4 Reasons Crypto Should Care About Davos

Even if a gathering of the world's 'elite' seems to be anathema to new values

The World Economic Forum kicks off today. CoinDesk and The Block both have representatives there. Numerous panels relate to topics around the industry. At the same time, the centralized power structure is something of an anathema to the world crypto is trying to build. The question is: should crypto even care? 

I asked folks on Twitter for their opinion and the answer was somewhat mixed.

Nathaniel Whittemore @nlw

Adding a poll for those who have an opinion but not enough to want to debate it. 🤣 Appreciate RTs for signal. Should bitcoin/crypto space care about the convos at the WEF? 1. Yes, like it or not, they're power brokers 2. No, we're trying to build something new 3. Not sure

I am sympathetic to the “no" position. Power structures stay in power by co-opting emergent forces, so we should be wary.

At the same time, I see four reasons why we should care to be involved.

1. Understanding. It is valuable to know what the Davos power structure’s perspective is on both a) the important macro issues of the day and b) crypto itself. Do we still live in “blockchain, not crypto world?” Is everything just about CBDCs?

2. Infiltration. Part of disrupting a power structure is infiltrating it, and Davos is full of pre-coiners and potential allies.

3. Related Issues. The world that crypto is trying to change isn’t just the world of monetary policy. We also have a stake in issues of privacy and surveillance. I want this community to have a stake in crosscutting issues like “synthetic media” aka deep fakes.

4. We’re on the agenda. Quite literally, we are part of the conversation already. It’s not just side panels but the mainstage that has both direct crypto content (“From Token Assets to a Token Economy”) as well as important related macro issues (“Shaping the Future of the Financial and Monetary Systems”). We can either decide to let these just be far away panels or we can actively engage and try to ensure that the conversation about shaping the future of these systems isn’t solely the domain of this global set.