Guns N’Roses’ “Sweet Child O’Mine” barks echo on the main stage, backed by Radio City’s dim velvet, before attendees of the third NFT.NYC conference take their seats. , Faded in. The next track, Pitbull’s “Give Me Everything”. It was a weird soundtrack that would be perfectly suited to the nasty friction and mania messages that permeate this kind of practice.
This year’s conference is probably the largest and most difficult time in the ever-growing circuit of NFT events around the world. The crypto market has been declining rapidly since it topped out in January 2022, while some experts have it. Described as a crash.. Still, the community looks brave and remains optimistic, as denialists say, “I told you that.” More than 15,000 attendees have enrolled in the conference, compared to last year’s 5,000 attendees, who were in very different markets.
For markets built out of community excitement and risk and willingness to accept slumps in the weather, the survival of the scene relies on such events where people can promise each other that something huge will come soon. ..
‘New York is a place for NFT‘
“Many people told me,’Why don’t you go to Austin or Las Vegas?'” And I said, “New York is the location of NFT, New York has a sign on Times Square, and New York is the money market. And New York has art and culture, but most importantly, there are people in New York. ” “Everyone,” said Jodee Rich, one of the founders of NFT.NYC, at the opening panel.
The panel also included Cameron Bale, a former employee of Rich’s, two other founders of NFT.NYC, and Devin Finzer, CEO and founder of OpenSea, the world’s largest NFT marketplace. rice field. Rich, Bale and Finzer have been working with NFT.NYC since they first came up with the idea for a spaghetti bowl at Bar Pitti in 2018. Since then, their ambitions have increased.
“Our event has always been about the community, so we have 1,500 speakers,” continues Rich. “When asked about putting a celebrity on stage, you I’m a celebrity. I really want to say “no” to real celebrities rather than “yes” because I want to make it an event about people who are passionate about NFTs. “
From these statements, it is clear that at this point in the NFT market, there is almost no line between consumers and producers.
This strong start quickly derailed as Lich gave audience members a strange show of offering NFT.NYC embroidered polo shirts (“Oh, oh.” you“He shouted into the microphone when he threw his shirt at the man. “Yes, hello …”) After that, I spent half of the 30-minute panel clicking on tweets about NFT.NYC that I found interesting or exciting. Occasionally, he paused and explained the joke behind the meme being beamed above him.
CoinFund VC David Pakman came next and was ready to assure the audience that the market was still in a strong position.
“Crash, cryptocurrency crisis, I’ve heard it’s all a scam and this is just a Ponzi scheme. Of course, none of these statements are true, but yes, it’s malicious to all new ecosystems. There is a person who has a scam, “says Pac-Man. “But cryptocurrencies and NFTs in particular have shown a decisive amount of activity despite the decline in asset prices over the last six months. They haven’t reached zero yet. It’s not over yet.”
Pakman showed the audience the top NFT collections and the billions of dollars worth of cryptos invested in them. He also displayed some graphs that convey interesting information. The average NFT consumer spends about $ 900 on NFTs.
“Let’s keep this in mind. Netflix users spend about $ 180 a year on average, and Spotify costs less than $ 60, so we’re very excited to consider NFTs as a consumer product. “Masu,” said Pakman. “We are very bullish. You know so too. Otherwise, 15,000 you wouldn’t have trekked to New York to carry a torch.”
The loser and the winner
At a luncheon at Bond 45, self-proclaimed NFT rapper Louie C Rhymes said: “But no matter what time it is, it’s time to build.”
Ezra Lezinger, well known as the founder of cryptography, EZin Crypto, wore a hat that said, “This is not financial advice.”
Regarding the generally optimistic atmosphere at the conference, Rezinger said, “People here are passionate about their projects and their communities and aren’t letting the market stop them.”
The only losers of this equation, as Rhymes and Rezinger pointed out, were those who speculated in favor of the top.
Bond54 also had entrepreneur Matt Cheung working with Beyamin Ahmed, a 13-year-old NFT millionaire behind the collection Weird Whales. (Ahmed wearing sunglasses on the basement floor of the restaurant was shepherd from the table by his father, who said Beyamin had to prepare for his story.)
Cheung has a more solid view of things.
“I’m optimistic, and so is everyone I’m talking to,” Chan said. “I have been working in traditional financial markets since 1999. I have experienced market crashes before.” Of course, investing in cryptocurrencies and NFTs will enter the traditional market. He admitted that he was more risky than, but said he was cautious and strategic about his involvement.
Cheung, founder of a financial mentoring program called Work in Fintech, said he encourages young people to avoid working with banks and look for fast-growing sectors. On his side, Cheung entered cryptocurrency six years ago when his daughter was born.
“I thought of myself. What would the world look like in 2035? I guessed: it would all be blockchain, automation, and VR,” Cheung said. But these sectors are not eternal either. Only valid if you are in the early exponential stage. “Within 10 years, this conference will be held in Las Vegas and we will all be working on:”
