Author: Katherine Ross, Blockworks; Translated by: Bai Shui, Jinse Finance

This weekend, I returned to college… I traveled north to attend the Midwest Blockchain Conference held at the University of Michigan campus.

I was the only reporter on site, which meant I had unrestricted access to cryptocurrency-native college students eager to learn more about the industry and technology. I also interacted with speakers and the workshop leaders guiding them.

Students from universities like the University of Kansas, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Illinois gathered in Ann Arbor. The atmosphere was very positive, with discussions about the next steps for cryptocurrency given the election results from last week.

Next-generation developers, investors, and builders stood shoulder to shoulder with industry experts from companies like EY, making tortillas together, with EY playing a significant role at the conference.

But what is a cryptocurrency conference without a bit of fun? When I arrived, I saw an artist named Idris Busari dressed as Bitcoin, stating that it was his first time attending a blockchain event.

A captivating event sparked a lot of excitement and enthusiastic responses, which was a meeting with Hype founder Ravi Bakhai, who delved deep into the world of memecoins, attracting students and some industry experts.

Bakhai stated: Memecoins are risky, but you can get rich.

Bakhai pointed out that memes no longer exist solely on crypto Twitter; TikTok is a must-visit place for anyone trying to stay ahead of the fluctuations of the memecoin cycle. He referred to it as "TikTok financialization," emphasizing how quickly these trends develop. To illustrate this, he shared a story about a memecoin that surged by 1,000% in just 18 minutes before being sold.

"In the U.S., this is how we get retail investors back into cryptocurrency," Bakhai told Blockworks.

But that's not all of the memecoin frenzy. There were also chats with industry professionals from a16z, well-known venture capital firms like Volt Capital, and staff from university endowment offices, including Daniel Feder and Brandon Schroedle. The two discussed the university's interest in cryptocurrency and shared their views on the industry.

Feder stated in front of a packed audience on Friday that the endowment fund holds over $20 billion. Following that, the two spent 30 minutes explaining why the University of Michigan is interested in cryptocurrency.

Schroedle said: "The financial system in the U.S. is very outdated... it’s all pieced together." He views cryptocurrency not only as a way to diversify investments but is also excited about use cases for DePIN.

However, Feder believes that cryptocurrency should not become a separate asset class—though this does not diminish his optimistic outlook. He emphasized that the real key for institutions is the sustained rise in their interest in cryptocurrency.

Other highlights included a16z's Jane Lippencott predicting a potential "AI winter" in the coming years, and Volt's Soona Ahmaz sharing tips on pitching venture capital firms.

The overall sentiment of the conference is positive, with excitement clearly evident.

However, one thing impressed the author: not only is the next generation already a native generation of cryptocurrency, but they are also ready to fill the gaps as they enter the cryptocurrency labor market.

Coinbase (the company also sent a recruiter to the event, attracting a lot of student attention) released a report in June showing that the U.S. has lost a significant share of the developer market, partly due to its uncertain regulatory environment.

But if the regulatory environment becomes more certain, then the talent pool is here for you to choose from.