DAVOS, Switzerland – Crypto-related tech companies are at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, even after a recent market crash that wiped billions of dollars in value from the digital currency market.
The Promenade, a main strip where corporations and governments take over shops and bars during the week of the forum, is dominated by crypto companies sandwiched between big names like Salesforce and Facebook-owner Meta.
“It’s a big move for the crypto industry, they’ve always been against Davos,” a delegate told CNBC.
On Sunday, Tether, the company behind stablecoin USDT, set up a booth giving away free pizza on the Bitcoin Pizza Day boardwalk. On May 22, 2010, a programmer bought pizza with bitcoin and it is widely believed to be the first transaction to use the cryptocurrency. The day is celebrated by the crypto community every year.
Another delegate noted that crypto companies are “injecting the money.”
Non-fungible tokens are a big topic in discussions surrounding the World Economic Forum. RollApp, which operates an NFT store, set up a location in Davos to promote the digital collectibles.
Arjun Kharpal | CNBC
Fernando Verboonen, co-founder of RollApp, a non-fungible token (NFT) store that took over a shop on the promenade, estimated that around 60% of the street venues were crypto-related businesses.
“They’re basically taking over Davos,” he said.
Non-fungible tokens are digital collectibles. RollApp tries to convert real world assets like cars into NFTs.
“A Few Crazy Weeks”
The industry’s strong showing in Davos comes despite a recent market crash. More than $500 billion was wiped from the crypto market in the last month, like the The collapse of the stablecoin TerraUSD has rocked the industry.
Those in Davos are likely committed to taking a spot on the promenade at the alpine ski resort ahead of the recent market slump.
“It’s been a crazy few weeks in crypto. We made a commitment to come here a long time ago, but that would not change. We are in a position that we will withstand the bear market and there will be another bull run,” Clifford Sarkin, COO of blockchain startup Casper Labs, told CNBC.
Circle, one of the companies behind the USDC stablecoin, has taken over one of the shops on the Davos Promenade.
Arjun Kharpal | CNBC
Casper Labs has a blockchain product aimed at businesses. Blockchain became popular with Bitcoin, but its definition has expanded. It’s effectively a shared activity record that could underpin business applications like cross-border money transfers, proponents say.
Sarkin said the crash has been positive for companies like his that are focused on selling blockchain to business customers rather than consumers.
“It’s easier to do business in a bear cycle. A lot of the people who came in last year trying to make money from crypto who are leaving now because they say crypto is dead have been out of business for a while now and we’re going to do real business,” he told Opposite CNBC.
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