TOKEN2049 Singapore highlights: Vitalik singing, market reaction to rate cuts, and the future of the industry

TOKEN2049
has
ended
in
Singapore.
Here
are
three
highlights
from
one
of
the
most
anticipated
crypto
conferences
of
the
year.

One
of
the
largest
industry
conferences,

TOKEN2049,
was
held
from
Sept.
18
to
19
in
Singapore.
It

brought
together
leading
figures
in
the
crypto
space,
who
shared
their
thoughts
on
trends,
developments
and
priorities
for
the
industry.

What
will
the
crypto
industry
be
like
in
three
years?

One
of
the
highlights
of
the
event
was
a
panel
entitled
“The
Next
3
Years
in
Crypto,”
during
which
several
leaders
of
major
crypto
projects
discussed
where
the
industry
is
heading
in
the
near
term.

Stablecoin
issuer

Circle‘s
CEO
Jeremy
Allaire,
top
crypto
exchange

OKX‘s
founder
and
CEO
Star
Xu,
and

Ethereum
co-founder

Vitalik
Buterin
participated
in
the
panel
discussion
and
spoke
about
the
digital
asset
sector’s
future,
sharing
stories
from
their
past
experience
as
long-time
participants
and
leaders
in
the
space.

Self-custody
is
key

During
the
panel,
OKX’s
Xu
noted
the
importance
of

self-custody
technologies
for
storing
cryptocurrency,
given
their
relatively
high
level
of
security.
However,
he
also
pointed
out
that
promoting
self-custody
in
the
crypto
industry
— meaning
holding
your
crypto
yourself
instead
of
using
a
third-party,
like
an
exchange
—
does
not
imply
that
there
is
no
need
to
regulate
the
space.

Speaking
about
the
future
of
digital
assets,
Xu
noted
that
over
the
past
ten
years,
the
industry
has
seen
many
important
technological
developments.
However,
he
believes
that

web3
applications
and
use
cases
should
be
developing
even
faster.

Less
focus
on
NFTs

Buterin
mentioned
that
one
of
the
main
advantages
of
digital
assets
is
their
international,
borderless
nature.
He
reiterated
the
notion
that
the
industry
has
the
potential
to
meet
the
needs
of
people
globally
who
do
not
have
access
to
the
traditional
financial
system.

He
also
pointed
out
the
need
for
practical
use
cases
to
drive
the
mass
adoption
of
digital
assets.
Buterin
called
for
less
focus
on
expensive

NFTs,
arguing
that
they
have
no
real
benefits
for
the
industry
or
for
humanity.

The
co-founder
of
Ethereum
also
said
that
he
believes
that
improving
security
in
the
crypto
industry
should
be
a
major
focus,
alongside
trying
to
reduce
transaction
fees.

Vitalik
comments
on
the
accessibility
of
crypto
and
sings
a
crypto
song

Buterin
also
touched
on
topics
such
as
the
accessibility
of
cryptocurrencies,
their
use
as
a
means
of
payment,
and
security
in
the
ecosystem
as
a
whole.

He
argued
that
it’s
no
longer
valid
to
say
that
it’s
too
early
for
more
widespread
adoption
of
crypto.
He
compared
the
extremely
limited
awareness
and
adoption
of
Bitcoin
(BTC)
in
2013
with
the
situation
just
eight
years
later,
in
2021,
when
a
cup
of
coffee
could
be
bought
for
Ethereum
(ETH)
in

Argentina.

In
between
talking
about
the
future
of

blockchain
and
cryptocurrencies,
he
also
sang
a
song
about
crypto:

And
then
an
improved
version
of
Buterin’s
song
appeared
on
social
media:

Arthur
Hayes
predicts
market
reaction
to
Fed
rate
cuts

Also
on
the
first
day
of
the
event,
the
co-founder
of
derivatives
exchange

BitMEX,
Arthur
Hayes,
gave
a
keynote
speech
with
the
title
“Thoughts
on
Macroeconomics
Current
Events.”

Speaking
the
same
day
that
the
U.S.
Federal
Reserve
was
expected
to
announce
very
anticipated
interest
rate
cuts
—
which
indeed

happened
later
that
day
— Hayes

predicted
that
the
cuts
would
cause
the
markets
to
drop
in
the
short-term:

“I
think
that
the
Fed
is
making
a
colossal
mistake
cutting
rates
at
a
time
when
the
U.S.
government
is
printing
and
spending
as
much
money
as
they
ever
have
in
peacetime.” 

Hayes
noted
that
the
lower
interest
rates
in
the
U.S.
could
trigger
a
market
drop
in
part
because
of
— again
—
fears
around
the
unwinding
of
the

yen
carry
trade.
Lower
interest
rates
from
the
Fed,
coupled
with
recently
rising
rates
from
the
Bank
of
Japan,
lessen
the
gap
between
rates
in
the
U.S.
and
Japan,
making
the
yen
carry
trade
less
profitable.

The
yen
carry
trade
refers
to
when
investors
borrow
yen
at
historically
very
low
rates,
convert
it
into
currencies
with
higher-yield
assets,
like
Treasury
Bills
in
the
U.S.,
and
then
invest
in
those
assets.
Last
month,
one
of
the
driving
factors
behind
global
markets

plummeting
was
the
potential
unwinding
of
the
yen
carry
trade.

However,
since
the
U.S.
Fed

announced
a
0.5%
cut
in
interest
rates,
Bitcoin
has

gained
almost
7%.

The
next
TOKEN2049
event
—
which
promises
to
feature
200+
speakers
—
is
scheduled
to
take
place
this
spring
in
Dubai.