TOKEN2049 Dubai was held in Dubai from April 18 to April 19. Dubai has positioned itself as a global crypto innovation center. The event aims to bring together the global Web3 industry and provide a platform for interaction and communication for entrepreneurs, investors, developers, industry insiders and global media, including various independent peripheral activities such as gatherings, seminars, hackathons, dinners and parties.

Unfortunately, the conference encountered a rare rainstorm in Dubai, and the desert city was forced to become a large pond. Flight cancellations, traffic stagnation, water accumulation in houses followed... Reference reading: 《Dubai flooded into the sea, and this group of people entered "survival mode" as soon as they landed》

Although there were some twists and turns, the activities in Dubai have now ended successfully. BlockBeats editor has compiled several TOKEN2049 Dubai "essays" for you to see the experience and feelings of these VCs and KOLs at the on-site conference, so as not to miss the cutting-edge hot spots.

Allen Ding (founder of Ebunker):

This trip to Dubai is finally coming to an end. I can take some time to write some industry views. I hope it will be helpful to you.

1. This Dubai2049 is the best touchstone for projects that are about to issue coins in the near future, because you can directly see the marketing capabilities, industry resources and financial resources of each project. The currency circle is a market priced by attention. Projects that do not know how to market, have no allies and are stingy can be directly passed even if their backgrounds are awesome.

2. I haven't looked at the market for a long time, because 80% of my positions are BTC and ETH with leverage, and 20% are blue-chip small coins. This round of my secondary position building operation has ended, and the rest is to find an opportunity to stop profit. In the short term, we expect wide fluctuations (temporarily postponing interest rate hikes + intensified geopolitical conflicts), and we are definitely bullish in the medium and long term! We must not forget our original intentions. The worse and more absurd the centralized world is, the more expensive BTC and ETH will be!

3. I emphasize again that the best way to do it in a bull market is to use all your funds to earn beta and all your manpower to earn alpha. I believe you have also seen my new company @Dbunker_Network. I have all my funds and nothing to do, so I founded Dbunker to use my resources to help everyone better participate in DePIN. In the future, we will cooperate with many leading DePIN projects such as @ionet

@AethirCloud@DIMO_Network, etc., to launch simple and convenient financial products. You can pay attention to them.

4. I have always focused on industry hotspots. For Ethereum, I look at Restaking, and for Solana, I look at DePIN. I don’t pay much attention to BTC, because the current narratives of several BTC layer2 can’t impress me. The main reason is that I don’t know these dealers and I’m afraid of being cut. As for runes, I asked the researcher kid to go for it, I am too old to do it. I didn't play inscriptions before, why did I ask the kid to go for runes this time? Because of the odds, my understanding of the relationship between liquidity and asset growth has improved recently.

5. All projects whose token value is based on the shovel logic are not valid in the bull market, except BNB (BNB is not all about the shovel narrative). The reason is very simple. The return rate of the shovel is very easy to calculate. Under this model, the return rate determines the valuation of the shovel. Would you still buy a shovel with an annualized return of 10%? What the bull market needs is growth rather than fixed income. Moreover, not every shovel has the strong monopoly of Binance to support the return rate of its new assets. Once a new asset collapses, the shovel will collapse directly.

6. Are you still optimistic about Ethereum? Yes. Reason: I want to keep my title as the No. 1 ETH bull commander in Asia. I feel that @0xVeryBigOrange has been shouting more fiercely than me recently. Just kidding, I think Ethereum has reached the moment of prosperity. Whether it is the expectation of ETF, the ecological activity, or the on-chain activity, it has fallen to the bottom. And don't forget, if there is an asset other than BTC that can pass the ETF, it must be ETH.

7. I have been using my pocket money to buy Meme and NFT recently because my understanding of the relationship between liquidity and asset growth has improved, and the odds are good enough.

