Optimism reigned at Paris Blockchain Week

March 29, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Blockchain

Careful optimism was the theme at this year's Paris Blockchain Week. Builders will build and the crypto community will keep going.

Expectations for Paris Blockchain Week were relatively low considering the downbeat market conditions. However, Paris can always surprise you. Indeed, conference halls at the event were not nearly as empty or depressing as Consensus after the big crypto meltdown of 2018. People were present, and conversations were fruitful. (And yes, the croissants were, as always, delicious.)

In 2022, the conference was held symbolically in Palais Brongniart, a building known for hosting the historical Paris Stock Exchange until 1987. This time, organizers managed to outsoar themselves and held the event right under Louvre in the elegant “Carrousel du Louvre” conference halls.

Paris Blockchain Week 2023. Here's beginning pic.twitter.com/ZnmlhWcQpE
— DavidSHLee (@davidshlee11) March 21, 2023

Evening side events took place all around central Paris, overlapping and pushing some attendees to have three or even four dinners each night. Star speakers did not make any overly positive market predictions, but the conference vibe was definitely optimistic.

Is Paris the next best bet for crypto?

With regulators tightening their grip on crypto companies in the United States, Europe might be the next bet for crypto. While Paris is already home to prominent companies in the space — such as Ledger and The Sandbox — rumors are spreading that some big players will move their offices here or become more active in Paris.

We were honored to host @jerallaire, Co-Founder and CEO of @circle, at Paris Blockchain Week.

He shared his insights on the urgent need for the US government and regulators to catch up with other countries in setting clear rules for stablecoins. Allaire highlighted the… pic.twitter.com/wc4FFVJuyU
— Paris Blockchain Week (@ParisBlockWeek) March 29, 2023

Binance held its blockchain event in Paris last year. Circle just announced that it is seeking regulatory approvals in France and wants to establish a headquarters in Paris. Who knows? Coinbase could be next. Obviously, regulation will be a major factor in the future success of any European stablecoin or crypto service.

Need for crypto consortium

Another subject that flowed through many keynotes and discussions was the lack of industry collaboration. While it’s obvious to everyone now that crypto’s narrative is falling short, the question is: How can major industry players unite to stabilize the industry long-term and ensure its growth?

Some experts called for the industry to self-regulate as malicious players hurt everyone in the sector. Others stressed out a much-needed dialogue with regulators. If rules come from dusty offices without consultation with crypto industry players, the threat remains that those laws will become too complex, expensive or impossible to implement. Most experts agree and advocate for an industry-wide consortium. While initial industry collaborations to build discussions with the regulators have already started in the U.S. this year (with questionable results), much more effort is required.

Interoperability challenge

Experts across multiple panels raised interoperability concerns. Privately operated and centralized bridges have shown a vulnerability to hackers, and the lack of connectivity between networks hurts user experiences significantly and slows adoption.

Had an amazing time at the Paris Blockchain Week! From the Talent Fair to the Summit, we explored the latest in blockchain tech and met with fellow professionals. Share your feedback! What did you enjoy most? Did you make valuable connections?
#PBW2023 #AfterPBW pic.twitter.com/Ip0Xj8hewd
— Paris Blockchain Week (@ParisBlockWeek) March 28, 2023

Mobile carriers faced the same issues in their early days, but different smartphones and networks nonetheless manage to communicate flawlessly with each other today. Crypto users should similarly be able to switch in a safe and simple manner between applications and blockchains. From a technical standpoint, cross-application calls remain challenging even within a single blockchain, not to mention the same operation between two applications on different networks.

❤️ Success favors those who enjoy what they do.

It was so fun and rewarding to chat with the brilliant, gregarious and delightful gigachads @yana_vc, @SamGab_G and Dominic Briggs at #ParisBlockchainWeek.

Looking forward to my next panel on March 23 at the Louvre. pic.twitter.com/lzpZsECctX
— Igneus Terrenus (@IgneusTerrenus) March 22, 2023

Existing solutions to traditional bridging (wrapping assets) are so-called “message passing” protocols that don’t move assets but enable calls between blockchains instead. Others are blockchain operating systems that use “state proofs” and reference them on other chains.

If this technical debate feels a bit overwhelming, the key takeaway is that many bright minds are seeking core technical solutions for interoperability. However, nailing it down in a decentralized way might take them a few more years.

This year’s Paris Blockchain Week presented curated content, carefully balanced between commercial talks, panels on deep tech and narrow topics, and entertaining keynotes — imagine Tim Draper singing a Bitcoin song on stage. (Yes, that happened.) Careful optimism prevailed; builders build and keep going!

Sophia Schteiner is the founder of Schteiner PR, which focuses on luxury brands in art, French craftsmanship, design and interiors. She previously worked for an international communications agency with a focus on blockchain startups. She holds a degree in journalism and began her career as an art critic covering the film industry and urban architecture.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Ledger CEO: The collapse of banks is a ‘crash course to Bitcoin’ | PBW 2023

March 23, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Ledger CEO Pascal Gauthier said that anyone trying to centralize crypto will fail, saying that centralization and crypto are "two magnets that’s just not going to stick together."

