Crypto Consensus 2024. Last week, Consensus 2024 drew thousands of cryptocurrency enthusiasts to Austin, Texas. There were 15,000 people in attendance at CoinDesk’s annual blockchain conference, up from 10,000 the year before. Although there were more people at Consensus 2024 than last year, the atmosphere seemed more upbeat. The impending presidential election and the recent adoption of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs probably brought about the collapse of FTX and other crypto exchanges last year, making consensus more “doom and gloom,” according to Deaton, a Massachusetts senatorial candidate. But this year’s event was unique, as Deaton pointed out.
With everything that has transpired this year, including our electoral victories over Elizabeth Warren and Gary Gensler, “it’s a much more optimistic and positive atmosphere,” Deaton stated. The U.S. Senate candidate continued, “It is becoming more and more obvious that the mainstream will accept blockchain technology, cryptocurrency, and this new asset class.” There is a lot of enthusiasm about that here.
Crypto Gets Political
Congressman Tom Emmer and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissioner Hester Peirce were among the American government leaders whose opinions seemed to pique the interest of Consensus 2024 attendees. Politics and cryptocurrency were hot topics at the Consensus. Still, Congressman Tom Emmer’s keynote speech shifted the conversation away from partisanship and toward the issue of whether people should support themselves or the administrative state.
Crypto Consensus 2024: According to Congressman Tom Emmer, one political party embraces cryptocurrency more rapidly than the other. U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is anti-crypto, “drives a lot of decisions in the White House,” as Emmer pointed out time and time again.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was running for president on May 30, also spoke to a select group of journalists and news industry insiders before delivering his keynote speech. In response to a question regarding the recent U.S. approval of the spot Ethereum ETF, RFK Jr. expressed his gratitude for the decision.
Regardless, I think it’s a good thing. Gary Gensler and the White House were against that until recently, and it was likely political. However, I still think it’s good, he added. That’s excellent news; it’s a move in the right way. The movement of funds into decentralized and alternative currencies should be our top priority.
Tokenization, Bitcoin Layer-2s, and AI Hot Topics
Aside from politics, the tokenization of RWAs, Bitcoin layer-2s, and AI were the main discussion topics. The chief technology officer of Ripple, David Schwartz, recently stated that tokenized RWA products are Ripple’s primary emphasis. Recently, Ripple has shown interest in tokenization by launching its stablecoin.
According to Schwartz, tokenized assets in the real world are securities on blockchains and can be utilized as collateral in DeFi protocols. Given that RWA tokenization allows for “This idea of bridging regulatory compliant institutional use cases with DeFi use cases,” as Schwartz pointed out, this is quite significant.
Crypto Consensus 2024: Many people were also talking about Bitcoin Layer-2 networks. Consensus L2 Rootstock Labs and the famous and long-running Stacks were present at Consensus. Although Bitcoin (BTC) is highly decentralized and safe, scalability is still an issue, according to Rootstock CEO Daniel Fogg. He went on to say that this problem is what Bitcoin L2s are trying to address. Also, L2s are making Bitcoin DeFi (decentralized finance) possible, he said.
“Most Bitcoin is either sitting on centralized exchanges, with custodians, or in cold storage wallets, doing nothing,” Fogg stated. Value is being stored, but it is not being used in any way. At that point, I saw a Bitcoin DeFi ecosystem with tight ties to Bitcoin as intriguing. As expected, consensus also included artificial intelligence. ConsensusThe creator of Brave Browser, Brendan Eich, discussed this extensively. He informed us that the Brave Browser consists of an AI-powered search engine.
According to Eich, users can view organic results or click on an AI-powered answer in the search results or the drop-down menu. You can see the sources of the answers thanks to the footnotes, which provide a good overview. To maintain a functional web, Brave Browser allows users to discover online pages through search results, including those produced by artificial intelligence, as stated by Eich. Still, he stressed citing sources and providing footnotes to back up claims.
When you use Google Search, your biggest worry is that it won’t work anymore. He clarified that it is an answer engine and that the summary does not include footnotes.
Consensus 2024 Demonstrated Ecosystem Growth
In sum, the results of Consensus 2024 proved that the cryptocurrency and blockchain industries are booming. People worldwide are still interested in cryptocurrencies, and adoption is progressing despite the recent lousy market and FTX collapse. Layer-1 networks have also started to prioritize interoperability, so it’s safe to say that ecosystem expansion was noticeable. According to Algorand’s Head of Ecosystem Growth Min Wei, the Consensus found interoperability.
To facilitate projects’ integration into different ecosystems, “We are going to lean into that,” Wei declared. Additionally, although crypto is primarily male-dominated, Consensus saw many female-dominated Web3 events. On May 29, Sandy Carter, COO of Unstoppable Domains, held a luncheon for women in the Web3 industry. According to Carter, this gathering aims to facilitate the development of professional and personal relationships among women.
Also Read: Crypto Market In 2024: An Ultimate Guide By Tetrabitcoin
