Heavy Rain, Compliance, AI, and Discourse Power: A Brief Discussion on Impressions from the Token2049 Conference

Author: @ LiamWang88, Independent Researcher
This is my first time attending the Token2049 event. As a Web3 learner (yes, I have always felt this identity suits me best), I have two main purposes for attending:

1. To experience the atmosphere of Web3 up close. In Web3, the atmosphere is something that is hard to define but is particularly emphasized.
2. To understand the cutting-edge topics or narratives currently being discussed in the industry, which is especially important in a rapidly changing field.

The main conference of Token2049 takes place over two days on April 18-19, but various side events, small activities, and parties have already started from April 15. As someone who has worked in a Web2 internet company, the experience of attending this event feels completely different. Overall, Web3 events are conferences, but they feel more like parties for meeting friends. You can listen to speakers share their insights in the venue, or you can casually find a spot to chat with people from different countries and regions while holding a drink. Of course, if you have time in the evening, various organizations will host different parties, and you just need to grab a beer to meet new friends. The casual and free atmosphere runs throughout the entire Web3 event.
In addition to the casual and free vibe, when it comes to my feelings about the city of Dubai and the discussions at Token2049, I think a few keywords can summarize it:

Keyword 1: Heavy Rain

If you are a participant in this industry, you must have seen news about the rare heavy rain in Dubai on social media/friends' circles. On April 16, Dubai experienced its largest single-day rainfall since 1949, with many luxury cars submerged in water and the public transportation system paralyzed.
Dubai has always been known for its luxury and prosperity, and until April 18, the entire city was still partially or completely paralyzed in terms of public functions. A heavy rain tested the drainage system of this city that gathers human material wealth and exposed the vulnerabilities of a wealthy city.
If we extend this to the Web3 industry, this heavy rain is also very enlightening:

1. A sound system needs to consider any low-probability risks and prepare contingency plans for them, even if the probability of occurrence is indeed very low. For example, when we are working on a DeFi project—do we recognize a risk with an extremely low probability, but because its occurrence is unlikely, do we choose to ignore it due to a sense of complacency?
2. A sound system must also be prepared for the emergence of black swan events at any time. Currently, in a bull market, the overall atmosphere and sentiment tend to be optimistic, but we need to remain vigilant at all times because, in this industry, we cannot determine when black swan events will occur or in what form they will appear. Cautious optimism is always better than blind optimism.

Keyword 2: Regulation and Compliance

Regulation and compliance were the most frequently mentioned terms I heard during my time in Dubai. The first panel discussion at the main venue on April 18 was about regulation and compliance—Binance CEO Richard Teng and Bloq co-founder Matthew Roszak, among others, discussed their views on global regulation in the crypto industry. At the same time, in conversations with different project teams, I also sensed their emphasis on industry regulation and compliance. For project teams, common concerns include: ① Which countries/regions have friendly regulatory and compliance policies; ② How to obtain the corresponding compliance licenses in these countries/regions, etc.
My impression is that there is a consensus in the industry on the need for regulation and compliance; the differences in discussion are merely about the methods and pace of regulation, as regulatory policies vary from country to country and region to region.
At the same time, this also made me ponder a question: Is there a contradictory relationship between obtaining high returns and the increasing compliance of the industry? For example, in the early stages of blockchain, due to the lag in regulation and compliance, many projects and individuals reaped substantial returns. As the industry becomes more regulated, will there still be individuals or projects that can create wealth rapidly like in the past?

Keyword 3: AI

In addition to regulation and compliance, AI was another hot topic I heard at the Token2049 event. At the main conference of Token2049, guests including Near Protocol co-founder Illia Polosukhin and io.net founder Ahmad Shadid discussed what can be done by combining AI with Web3 in decentralized intelligence. Similarly, in conversations outside the venue and at parties, about half of the projects I encountered were related to AI, including AI distributed storage and computing, decentralized GPUs, intent-based AI applications, AI social networking, and creator economies. The heat of the AI + Web3 narrative is evident.
An interesting observation is that in the past, when discussing Web3 mass adoption, people generally placed their hopes on GameFi and SocialFi. However, this time, my impression is that people now believe that AI holds greater hope for Web3 mass adoption.

Keyword 4: Chinese Voice

The timing of the Token2049 event is very close to the Hong Kong Web3 Carnival Summit. The comparison between the two events has also become an interesting topic. In conversations with some Chinese practitioners, I found that there are two common sentiments: ① The concentration of Chinese participants at the Token2049 event is not as high as at the Hong Kong Carnival (which is understandable, as Dubai is far from Greater China); ② There are differences in the focus of discussion topics. For example, at the Hong Kong Carnival, the topic of the Bitcoin ecosystem was very hot, but at the Token2049 event, the discussion on this topic was relatively less intense.
Everyone is quite curious, does this resemble two different worlds?
This question is difficult to answer and cannot be definitively characterized at this moment. My view is that, from a practical perspective, the Chinese community will certainly have its own voice in Web3.
On one hand, many Chinese project entrepreneurs and investors now have strong backgrounds, can speak fluent English, have studied and worked abroad, and possess a global mindset. Additionally, the Chinese community has a "dare to venture" gene, so I believe that in the next decade, more and more Chinese individuals will be active on the global technology competition stage.
On the other hand, there are many Chinese entrepreneurs in the Bitcoin ecosystem, which itself is an effort and proof of building a voice system.
From a visionary perspective, I believe that the Web3 industry should not be divided by country/region, skin color, or background. This industry emphasizes consensus; when consensus is aligned, we are like-minded individuals, and we do not set limitations based on where you come from, your skin color, or your educational/work background. Therefore, from this perspective, whether Chinese or non-Chinese, we should downplay the differences in identity, as the emergence of new things like Bitcoin itself is breaking down the barriers of traditional sovereign nation boundaries.
The above keywords represent my strong feelings during my participation in the Token2049 event. It should be noted that these are just my personal feelings and contain subjective judgments, so they do not represent the thoughts of every attendee. Additionally, there were many other topics discussed very passionately at this Token2049 event, such as Depin, RWA, Bitcoin ETF, Restaking, etc., and my above feelings cannot cover all these topics. But overall, events like Token2049 can reflect the current hot narratives in the Web3 industry, and regardless of each person's subjective feelings, I believe that attending will lead to a common judgment on industry hot tracks and narratives.