The collapse of major banks highlights the need for Bitcoin (BTC) and self-custody according to Pascal Gauthier, the CEO and Chairman of hardware wallet provider Ledger.

In an interview with Cointelegraph reporter Joseph Hall at the Paris Blockchain Week, Gauthier spoke about how recent events show how BTC can be a safe haven against the threat of central authorities. He explained that:

“Bitcoin was designed in reaction to Lehman Brothers in the 2008 crisis. It was designed because you can't trust central authorities. And, it's designed because it's clear that central authorities will fail. It's not a question of if. It's more a question of when.”

According to Gauthier, whenever incidents like Celsius, FTX and bank collapses happen, people, flock to self-custody and to crypto. “Whenever the market gets stressed and whenever people fear for their savings, you know, they rush to crypto and to Ledger,” he pointed out.

Ledger CEO Pascal Gauthier sits down with Cointelegraph at the Paris Blockchain Week 2023

In addition, the Ledger executive also believes that people are starting to notice the reality of banks because of the current situation. Gauthier explained that many people come from the idea that the purpose of banks is to safeguard people’s funds because even if banks fail, people will be reimbursed. However, this may not be the case.

“They're figuring out that actually, it's not necessarily the case. And so it's troublesome. But again, it's a crash course to Bitcoin and why it exists and why it's necessary for the future,” he explained.

When asked if traditional brands coming into Web3 can potentially become a threat to the decentralization of crypto, Gauthier expressed confidence that this will not happen. He said:

“If this happens, then crypto is dead and then we move on to the next thing. I mean, it's either crypto will be decentralized or will not be. And all these brands actually do understand this.”

According to the Ledger CEO, brands were able to learn a lesson from Facebook’s failure to respect the ethos of crypto which is decentralization. “We've seen the movie now, you know, they [Facebook] failed because they didn't respect some of the fundamental principles of what crypto is,” he said. He added that anyone trying to centralize crypto is destined to fail. According to Gauthier, these are “two magnets that’s just not going to stick together.”

Magazine: Unstablecoins: Depegging, bank runs and other risks loom

“Crypto Is Like the Eiffel Tower”: Reflections on Paris Blockchain Week 2022

April 15, 2022 The Crypto Briefing

Regulating crypto firms: ‘It’s important that policymakers are involved,’ says Web3 Foundation COO

April 13, 2022 Coin Telegraph

bertrand perez

According to Bertrand Perez, some lawmakers are still making decisions “too fast or without having education” on crypto, but Libra may given them a push to develop a framework.

Bertrand Perez, chief operations officer of Web3 Foundation, one of the firms behind the Polkadot blockchain, said a certain level of regulation was necessary in the crypto space as long as those responsible left room for innovation.

Speaking to Cointelegraph at the Paris Blockchain Week on Wednesday, Perez said he saw a few areas of concern when it comes to regulating the space, including a recent draft bill from the European Parliament on noncustodial wallets, but overall those in the industry are trying to help policymakers to understand Web3. According to the Web3 Foundation COO, some lawmakers are still making decisions “too fast or without having education” on the space. However, the Facebook-backed Libra project in 2019 may have been the catalyst many in the EU needed to understand the urgency to move forward with a regulatory framework.

“We need to be aware that we need to evolve in a world where regulation is not necessarily bad,” said Perez. “You need certain level of regulation for protection, right? The key point is where you draw the line and we try to help drawing the line in a place that makes sense for the regulators so there are enough frameworks and protections from their perspective while leaving innovation growth.”

[ LIVE FROM MASTER STAGE ]

Tech Updates : Innovations in 2021 & 2022 @davidwachsman | Bertrand Perez |@diran_li | @EdwardsMason #PBWS2022 pic.twitter.com/vIUDpDyHSR
— Paris Blockchain Week Summit (@PBWSummit) April 13, 2022

The Web3 Foundation COO added that the narrative around crypto used for illicit activities was one of the major problems influencing lawmakers. Once that was debunked, according to Perez, regulators could “start talking digging more into the technology” and address different features and applications in a framework:

“I think it's important that policymakers are involved. Not only regulators because policymakers are really the representative of the people [...] I would tell them that we are here facing a real paradigm shift in terms of technology, we're maybe in front of something bigger than the internet and the value that that can generate is at least the value of Internet.”

Perez, a former senior director at PayPal, was the director general of the Libra Association — later rebranded to Diem — before joining the Web3 Foundation in September 2021. Ethereum co-founder and Polkadot and Kusama creator Gavin Wood, who coined the term Web3 in 2004, heads the foundation and claimed to have been developing blockchain bridges and additional parachains for the project.

paris blockchain week