Consensus 2018 brought some of the world’s most influential cryptocurrency leaders to New York City in May for three days of learning, inspiration, and fun. Here are five of the top highlights.
Rented Lamborghinis Create a Glamorous Atmosphere
Outside of Consensus 2018, the streets were lined with new Lamborghinis. The Lamborghini, of course, is one of the world’s most recognizable status symbols, and the New Jersey-based car rental service Broadway Supercars placed the luxury cars at the front of the gathering to command attention, which it certainly did. “It’s for the people walking in. They all say once you make money in crypto, you buy a Lambo,” founder of the company John Nouri said regarding the strategic placement.
Snoop Dogg Performs at Consensus 2018’s After Party
Snoop Dogg entertained the Consensus 2018 attendees at an after-party sponsored by Ripple Labs. This was not his first time performing at an after-party for a crypto gathering: Last year, he was the guest of honor and DJ at SparkleCoin’s Initial Coin Offering. The rapper has shown an affinity for crypto throughout the years. In 2013, he tweeted that he was going to make his next record available in Bitcoin. He was then approached by Coinbase and BitPay about making that idea a reality shortly thereafter.
Amazon Web Services Says It Will Partner With ConsenSys
Matt Yanchyshyn, who leads the AWS Technology Partners Architecture Team, announced at the Consensus conference that AWS would partner with blockchain software company ConsenSys for a project called Kaleido. Known as an all-in-one blockchain platform, Kaleido is aimed at speeding and simplifying enterprise use of blockchain technology.
“Since the inception of ConsenSys in 2014, we have been on a mission to accelerate the adoption of Ethereum and all the benefits that decentralization can bring to business and societies around the world,” said Joseph Lubin, co-founder of Ethereum and founder of ConsenSys. “We believe Kaleido will become a de-facto standard and a global blockchain platform for business, providing an underlying foundation that until today was missing from the enterprise toolkit.”
New York City Goes ‘All In’ With Blockchain
At the Consensus Conference, the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) announced two initiatives centered around blockchain innovation.
First, the NYCEDC will launch the NYC Blockchain Resource Center, which will build public awareness of blockchain technology through education and connect entrepreneurs for business support as well as entrepreneurship.
Second, the NYCEDC will also launch a blockchain competition aimed at developing blockchain applications to help improve public sector services and processes.
“There’s no city in the world that’s better suited to lead the way in blockchain,” said NYCEDC President and CEO James Patchett. “We’re a global leader in finance, real estate, media, and tech – all industries seeing incredible innovation from this new technology. The City is putting big focus into blockchain to find out how we can grow the industry and make sure it’s creating great opportunities for New Yorkers.”
The Winklevoss Twins Are Expanding Their Digital Currency Reach
The Winklevoss twins announced at Consensus that Gemini, one of their currency exchanges, now supports Litecoin, Zcash and Bitcoin Cash. They also said that Gemini is the first exchange to get licensed to trade Zcash.
True to the disruptive nature of cryptocurrencies, Consensus 2018 was a mixture of serious discussions and outrageous fun. Now, it’s time to watch how the event’s announcements affect the worlds of blockchain technology and digital currencies.
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