WEF Davos 2024: Crypto Predictions, and the Pivot to AI

Tanzeel Akhtar

Last updated:

January 17, 2024 03:36 EST | 2 min read

Photo by Tanzeel Akhtar, Davos, Switzerland.Once again the social elite gathered in Davos for the World Economic Forum (WEF) – a global event bringing together the most influential players in politics and business to discuss the upcoming trends in business.

For the last seven years, crypto players have edged their way into Davos during the WEF. Who can forget 2017 (peak crypto) and crypto was the hottest trend and the talk of the town not forgetting the initial coin offering (ICO) phase.

After the ICO bubble popped there was an attempt to make “security token offerings” (STOs) and “initial exchange offerings” (IEOs) a thing but this fizzled out too.

In 2018, the WEF saw more chatter around Bitcoin and how some cryptocurrencies were a fad, but blockchain technology was here to stay. Then eventually crypto and blockchain technology took a back seat at Davos and chatter around the importance of regulation continued on a yearly basis.

In 2019, attendees continued to try and revive the sector, with many verbally bashing crypto as fad. Back then at the WEF, Jeff Schumacher, founder of BCG Digital Ventures, said: “I do believe it [bitcoin] will go to zero. I think it’s a great technology but I don’t believe it’s a currency. It’s not based on anything.”

Between 2020-2023 (excluding 2021 when the WEF was cancelled due to Covid) – crypto continued to remain on the outskirts – although addressed and included (for diversity) it is no longer the hot new trend as it was in 2017. Despite crypto players desperately trying to revive the sector with cool afterparties and Bitcoin pizza day – crypto remains niche, a bit like Marmite.

WEF Davos 2024 Crypto Media Coverage

Here is a round up of some of the interesting coverage coming out of Davos relating to the cryptocurrency sector.

Reuters, Divya Chowdhury and Lisa Pauline Mattackal report hedge fund SkyBridge’s Anthony Scaramucci believes Bitcoin’s price could breach $170,000 next year, driven by demand for newly listed exchange traded-funds and April’s halving event. “If bitcoin’s at $45,000 on the halving, where it roughly is right now, it’ll be $170,000 by mid- to late 2025,” the SkyBridge founder and managing partner told the Reuters Global Markets Forum at Davos.

CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal and MacKenzie Sigalos report that, artificial intelligence (AI) seems to be dominate the Promenade far more than crypto firms this year, reversing a trend from the past few years. The duo look back at their previous converge of crypto at Davos In January 2023, as the crypto winter had set in, firms pulled back on splashing the cash at Davos, but there was still a heavy presence from the industry, inclduing a mysterious orange bitcoin car. Today it seems Davos is all about AI which is dominating the WEF.

Financial News, Bilal Jafar reported, the crypto world has long headed to Davos in January, but has rarely been admitted inside the WEF. Instead, it has chosen to represent itself outside the heavily guarded conference. Jafar reports, crypto seeks legitimacy at World Economic Forum as Ripple president urges ‘mature players’ to attend.