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

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

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

Students from universities such as 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 developments in cryptocurrency given last week's election results.

Next-generation developers, investors, and builders stood alongside university attendees, making tortillas with industry experts from companies like EY, which had a significant presence 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 it was his first blockchain event.

A captivating event sparked a lot of excitement and enthusiastic responses, which was a meeting with Hype founder Ravi Bakhai, who delved 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 just exist on crypto Twitter; TikTok is a must-visit for anyone trying to stay ahead of the volatile 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 1,000% in just 18 minutes before being sold.

“In the U.S., this is how we are inviting 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 said on Friday in front of a packed audience that the donation fund holds over $20 billion. The two then 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Schroedle said, 'The financial system in the U.S. is very outdated...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 the use cases of DePIN.

However, Feder believes that cryptocurrency should not be seen as a separate asset class—though this does not diminish his optimistic outlook. He emphasized that the real key for institutions is the sustained 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 for pitching to venture capital firms.

The overall mood of the conference was positive, and excitement was evident.

But one thing impressed me: not only is the next generation the native generation of cryptocurrency, but they are also ready to fill the gaps as they enter the cryptocurrency workforce.

Coinbase (which also sent a recruiter to this event, attracting a large number of students) released a report in June showing that the U.S. has lost significant developer market share, partly due to its uncertain regulatory environment.

But if the regulatory environment becomes more certain, then the talent pool is here for the picking.