The pilot must have seen a crash coming.
TheBlockDownWeb3 conference was kicking off the next day.
TNW was flying in to attend but the fates had other plans.
When we finally arrived in Croatia the next day, thecryptomarket had entered its biggest downturn in years.
Falling skies
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After reaching record-highs late last year, crypto prices started sliding as fears for the global economy grew.
Luna tumbled 99% to under $0.02 on May 13 the second day of BlockDown.
The implosion reverberated through the market.
The chaos cast a shadow over BlockDown.
Eric McIntire, the CCO ofNFTgames firm Fancy Studios, asked during his talk.
Surviving the bloodbath I hope?
Attendees of the event suspectedan orchestrated attack was behind the crash.
Some spoke on stage mere minutes after learning of seven-figure losses.
Yet the crypto crash wasnt the biggest headache for BlockDowns founder, Erhan Korhaliller.
Some are too invested to quit; others remain optimistic about the future.
These crashes are actually the time of testing for DeFi.
Its also the best time to launch new stuff… launching in a bull market is actually truly terrible.
Waiting for a rebound
Another cause for optimism is the applications beyond trading.
BlockDown promoted various other uses cases thatblockchaincan enable, fromDAOstogaming.
While trading is largely dictated by sentiment, effective applications have to focus on fundamentals.
Unfortunately, theres a large detachment between the fundamentals and price.
But in the long term, as the technology matures, there will be a convergence between the two.
Story byThomas Macaulay
Thomas is the managing editor of TNW.
He leads our coverage of European tech and oversees our talented team of writers.
Away from work, he e(show all)Thomas is the managing editor of TNW.
He leads our coverage of European tech and oversees our talented team of writers.
Away from work, he enjoys playing chess (badly) and the guitar (even worse).
