The annual World Economic Forum (WEF) concluded this past Friday in Davos, Switzerland. Attendees included top business leaders, political figureheads, and a variety of well-known celebrities with topics ranging from international trade, shifts in regulation, and emerging technologies. Throughout the week, participants discussed technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and blockchain– SALT was there to focus on the latter. Here are some of the key blockchain-related takeaways from our week in Davos:
The blockchain fluff is largely gone — 2018 saw cryptocurrencies drop from a total market cap of $618.1 billion to $125.6 billion.* There were many projects built on the hype of 2017 and the crypto attendance at WEF last year was quite high. The “correction” has narrowed the list of blockchain companies involved, with only the more reputable projects in attendance.
Governments focused on blockchain technology — Various governments have been exploring ways to jump into blockchain technology and we are starting to hear some exciting announcements. One such announcement came from Bermuda, where Premier David Burt stated, “I’m proud to say that next week we’ll be making an announcement revealing that a bank will be set up in the country that will start accepting crypto and blockchain companies.”
Focus on the broad application of blockchain — It wasn’t all about crypto. In fact, a majority of the conversations focused on other applications such as healthcare, supply chain, and digital identities. Blockchain has the ability to provide an immutable, single source of truth — certainly an important attribute for industries dealing with sensitive data.
Blockchain companies are seeking regulation — We (blockchain companies) are not looking for loopholes in regulation or jurisdictions with thin legislation — it’s quite the opposite. We know that in order to grow as an industry and play a key role in society at large, responsible regulation is paramount. Throughout the week, SALT met with many government officials and economic organizations to help drive that conversation forward.
There has been a lot of behind-the-scenes work over the last couple years in our space and we expect some meaningful announcements to be made in 2019. We believe blockchain technology is here to stay and look forward to discussing its progress at Davos 2020.
*Data pulled from coinmarketcap.com