8. Dubai has great opportunities in the next five years, whether it is Web2 or Web3, there are huge opportunities. The collapse of the Swiss personality has led Dubai to become the new world financial free port. The population is growing continuously. As long as you buy a house for more than 2 million dirhams, you can get a 10-year golden visa. It is expected that the permanent population will double in 10 years. The return on assets is extremely high, and the rental-to-sale ratio is close to 0.1, which means that the house will pay back after 10 years of rental. This is simply the growth rate of Southeast Asia + the payment ability that exceeds Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, and it is quite safe. If I were 5 years younger, I would definitely go all-in in Dubai.

9. English is very important in the cryptocurrency world, and it is never too late to learn it.

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Fred Dacong (crypto investor):

Essay on Dubai Token2049:

Summary in one sentence: below expectations, quite disappointing

1. No difference: almost no difference from the hot spots in Hong Kong

If you have already been to the activities in Hong Kong, then the gains from going to the activities in Dubai are relatively small. Overall, Dubai Token2049 is more like a Hong Kong Web3 Festival with diverse ethnic groups.

The hot topics and activities are still AI/DePIN+BTC ecosystem, and Ethereum has almost no voice:

1) There are many people in AI/DePIN activities, and several activities I went to were overcrowded. Various types of DePIN projects are emerging in an endless stream, and VC peers are basically paying attention to this track.

2) There are also many activities in the BTC ecosystem, and it is obvious that the Chinese are dominant. One-third to one-half are Chinese (including but not limited to those from mainland China, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, etc.)

3) SOL has a booth at the main venue, and Western builders are generally bullish SOL ecosystem.

4) The most active are still exchanges, Binance club house for several consecutive days, Bitget, HTX, Gate and other exchanges took turns to show off their muscles, and CoinW, Kucoin, BingX and other institutions can also be seen at the main venue.

2. Disappearing America: Mainly European and Asian projects

Basically, the project parties I met were all Asian and European projects. In Europe, there are many teams from Italy and Russia, and in Asia, there are mainly teams from Southeast Asia, China, and Dubai.

There are relatively few project parties in the United States. I wanted to focus on getting to know the Base and Blast teams and ecological projects. So far, I have only occasionally encountered a Dex team on Blast, and I have also eaten all the gossips about Blast (I will share it with you later). I have met relatively few people from Coinbase, and there was only a very small event in Dubai. They are still more active in the United States.

3. Other thoughts: Heavy rain and culture

The heavy rain in Dubai this time brought many people unexpected events. Many side events were cancelled, as well as the "Token2049 sub-venues" that were born in Doha, Oman, Abu Dhabi and other places. In addition, I was trapped in Doha for two days and developed an unforgettable experience of sharing hardships with my friends in the mutual aid group at the airport. In fact, it also shows the fragility of a modern city built quickly by money under the scouring of heavy rain.

In addition, the weather in Dubai is too dry, which is not very friendly to southerners born in humid and hot areas. I feel that my throat has been hurting since the first day. In addition, the driver's service attitude is very good and very friendly to Chinese people. Almost every time a taxi driver hears that you are from China, he will say Oh Chinese are my friends.

The temperament of the whole city is very similar to Shanghai, like a Shanghai with diverse races, doubled prices and dryness.

In addition, I found that people are more willing to show up at events abroad than in Hong Kong. I found many familiar faces in Dubai, including He Yi from the Binance Clubhouse event and Justin Sun who I met at the main venue. I met Mr. Kong on the same flight back to China and talked about my feelings about Dubai. I resonated with the diversity of people at this conference.

In addition, I also felt the enthusiasm of my Twitter friends in Dubai this time. When I participated in side events offline, I encountered them several times and they mentioned: Oh, you are Dacong, I have been following your Twitter.

In an instant, I felt a sense of familiarity with my family members who seemed to have been connected with each other for a long time, even though they were in a foreign country. Indeed, insisting on output and sharing often brings unexpected surprises.

——At Dubai Airport

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Fiona (crypto KOL):

Finally leaving Dubai! So happy! Missing home every day

The project party is really a yacht model, and many activities are really crazy. The builder is here, and the scammer is here. I met many old friends and talked to many newcomers who have just entered the circle.

