Original｜Odaily Planet Daily
Author: jk
From May 29 to 31, 2024, the well-known American Web3 media Coindesk held the Consensus 2024 conference in Austin, Texas, and Odaily's North American reporter went to participate.
As one of the world's largest and most influential cryptocurrency and blockchain industry events, the Consensus conference brings together developers, investors, founders, brands and policymakers from all over the world. This conference not only provides a platform to showcase cutting-edge technologies and discuss industry trends, but also provides an excellent opportunity for industry insiders to communicate and cooperate.
The first conference since the bull market
This Consensus conference is the first industry conference since this round of bull market. Previously, due to the approval of Bitcoin ETF and the surge of Bitcoin from $50,000 to $70,000 during ETH Denver, the entire industry responded fully to the bull market in the past few months.
This time, although the number of participants has decreased compared with previous years, the overall quality has been significantly improved; judging from the on-site communication situation, the participants are more professional, the discussion content is very in-depth, and the communication effect is more efficient. For example, the number of newcomers who have no knowledge of the blockchain industry or students who come to learn is significantly reduced compared to other conferences. It can be found that most of this year’s attendees are in-depth participants in the industry. For companies that want to raise funds in the United States or find customers or investment targets, Consensus is still one of the top three unmissable blockchain events in the United States.
The venue was not deserted, but everyone was at Side Event
As soon as possible, the classic main venue design with one main road and many small branches was adopted. The number of participants in the formal activities in the venue did not seem to be as many as last year. Many people I met on the spot even said that they did not go to the main venue much. More discussions and exchanges took place in various side events. Participants were more inclined to participate in these small and flexible events. During the four days of the Consensus event, there were about 200+ similar events hosted by various Web3 companies. These activities are closer to practical applications and cutting-edge technologies, providing more opportunities for discussion and cooperation.
In addition, the high ticket prices (student and developer ticket prices are relatively lower) are also the reason why many people did not show up at the main venue.
Consensus side event table, source: Consensus official
AI and Decentralized Internet of Things (DePIN) are the most popular ecosystem tracks at this conference. Both technical discussions and project presentations are focused on these two areas; the most intuitive thing is that there are many activities focused on this ecosystem, while other traditional tracks such as DeFi and games have not received as much attention as before. In contrast, although Ethereum and ETFs are still discussed to a certain extent, they obviously did not receive much attention from the participants.
The number of Asian participants is very significant. Many participants flew here from China to participate in this conference. Most of these people are not from well-known large institutions. They are basically founders of startup companies or investors in funds. , come to the United States to look for financing opportunities, targets or the latest European and American funding trends. This also makes this conference an international and highly diversified platform, promoting exchanges and cooperation between the East and the West.
Overall, Consensus 2024 demonstrated the depth and breadth of the industry, and provided direction for the future development of blockchain and cryptocurrency through international exchanges. This conference is not only an industry event, but also a collision and integration of the world's top ideas and technologies, heralding a more open, innovative and decentralized future.