Stablecoins, Agents & the Future of Commerce | Belfast Tech Event

Invisible Building and David Shawe are attending because this sits directly at the intersection of design, commerce, and emerging financial systems.

David previously researched Bitcoin and wallet UX through the Bitcoin Design Guide, taking part in design studies focused on how people actually use digital money. He also attempted to launch a startup and community platform, Sugar (Sugar Financial Technology), while on the Co-Founders programme — reaching the final with a team of three before deciding not to proceed. The IP remains with Invisible Building and may be revisited in the future.

You’ve already seen early glimpses of this thinking through projects like the interactive whiskey map built for Belfast Whiskey Week.

This event is an opportunity to reconnect with that space — not from speculation, but from a design-first, user-centred perspective.

2025 was the year stablecoins moved into the mainstream. With established players like USDC and Tether joined by new entrants from PayPal, Société Générale, and even the State of Wyoming, digital money is no longer niche. In parallel, agents are beginning to reshape how commerce works — from instant checkout to automated purchasing and protocol-level integrations.

This event explores what all of that actually means.

Hosted by Evan from Coinbase and Ian from Ormeau Labs, the evening brings together guests to unpack the future of commerce — covering stablecoins, agents, and emerging infrastructure in a way that’s clear, practical, and grounded.

Topics include:

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  Stablecoins becoming part of the traditional financial system
  
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  The rise of agents and automated commerce
  
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  Recent launches from Shopify and Google around the Universal Commerce Protocol
  
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  Instant checkout and agent-driven purchasing following releases from OpenAI
  

No jargon. No hype. Just a clear look at what’s coming — and why it matters.