the website: borderless.xyz.
About Mastercard
Mastercard powers economies and empowers people in 200+ countries and territories worldwide. Together with our customers, we’re building a resilient economy where everyone can prosper. We support a wide range of digital payments choices, making transactions secure, simple, smart and accessible. Our technology and innovation, partnerships and networks combine to deliver a unique set of products and services that help people, businesses and governments realize their greatest potential
Contact
Sarah Cohen
SJC PR
sarah@sjc-pr.com
About Author
Disclaimer: The views, suggestions, and opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the experts. No Digi Observer journalist was involved in the writing and production of this article.
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