WEF official sees more blockchain adoption in 2023 as “a lot of enthusiasm” remains
Despite a challenging year for the blockchain and cryptocurrency sectors, the passion and power in this area has not disappeared, as confirmed by the Head of Blockchain and Digital Assets at the World Economic Forum (WEF), Brynly Llyr.
Although the interest of financial institutions in cryptocurrencies may have waned, there is still interest in investing in blockchain as a technology in 2023, as Llyr told Discard News Angie Lau in an interview in Davos, Switzerland, published on January 26.
She explained this phenomenon, highlighting blockchain’s existing and potential use cases, as well as the ongoing and persistent drive that developers still have:
“It’s about what the blockchain can enable, what’s possible, and I still see a lot of enthusiasm there. (…) We see a number of use cases and developers who continue to be energetic and continue to work on these projects. And I think you still see money coming into them.”
Diversification and path to the user
Focusing on the positive aspects of a decentralized system, the head of Blockchain and Digital Assets also singled out the diversification that it can offer as one of the goals to strive for and which is possible when the wider public is fully aware of the blockchain’s usefulness.
“One of the advantages of a decentralized system is that you get many different points of view and a lot of diversity in what is developed. (…) How are we going to get there? I think we follow the user’s path. I think when people realize that using these products makes a difference in their lives and they start using them and we see where the adoption is, that’s where we’re going.”
WEF’s interest in blockchain and crypto
Notably, Llyr became head of blockchain and cryptocurrencies at the WEF after the international non-governmental and lobbying organization, funded by its 1,000 member companies, posted a job advertisement for the position on July 19, as part of its growing focus on digital assets.
More recently, Nigel Green, CEO of financial management firm deVere Group, warned that the WEF would “fail spectacularly” if it does not focus on crypto regulation at the 2023 summit in Davos, urging world leaders to step up rather than just talk about regulation of digital assets.
Meanwhile, SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci has declared that the “inhibiting pessimism” expressed by world leaders at the recent WEF summit was “hugely bullish” for risk assets like crypto, as Finbold reported.
