Consensus Summit 2018; It’s Not All Positive

Consensus 2018 Updates: The Consensus summit is an industry event famed for creating excitement and price hikes in the cryptosphere. However, while there was much positive news to write home about, the Consensus also shed light on some not-so-encouraging opinions and facts. Here are some areas of concern to take away with you from this years summit…

Prices Fell

Bitcoin (available on Coinbase) price fell again on Tuesday – right in the middle of the summit. This could be attributed to the differing opinions from highly respected figures, which were on display at the Consensus. The conference has so far, not been able to boost the cryptocurrency market despite having done so in previous years. On Tuesday afternoon, the market price of Bitcoin (available on Coinbase) – the market capitalization cryptocurrency, was about $8,550. The price of most of the other top cryptocurrencies has fallen this week too. Is this somETHing investors should worry about? Why are prices falling and not rising during Consensus week this year?

A Not So Positive Opinion: Not a Mainstream Currency!

Cryptographic currency can hardly be a mainstream currency, expressed James Bullard at Consensus on Monday. James Bullard is the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. He explained that cryptocurrency operates as a non-uniform currency, meaning that there are now more than 1,800 cryptocurrencies out there, many of which are trading at different prices in different markets – all at the same time. He stated that, at least historically, non-unified currencies like this cannot be accepted in the financial market. This means that Bitcoin (available on Coinbase) and other cryptocurrencies still have a long way to go in the global financial market. “They must start to compete like anything else,” said Brad. “The cryptocurrencies may be moving in the wrong direction because the problem they are trying to solve is how to better promote market transactions.” At the same time, the dollar received sTron (available on Binance)g support from the government. The government has a direct and effective monetary policy and can maintain a low inflation rate. Because of this, it can better achieve these goals and meet the needs of the market. “The dollar is doing well now and it will be good in the future. It is a long-term winner.” Brad said, “Unless we mess up, the dollar will always be the mainstream currency.”

Not Everyone Believes in the Blockchain Hype: Blockchain “Magic Dust”

Amber Baldet, former head of blockchain at JP Morgan Chase, launched a new project called Clovyr at Consensus this week. Clovyr is a decentralized app store and the project has aroused intense discussion surrounding the advantages of blockchain technology.

Jimmy Song, a partner at Blockchain Capital, said that some blockchain projects are just a collection of “hotwords.” At the expert group meeting, when talking with Baldet and Joseph Lubin (founder of Consensys), Jim said that the company could not use “blockchain magic dust” to solve their problems. He said that many companies now use some popular vocabulary such as “blockchain”, “interoperability”, and “open source” to attract investment and cover up shortcomings. Lubin said he was willing to bet “a Bitcoin (available on Coinbase)” with Jim to prove him wrong. Are these sentiments felt on a larger scale though? This week also saw the founder of Litecoin (available on Coinbase) Charlie Lee, talk about “blockchain inefficiencies”. Lee seems to think a decentralized system takes a lot of work to maintain and that these days many areas of business and technology don’t necessarily need to change their systems or get on a blockchain. Could he be right? It’s an innovative technology, but does that mean it is a necessary technology?

More Heists: ICO Founders Accused

Hacks and fraud are nothing new in the world of cryptocurrencies. A local prosecutor in the Southern District of New York claimed this week that several founders of cryptocurrency company Centra Tech, have been sued for alleged fraud. The founders: Raymond Trapani, Sohrab Sharma, and Robert Farkas, tried to sell tokens to deceive investors. The authorities confiscated more than $60 million U.S. from the founders.

Consensus is Expensive! Ticket Revenues Are High

As the Consensus conference draws to a close, is it surprising that the summit had more participants this year? Considered to be the largest conference in the cryptocurrency industry, maybe not, but for the cost of the tickets, the question is then asked: “Is this just another rich man’s club?”. Barry Silbert, CEO, and founder of Digital Currency Group (DCG) said that this year, the number of attendees at the Consensus Conference increased by approximately two times that of last years 2,700 people. Digital Currency Group owns Coindesk, who organize the Consensus conference. The majority of tickets for this conference cost a considerable $2,000, so revenue from ticket sales alone is as high as $17 million. But who, who isn’t already rich, has $2,000 to spare for a ticket to a conference?

Not this journalist anyway…

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