Web3 and Crypto are the New Normal: The Latest from #Consensus2024 ⤵️
Investors, disruptors, and thought leaders descended upon Austin this week for Consensus 2024, the world’s largest and most influential crypto event. Running across three days, with more than three hundred sessions featuring some six hundred speakers and some fifteen thousand visitors, the conference was a parade of visionary thinking, bringing together a who’s who list of crypto personalities – from Cathie Wood to Tom Emmer (and our very own Samantha Bohbot!).
Here are our key takeaways from Consensus 2024:
1. Crypto is no longer a partisan issue. There is no reason why crypto can’t reach the same apolitical status as stocks, bonds, or other financial instruments. NYSE President Lynn Martin, and Tom Farley, CEO of Bullish, agreed that the US is poised to roll out regulation on a bipartisan basis that will clear up political differences over this issue. Rep. @Patrick McHenry, the chief sponsor of the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21) bill, predicted that the momentum to embrace crypto on The Hill will materialize into a Digital Assets Law by next year.
2. Crypto is *the* election issue. In the last few weeks, major pro-crypto inroads have been made within the Democratic Party. Similarly, Republican nominee Donald Trump has shown his support of crypto solutions all throughout the year. These are some signs that crypto is a pivotal issue in the 2024 election, and the sentiment was only confirmed by a16z crypto and Ripple announcing $50M of donations to Fairshake, a pro-crypto nonpartisan super political action committee, and the third richest super PAC in the 2024 election cycle.
3. More crypto ETFs are on the way. The approval of spot bitcoin ETFs is only the beginning of a larger trend, argued Ripple’s Brad Garlinghouse. With ether ETFs making great progress toward final approval, it is possible that XRP, Solana Foundation, and Cardano will all soon have their respective ETFs.
4. RFK stands up for crypto. In a rousing speech, U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy doubled down on his pro-crypto stance. “My objective if elected president,” he said, “is that crypto is a transactional currency. That people can have transactional freedom. That people have a choice as to whether they can buy it.”
There were just too many visionary insights and ground-breaking ideas at Consensus 2024, but the feeling as the event drew to an end was that crypto is here to stay.