Dubai is a big mess. It is true that every round of bull market activities is like this. The crowds are surging. Not many people can stay.

Let me talk about my first trip to Dubai:

1. Dubai is indeed very pro-China. Cainiao Station and Alipay are all unimpeded. Even the musical fountain plays a lot of Chinese songs. Some service staff can even speak Chinese

2. Experienced Emirates' A380 and took a double-decker plane for the first time

3. It is worthy of being a major oil-producing country. The service is still significantly different from Singapore Airlines.

4. The emergency response capability is poor. Of course, it is highly likely that there has never been an opportunity for a heavy rain to flood the city. Both drainage and subsequent rescue are not keeping up.

5. Secularization and internationalization, the Muslim part is not felt by ordinary tourists. There are people of all skin colors everywhere on the road.

The last one is my thoughts on Dubai, and now I am back on track with Alpha Discovery.

In Dubai, I met many people who had just entered the circle, and they were ambitious, and their goal was to make tens of millions of dollars in this round.

I do know people who have made enough money in one cycle, but they are really few and far between.

The capacity of this market is so large, and the total market value of blockchain is only one trillion, and the actual liquidity that can be sold is only one-tenth. Many so-called overnight A8A9 stories are just their personal narratives, used as a means to make money.

The currency in our currency circle is also real money, which is the banknotes issued by the bank in Monopoly. Be rational in currency trading and distinguish between bragging and reality.

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LiamWang (Partner of MIIX Capital):

Heavy rain, compliance, AI and discourse power - a brief talk about the Token2049 conference

This is my first time to participate in the Token2049 event. As a Web3 learner (yes, I always think this identity is the most suitable for me), I have two purposes for attending the conference:

1. Feel the atmosphere of Web3 up close. In Web3, atmosphere is something that is hard to explain but particularly emphasized.

2. Understand the cutting-edge topics or narratives being discussed in the industry, which is especially important in a fast-changing industry.

The main Token2049 conference was held on April 18-19, but there have been various side events, small events and parties since April 15. As someone who used to work in a Web2 Internet company, the atmosphere of this conference is completely different. In general, Web3 events are conferences, but more like parties to meet friends. You can listen to the speakers share their insights in the venue, or you can grab a drink and find a place to communicate with people from different countries and regions in the world. Of course, if you have time in the evening, various organizers will have different parties, and you only need to grab a beer to meet new friends. The casual and free atmosphere runs through the entire Web3 event.

In addition to casualness and freedom, I think it can be summarized with a few keywords when talking about my feelings about the city of Dubai and this Token2049 topic discussion:

Keyword 1: Heavy rain

If you are a participant in this industry, you must have seen the news of this rare heavy rain in Dubai from social media/friend circle. On April 16, Dubai experienced the largest single-day heavy rain since 1949, with a large number of luxury cars submerged in the water and the public transportation system paralyzed.

Dubai has always been known for its luxury and prosperity. Until April 18, the entire city was still in a state of partial or complete suspension of public functions. A heavy rain tested the sewers of this city that brings together the rich material life of mankind, and also exposed the fragility of wealthy cities.

If extended to the Web3 industry, this rainstorm is also very inspiring:

A sound system needs to take into account any low-probability risks and make plans for them, even if the probability of occurrence is really low. For example, when we are working on a Defi project - will we be aware of a risk with a very small probability, but because of its low probability of occurrence, we choose to turn a blind eye to it out of luck?

A sound system must also be prepared for the emergence of black swans at any time. Now in a bull market, the overall atmosphere and sentiment will tend to be optimistic, but we need to be vigilant at all times, because in this industry, it is impossible to determine when a black swan event will come and how it will appear. Cautious optimism is always better than blind optimism.

