A free bitcoin pizza stall and a “liquidity lounge” were among the treats offered for attendees at this year’s meeting in Davos, where blockchain and cryptocurrency companies have taken the main road despite the recent crash of digital currency values.
Crypto sector executives have descended on the annual gathering of business leaders and politicians at the Swiss Alpine resort, seeking to encourage the rapid adoption of their technology, which is largely uncontrolled.
The dominance of the crypto crowd in Davos, while on the sidelines of the main event, came after cryptocurrencies lost বাজার 800 billion in market value earlier this month.
Small traders have jumped into crypto in hopes of a quick return, despite warnings from regulators that emerging assets could be high risk. Luna, recently supported by the eighth-largest digital currency and institutional crypto investors, has lost almost all of its value.
“I was amazed at how quickly it turned out to be nothing,” said Jeremy Allier, CEO and co-founder of Circle Internet Financial, whose USDC stablecoin is pegged to the US dollar.
He told Reuters: “I have never seen anything like this, a seemingly high-growth competitive thing, completely shattered in just 72 hours.
But recent losses have not affected the crypto company’s plans to showcase their products and services.
Secure Inc., a digital market infrastructure backed by Abu Dhabi, has come to Davos for the first time this year to “build relationships and networks” and show how it can bridge new technologies and traditional financing, said CEO Dan Donny.
The company has set up the panel’s own agenda in digital currency, in the style of the World Economic Forum, outside the security cordon of the main conference center.
Tether, one of the largest stablecoins in the world, offers free slices to pedestrians to celebrate Bitcoin Pizza Day in May. 22, when in 2010 Lazlo Hanyecz paid for two pizzas with 10 000 bitcoins, worth about $ 41 at the time.
Bitcoin, which was priced at 33 30,332 on Monday, fell to its lowest level since December 2020 in early May. The world’s largest cryptocurrency hit a record high of ,000 69,000 in November.
“We’re used to it, and as the market gets bigger, the peaks and valleys will be smoother,” said Cliff Sarkin, CasparLabs chief operating officer, blockchain technology provider for businesses that host speakers and events.
The token attached to Caspar’s technology also received a hit, Sarkin told Reuters.
WEF, which usually caters to the financial elite, including large banks such as Citigroup CN Credit Suisse has a panel on the carbon footprint of the cryptocurrency and the future and a decentralized money.
“It’s growing inside and outside the gates,” said Stan Stalnaker, chief strategy officer at the social network Hub Culture, which manages a digital currency, citing the presence of crypto at the conference and next to it.
Stalnakar estimates that about 50% of the city’s storefronts have been occupied by blockchain or cryptocurrency firms for the duration of the event.