To HODL or not is NOT the question

Singapore

As Consensus Singapore drew to a close, some notes & observations here:

• There were very few trigger happy VC/Institutional investors
• Most VCs / Institutional investors were only up for equity deals & only if approached.
• Only Koreans have some capital looking for quick returns. How long?
• No Free Investments. Looks like that one has flown the nest
• Most Startups were actually presenting / learning rather than pitching
• There were some startups pitching but they were a minority as compared to those who didn’t
• Lots of technical discussions
• Conversations aplenty about ETFs, Stable Coins & STOs
• Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) doesn’t intend to regulate utility tokens that are used to access certain services. However, a payment services bill is expected to be enacted by the year end to apply to ‘payment tokens
• Conferences’ opening days are still poorly managed. This is a global issue. An Identity / KYC solution on the Blockchain could have helped
• Hiring is still a problem for many startups
• Distributed teams are in
• Tools & Dapps are what really interest investors now! Good News! :)
• Conferences overload & fatigue is setting in. Heard “Poke a finger on the world map blindfolded, be sure that there are at least a handful of Blockchain / Crypto conferences in a 300mile radius in that week”
• Exchanges still help sell news bytes & inches. (We heard & saw many CZ photos, didn’t we all?)
• Bitcoin Miners stay positive
• Security remains a hot topic
• Blockchain is helping fuel Co-working space wars in Singapore between WeWork, JustCo & a few other independent operators

Summing it up from some fronts:

Investment : The Big Chill

Technology : Warm

Legal & Regulatory : Hot

Networking : Warm

Organisation, Presentation, After Parties : Hot

Sentiment : Resilient

Value for Money : Expensive!

MX Conference Barometer

ps: Of the thousands out there, who had a great time, stayed positive & learnt from each other, there were probably only a couple of noobs who were discussing price over beer :)