Keyword 2: Regulation and Compliance

Regulation and compliance are the words I heard most in Dubai this time. The first panel event at the main venue on April 18 was about regulation and compliance. Guests such as Binance CEO Richard Teng and Bloq co-founder Matthew Roszak discussed their views on global regulation of the crypto industry. At the same time, in my exchanges with different project parties, I can also feel their emphasis on industry regulation and compliance. For project parties, the issues they generally care about are: ① Which countries/regions have friendly regulatory and compliance policies; ② How to obtain corresponding compliance licenses in these countries/regions, etc.

My feeling is that everyone has a consensus on the need for regulation and compliance in this industry. The difference in the discussion is nothing more than the way and rhythm of regulation. After all, the regulatory policies of each country and region are different.

At the same time, this also makes me think about a question: Is there a contradictory relationship between obtaining high returns and increasing compliance in the industry? For example, in the early stages of blockchain, many projects and individuals received rich returns due to the lag in regulation and compliance. As the industry becomes more and more standardized, will there be myths of individuals or projects quickly getting rich like in the past?

Keyword 3: AI

In addition to regulation and compliance, AI is another hot word I heard at this Token2049 event. At the main conference of Token2049, guests including Near Protocol co-founder IIIia Polosukhin and io.net founder Ahmad Shadid discussed what can be done in the combination of AI and Web3 in decentralized intelligence. Similarly, about half of the projects I discussed outside the venue and at the party were related to AI, including AI distributed storage and computing, decentralized GPU, intent-based AI applications, AI social and creator economy, etc. The popularity of AI+Web3 narrative is evident.

An interesting discovery is that in the past, when discussing Web3 mass adoption, people generally placed their hopes on GameFi and SocialFi, but this time, my feeling is that now everyone thinks that if Web3 is to be mass adopted, AI has a greater chance of success.

Keyword 4: Chinese discourse power

The Token2049 event was held very close to the Hong Kong Web3 Carnival Summit. The comparison between the two events has also become an interesting topic. After communicating with some Chinese practitioners, I found that everyone has two common feelings: ① The concentration of Chinese participants in the Token2049 event is not as high as that in the Hong Kong Carnival event (this is understandable, after all, Dubai is far from Greater China); ② There are differences in the focus of the discussion topics. For example, in the Hong Kong Carnival event, the topic of Bitcoin ecology was very popular, but in the Token2049 event, the discussion of this topic was relatively less popular.

Everyone is curious, is this like two different worlds?

This question is difficult to answer, and there is no way to determine it now. My opinion is:

From a practical point of view, Chinese people will definitely have their own discourse system in Web3.

On the one hand, many Chinese project entrepreneurs and investors now have good backgrounds, can speak fluent English, study and work abroad, and have a global mindset. At the same time, Chinese people themselves have the gene of "daring to take risks", so in the next ten years, I believe that more and more Chinese people will be active in the global technology competition arena.

On the other hand, there are many Chinese entrepreneurs in the Bitcoin ecosystem now, which is itself an effort and proof of building a discourse system.

From the perspective of vision, I think the Web3 industry should not be divided into countries/regions, skin colors or backgrounds. Because this industry emphasizes consensus, when the consensus is consistent, we are like-minded people, and we will not set where you come from, what skin color, education/work background, etc. as restrictions. So from this perspective, whether Chinese or non-Chinese, we should weaken the difference in identity. After all, the emergence of new things like Bitcoin itself is breaking the barriers of traditional sovereign state boundaries.

The above keywords are my stronger feelings when participating in the Token2049 event this time. It should be noted that this is just my personal feeling, which will be subjective, so it cannot represent the thoughts of every participant. Secondly, at this Token2049 event, there are many topics that are discussed very enthusiastically, such as Depin, RWA, Bitcoin ETF, Restaking, etc. My above feelings cannot cover these topics one by one. But overall, activities like Token2049 can reflect the direction of the current Web3 industry hot narrative. Regardless of everyone's subjective feelings, I believe that through participating in the meeting, a common judgment will be formed on the industry's hot tracks and narratives.

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