Consensus 2024, a long-running annual gathering for the cryptocurrency, blockchain, and Web3 community, recently concluded in Austin, Texas. The event brought together developers, investors, founders, policymakers, and enthusiasts from around the world to discuss the most pivotal matters in our industry. The Magic team attended in numbers to engage with builders, speak on a few stages, and better understand developer needs. The conversations we had were inspiring. Here are our key takeaways and insights from this year's conference:

#1. The Industry is Evolving Rapidly to Meet the Needs of the Global Economy

The crypto industry continues to evolve at a breakneck pace, with a strong emphasis on access and abstraction. There is a growing consensus that a multichain future is inevitable, and exciting new projects are solving for comprehensive interoperability and seamless interconnectivity. Developers are increasingly building for multiple chains (as evidenced by the Electric Capital developer report), signaling a shift towards collaboration across different blockchain ecosystems. The industry is adapting to meet the needs of a diverse global economy, with everyone from AI engineers to lawyers leaning in on learning how to be onchain.

Dylan Hattem, Head of Partnerships at Magic led a conversation with nonprofits and local government officials on how DePin is changing the game for people outside of crypto’s core community at Helium Mobile’s all-day event.

#2. Institutions are Embracing Crypto and Blockchains

Consensus 2024 saw an unprecedented level of institutional participation, with traditional finance (TradFi), politicians, government agencies, non-profits, infrastructure providers, and AI developers all showing increasing interest in the crypto space. We’ve crossed the Rubicon of institutional adoption and entered an era of lasting viability - this crypto event had some of the most diverse audience representation we’ve seen in ages. Major corporations such as Apple, Starbucks, Reddit, Amazon, Google, Chipotle, St. Jude's, State Farm, Fox, Fidelity, Citi, Microsoft, and General Mills were present, with many exhibiting at the event to build demand for their projects, attract developers to their ecosystems, or make connections in the true spirit of decentralized networks. Having worked towards this dream for the past six years at Magic, we see crypto’s continued survival and growth as a signal that the next wave of adoption is near and will be the biggest we’ve seen.

#3. Community and Developer Engagement Take Center Stage at Consensus 2024

The developer community had a strong presence at Consensus 2024, with the hackathon attracting a large number of participants. Blockchain projects are employing ingenious strategies to attract and retain developers, from hosting parties to giving out gifts, grants, bounties, and awards. Helium, Magic’s key customer for many years, was particularly active at Consensus, hosting an all-day side event featuring speakers, panels, and breakfast tacos, promoting the immense growth and effectiveness of Helium Mobile, their DePin solution for telecom infrastructure. The DePin movement in particular is an area where emerging community and developer activity is crossing over into the ‘real world’; it doesn’t get more disruptive than decentralizing cellphone networks. While many developers initially enter the space as tourists, those who deploy tend to stay and scale with a protocol or chain, creating a sticky ecosystem that means we see (good) iterative innovation and (bad) siloed ecosystems. However, with many developers building multichain projects, we expect silos to collapse in the face of the constant march towards true decentralization. 

#4. Key Narratives: Tokenization, RWA, Abstraction, AI + Chains, TradFi, Regulation, and yes, memecoins...

Several key narratives emerged during Consensus 2024, including tokenization, real-world assets (RWA), abstraction, the intersection of AI and blockchain, traditional finance's involvement, decentralized identity, decentralized infrastructure (DePin), regulation, and memecoins as performance art. These themes exemplify the industry's focus on expanding use cases for blockchains, bridging the gap between the digital and physical worlds, and navigating the evolving regulatory landscape. In 2024 we’ll see further clarity on the US government’s outlook for crypto, ongoing debate on issues like whether the treasury should issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC), and the main event: a Presidential Election which has seen both leading candidates wade into debate over the future of crypto, an issue on the minds of over ⅛ of Americans. To put that in context, more Americans hold crypto than own dogs…just imagine if a federal candidate came out against dogs? 

Major financial industry leaders like Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, have spoken publicly of their admiration of asset tokenization. At consensus we saw chains that have been around for years pivot heavily into this category, and multiple mainstage sessions featured congresspeople and financiers talking exclusively about what they think the US government is going to do about crypto. In 2024, no one should struggle to answer why blockchains exist - they’re finding purpose beyond of markets, digital art, and coins, and if key questions about regulation are answered, will soon be found everywhere. 

Magic Cofounder and CPO Jaemin Jin represented the technical perspective of Web3 infrastructure’s role in replacing website cookies on the Gen C stage at Consensus 2024.

#Conclusion

Consensus 2024 showcased the crypto industry's rapid evolution to meet the needs of the global economy, growing institutional adoption, and strengthening developer support. The Magic team's presence at the conference allowed us to have important conversations about the industry of the future. As the industry continues to mature, it is evident that collaboration, interoperability, and the discovery of new uses for the blockchain will be the driving forces behind the next wave of growth in our dynamic space.