Apparently not everything is bigger in Texas. At least not in the days after a major cryptocurrency exchange files for bankruptcy.
The collapse of FTX and the ripples that ex-CEO Sam Bankman-Fried made in the crypto space were on many people’s lips at the Texas Blockchain Summit held on November 17-18 in the state capital, Austin. Unlike the Texas Blockchain Council’s inaugural conference in October 2021, which was held over a single day, there were plenty of open seats at the 2022 event, which featured speakers on energy, cryptocurrency mining, regulation, and innovations in the space. .
“Two years ago, this audience was full”Chad Harris, commercial director of crypto miner Riot Blockchain, said at the summit—perhaps mistaking the year of the last event. “Today, this is an audience full of passionate people who believe that they can really facilitate what they say to the public. […] Every time one of us fails disastrously, it affects all of us in this room.”
In attendance were U.S. legislators and regulators including Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Commodity Futures Trading Commission Commissioner Summer Mersinger, as well as household names in the cryptocurrency space including podcast host Anthony ‘Pomp’ Pompliano and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang. The October 2021 summit featured interventions by three US senators, including pro-crypto legislator Cynthia Lummis.
“Texas is a free state, and it has attracted many businesses […] I think we are seeing the results of that,” Chamber of Digital Commerce founder Perianne Boring told Cointelegraph at the summit.
Kelsey Pristach, Lummis Policy Advisor, attended the 2022 summit to speak on a panel on digital asset policy. However, some speakers scheduled to appear at the panels on November 17 did not attend for unknown reasons. Minnesota representative Tom Emmer, announced as a confirmed speaker for the summit in May, did not appear on the final agenda.
Although there were telltale signs of the presence of native Texans in the audience—a few wearing cowboy hats and whoops of glee at high-sounding comments—many attendees were modestly dressed in jackets, blazers, and slacks.. Few wore Bankman-Fried garb and other stereotypes of “crypto” shorts and hoodies.
“This industry has to change, and it has to change quickly,” Harris said. “I think what’s happening today is a clearer signal and message that this industry … it’s time for us to grow up.”
He commented that the cryptocurrency market is at one of its peaks:
“Bitcoin was over sixty thousand dollars, and everyone was driving lambos and flying planes and hanging from their yachts. And let me tell you something: it’s a very different world […] that kind of bad behavior creates a bad environment for people who are doing it right.”
“It was interesting to hear the views of the speakers on how the fallout from FTX will shape the industry going forward,” said Cointelegraph’s Rachel Wolfson. “While the event was not as well attended as last year, there were a number of high-level speakers who had valuable insights to share regarding the fall of FTX and how Texas will continue to move the industry forward with strong support for the Bitcoin mining and blockchain innovation”.
While Bitcoin (BTC), energy and mining were largely the topic of November 17, the final day focused on regulation and politics, with many speakers suggesting that the FTX crash could trigger a disproportionate response from the legislators. Yang referred to a possible “regulatory appetite” among US lawmakers, while CFTC Commissioner Mersinger suggested that the government may have “passed the education stage” on cryptocurrency and was moving to the action.
Many in the cryptocurrency space said they view Texas as a regulatory-friendly environment for mining companies as well as blockchain-based projects, as Governor Greg Abbott has publicly said he was a “supporter of proposition cryptocurrency law”. The Texas Blockchain Council reported that approximately 1,000 people attended the 2021 summit, while a Texas Tribune report suggested there were “hundreds of investors, policymakers, professionals, and enthusiasts” at the 2022 event.
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