Davos, Switzerland — Cryptocurrency-related tech firms rolled out at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, even after the recent market crash wiped out billions of dollars in value from the crypto market.
The Promenade, a major sector where businesses and governments take over shops and bars during Forum week, is dominated by crypto companies, and falls among the majors like sales force And the owner of Facebook dead.
“It’s a huge step for the crypto industry, as they have always been anti-Davos,” one delegate told CNBC.
On Sunday, Tether, the company behind the USDT stablecoin, set up a platform offering free pizza on Promenade for Bitcoin Pizza Day. On May 22, 2010, a programmer bought a pizza with bitcoin, widely seen as the first transaction with cryptocurrency. The crypto community celebrates the day every year.
Another delegate noted that crypto companies were “spraying money.”
Non-fungible tokens are an important topic during discussions around the World Economic Forum. RollApp, which operates the NFT Store, has set up a site in Davos to promote digital collectibles.
Arjun Kharbal | CNBC
Fernando Verbonin, co-founder of RollApp, a non-fungible token store (NFT), which has acquired a store on Promenade, estimates that about 60% of the places on the street are crypto-related businesses.
“They are basically taking over Davos,” he said.
Non-fungible tokens are digital holdings. RollApp attempts to convert real world assets such as cars into NFTs.
Crazy few weeks
The industry’s strong performance in Davos comes despite the recent market crash. More than $500 billion has been wiped out from the crypto market in the last month, like The collapse of the stablecoin terraUSD sent shockwaves across the industry.
Those in Davos will probably stick to seizing a space on the Alpine ski resort’s Promenade before the market recently fell.
“It’s been a crazy few weeks in cryptocurrency. We’ve been coming here for a long time but that won’t change. We are in a position to resist the bear market and there will be a bullish move again,” Clifford Sarkin, COO of startup Casper Labs at blockchain, he told CNBC.
Circle, one of the companies behind the USDC stablecoin, has acquired a shop in Davos Park.
Arjun Kharbal | CNBC
Casper Labs has a blockchain product aimed at businesses. Blockchain emerged with Bitcoin but its definition has expanded. Proponents say it is a shared activity ledger that could support applications in businesses such as cross-border money transfers.
Sarkin said the crash was a positive for a company like his that focuses on selling blockchain to business customers, rather than consumers.
“It’s easier to do business in a bear cycle. A lot of people who came in last year and were trying to make money from crypto are now leaving because they say crypto is dead, they are now out of the business for a while,” he told CNBC. “.
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