Bear Market Pushes Crypto Events to Cut Fluff, Prioritize Discourse

The prolonged crypto winter has prompted event organizers to scale back on the opulence, letting participants to focus on asking more “intelligent questions” about regulation and taxation.

Crypto conferences draw people from all walks of life in the crypto world, from founders and high-level executives to crypto influencers and daily consumers.

Tiffany Fong, a crypto YouTuber who rose to prominence after interviewing former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried after the exchange went bankrupt, is attending crypto conferences for the first time this year.

Fong, who attended both Bitcoin Miami 2023 and NFT NYC 2023, told Cointelegraph that she “can’t speak to how conferences used to be in bull markets,” but she has been told by other participants that it is lighter on the entertainment side this year.

“People have named huge DJs who have performed in previous conferences during bull markets and point out that the parties and events this year are much tamer.” Fong isn’t too concerned about “this year being more tame” because she believes the enthusiasm for crypto remains strong and it’s a chance to meet others in the field.

Meanwhile, XRP Las Vegas — a symposium for XRP $0.43 enthusiasts and the “XRP-army” — took place on May 6 and 7 in the gambling capital of the United States. “Great optimism over crypto’s future,” remarked pro-XRP lawyer John Deaton. Deaton, who has been an active social media critic throughout the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple case, stated that XRP supporters were asking “well thought out, intelligent questions” at the conference. Nonetheless, he could sense their dissatisfaction in their questions.

“I wouldn’t call their emotion fear, but frustration, because achieving regulatory clarity in the United States shouldn’t be this difficult or take this long.”

Deaton went on to say that he was frustrated with SEC chair Gary Gensler’s “regulation by enforcement” approach to crypto, citing the SEC’s recent actions against various crypto firms. Regulation looks to be a high priority for the Australian crypto community as well.

According to Ben Rose, general manager for Binance Australia and New Zealand, regulation was “by far” the most popular topic of conversation among attendees at Binance Australia’s most recent meetup event on May 3.

Rose informed Cointelegraph that another topic of great interest among guests was crypto tax. Despite the bear market, he continued, “interest from the crypto-curious” remains.

“Recently, there have been a lot of newcomers who have asked beginner-level questions, which is encouraging.” Rose noted that crowds in Australia are beginning to become enthusiastic about “a potential bull run [as] the price of Bitcoin has crept up.”