The crypto industry is obsessed with conferences. The vibe at them is changing

The never-ending cycle of crypto conferences continues this week with the latest installment of Consensus getting underway in Miami. You can argue the industry would be better off if its biggest players spent more time building and shipping than palavering on stage, but, if nothing else, the conference scene is useful as a vibe check.

At one extreme, I can recall the 2018 edition of Consensus. That was the year promoters parked Lamborghinis on New York City’s 6th Avenue, making “Lambos” a permanent part of crypto culture. Inside the venue, fly-by-night law firms manned “ICO in a box” booths, while hucksters stalked the hallways with white papers in hopes of unloading shitcoins on industry newcomers. The scene was one of excess but also unbridled optimism.

Contrast that to the mood of depression and dread that pervaded the conference circuit in early 2023, following the Sam Bankman-Fried crackup and the exposure of rampant fraud across the industry. Some longtime crypto veterans correctly assessed the situation as a temporary setback, but the more common response was dark mutterings about who on stage the previous year would be arrested next, or how to pivot to........

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