Ending Consensus 2023

CoinDesk wrapped up Consensus 2023 on Friday, marking the end of three days filled with discussions around politics, technology and fraud. Catch up on some of the key stories below.

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There were many policy sessions at Consensus this year, including our first Policy Summit – a full day of discussions centered around regulatory issues around the world.

Thousands of people descended on Austin, Texas last week to talk crypto. Here are some of the highlights. The same week saw several congressional hearings, follow-up work from the EU and additional work from regulators trying to tackle this sector.

Political issues had a day in the limelight at Consensus and appeared throughout the week in various conversations.

“What’s really fascinating to me about the regulatory conversation is that we’re seeing these discussions happen in parallel with ongoing work in Congress and other jurisdictions, which adds a little more pressure to this week’s conversations. It’s been a very busy week,” I said last week as part of a collection of views for CoinDesk Chief Content Officer Michael Casey’s Money Reimagined column.

Here’s the thing: I’m biased. I cover policy and regulatory issues both in the US and around the world as part of my day job.

What was also very fascinating to me is that my colleagues, who don’t necessarily need to address regulatory issues, also mentioned regulation as a central theme. Both Nick Baker, CoinDesk’s deputy editor-in-chief, and Ben Schiller, CoinDesk’s managing editor of Consensus Magazine, mentioned regulatory issues in the same column. The other contributors included CoinDesk’s reg team reporters Cheyenne Ligon and Amitoj Singh.

But it’s true: regulatory issues remained front and center in many of the panels last week, including those that were, in theory, about anything but regulation. How crypto companies will navigate the various jurisdictions they operate in and how they will address concerns from regulators in the wake of last year’s various collapses are both questions we heard during the three days of panels.

It is also what I have called “fundamental questions”. During a Twitter room discussing Consensus last week, as well as during the opening of the Policy Summit, I mentioned that one of these fundamental questions is “will we ever get a clear demarcation between what is a value and what is a commodity.”

It’s a question I asked during some of the sessions I moderated. Of course, this question has an answer if you ask regulators, say at the Securities and Exchange Commission, but for the most part, I’ve heard it’s a facts-and-circumstances analysis rather than a clear bright line. Will we get the clear bright line?

Another is whether we will actually see legislation addressing crypto enacted in the near future. Congressman Patrick McHenry (RN.C.), the chairman of the powerful House Financial Services Committee, said “yes” when I asked him if a bill could be passed in the next year.

Other issues that came up include the upcoming election, which includes the 2024 presidential election. Obviously that’s going to be of interest, but I’m also starting to hear more and more that this may be the first presidential election with an actual crypto component (Twitter Hack of 2020 does not count).

Read more about the coverage from Consensus at the links below:

If you have thoughts or questions about what I should discuss next week or any other feedback you’d like to share, feel free to email me at [email protected] or find me on Twitter @nikhileshde.

You can also join the group conversation at Telegram.