The Messari Mainnet conference in New York drew about 2,000 attendees in person this week, with bullishness still running high and conference-goers ready to party.
Shahzad Nathani, head of partnerships at Shardeum, told Insider that enthusiasm is back to where it was before the bear market.
The NFT market has plummeted in the last year. The market valuations for two of the most popular collections fell in the week leading up to Mainnet.
A ticket to the three-day Mainnet conference costs $2,100 and gives access to three days' worth of panels featuring nearly 300 speakers.
Nathani said there was a lot of enthusiasm. We don't fall into the trap of being just a speculative space because people focus on how to build for the future. We are ready for the next leap in the next six months.
Nathani is shrugging off the winter and is optimistic about the future.
Angel investors are willing to put money into promising startup New partnerships that came to fruition this week were highlighted by others.
Brandon Rochon told Insider that the bear market means more building.
Brandon Neal said that Mainnet is optimistic because the industry continues to mature. He said that people who have been in the space for a long time know that the next wave of adoption is still coming.
The president of a metaverse company said that a shaky market opens the door for founders because investors have a better idea of who is going to win and who is going to lose.
There's a lot of hype and capital around so many projects that it's easier to identify stronger, more attractive opportunities in a more challenging environment.
"We've had a lot of deep conversations about where the space is headed, how to improve products, how to grow adoption and how to retain new users in the next cycle." Everyone is focused on building better products.
Mainnet had its share of celebrations after the discussions had ended.
I attended 10 Mainnet events over the course of a week. Even though it struggled through its bear market, most of the people I spoke to at these reception were still bullish on the space, and they pointed out the importance of community events like Mainnet.
At a cocktail event on the 76th floor of the World Trade Center, a company staffer told me she expected the community around the conference to remind people why they got involved in the digital asset space.
I had the same conversations with conference goers on each rooftop.
I spoke to people in the space who said they would deliver projects with tight-knit communities and real-world utility. Some people told me about new play-to-earn video games, while others told me aboutphygitals, a new mix between physical and digital space. The emphasis and excitement for new projects was high and seemingly undeterred by the current market.
A yacht party was charging $1,000 per person to attend, a separate cost from the $2, 100 ticket to Mainnet. Patrons were taken out for four hours on the river.
While surely a blast, more than one attendee noted the difference in tone between the lavish events and the reality of the market that has fallen from a $2 trillion total value last November to less than $1 trillion this week.
Philip Shoemaker, founder of Identity, a nonprofit focused on identification services, said that the bubble has burst this year, but that it can create forward momentum.
He said that this community comes together in unique ways. We have been through this type of market before and we will continue to grow together.
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