Women walk past the Crypto House ahead of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, May 22, 2022. Picture taken May 22, 2022. REUTERS / Arnd Wiegmann
Women walk past the Crypto House ahead of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, May 22, 2022. Picture taken May 22, 2022. REUTERS / Arnd Wiegmann
Women walk past the Crypto House ahead of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, May 22, 2022. Picture taken May 22, 2022. REUTERS / Arnd Wiegmann
Women walk past the Crypto House ahead of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, May 22, 2022. Picture taken May 22, 2022. REUTERS / Arnd Wiegmann

Bitcoin's nosedive is a test of the true believers - and a defining moment for Web3


Mustafa Alrawi
  • English
  • Arabic

In January 2018, when I sat down to interview blockchain expert Sheila Warren in Davos during the World Economic Forum's annual meeting, the Bitcoin bubble was about to burst. It was not the first cryptocurrency crash, and certainly not the last.

At the time, Ms Warren was head of the Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies practice for the World Economic Forum. Today she is chief executive officer for the Crypto Council for Innovation, an industry body working to promote the benefits of developing technologies such as the blockchain, the metaverse, digital currencies, NFTs and other innovations that are reshaping the internet as we know it.

Members of the alliance include venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz, asset manager Fidelity Digital Assets, payments provider Block, trading network Paradigm, crypto exchanges Gemini and Coinbase, and VC Ribbit Capital.

Sheila Warren, chief executive officer for the Crypto Council for Innovation. Photo: World Economic Forum
Sheila Warren, chief executive officer for the Crypto Council for Innovation. Photo: World Economic Forum

All are vying for their piece of the ever-growing Web3 pie.

The metaverse market was worth about $300 million in 2020. In 2021, blockchain was worth about $4.5 billion and the cryptocurrency market was estimated at about $1.5bn. Of course, the hypothesis is that all of these related sectors will balloon in size and value over the coming decade.

Ms Warren suggests the growth over the last four years is visible on Davos’ Promenade, where storefronts are temporarily transformed into glorified marketing stalls during the week of the annual meeting.

“In 2018, it was just crypto crazy like it is now but it was ‘crypto chalet’ and ‘crypto lodge’… now, it's Polygon, you see Filecoin … Circle … that’s really amazing,” Ms Warren says, as we talk in the Media Village area of the Congress Centre at the start of the Forum’s spring time 2022 annual meeting. “To think about how far we've come in a pretty short period of time, where just the value of the industry [has reached].”

While immense growth is happening in the broader Web3 market, on the exchanges, the price of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, has nose dived — a reality that Ms Warren has managed to turn into a positive.

“I like the fact that we're gonna get a lot of the kind of like, hangers on, if you will, out of this ecosystem, who aren't serious about building because it's hard,” says Ms Warren. “It's hard to create economic models around this stuff. You have to be committed. And so I think we're gonna see a lot of this sort of nonsense [around crypto] go away, like we did in 2018.”

Education and advocacy will be more important than ever now, especially around the realities of Web3.

“People talk about the metaverse as if it's like one thing. That's not really how it's gonna work. You're gonna have different metaverses with gating in them and the gating may well be an NFT. You need this NFT credential, it gets you into a metaverse right now. I don't know what the language will be around this as we're still figuring it out, but it's not just going to be one online experience. Web3 is different.”

The council is focused on the blockchain specifically, and permission-less, open decentralised systems, she says.

Free pizza is offered during the "Happy Bitcoin Pizza Day" ahead of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, May 22, 2022. Picture taken May 22, 2022. REUTERS / Arnd Wiegmann
Free pizza is offered during the "Happy Bitcoin Pizza Day" ahead of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, May 22, 2022. Picture taken May 22, 2022. REUTERS / Arnd Wiegmann

“It's a time where the industry is arriving. We're at an inflection point, you know, and I think that you've seen in the regulatory landscape with [President Joe] Biden's executive order [on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets] or other things, you gotta take this stuff seriously," she says.

"Where as in 2018, I think we're kind of like, 'is it just going to fade into being a part of the tech stack ... and Bitcoin remains something [else] ... Now, crypto is an industry in its own right."

"It's going to be predicated on crypto economic models, for sure.”

Ms Warren says the council is also working toward inclusive growth, and what that will take.

“The reality is, if we don't provide a lot of evidence, education and advocacy, we're going to wind up with a very constrained environment, that's going to dictate what we can do.

“That's problematic. Because the reality is who's going to have access to [Web3] the same demographic that's had access in the past: very wealthy people who have nothing to lose who, can create closed doors," she said.

She says part of the problem with some internet models and tech models and platform models, is they favour certain geographies and languages, such as English.

As if on cue, on Wednesday, the World Economic Forum announced an initiative to develop an “economically viable, interoperable, safe and inclusive metaverse” together with companies including Facebook parent Meta, Microsoft and HTC.

“Done well, the metaverse could be a positive force for inclusion and equity, bridging some of the divides that exist in today’s physical and digital spaces,” said Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs.

“It mustn’t be shaped by tech companies on their own. It needs to be developed openly with a spirit of co-operation between the private sector, lawmakers, civil society, academia and the people who will use these technologies. This effort must be undertaken in the best interests of people and society, not technology companies.”

Meta’s message echoes what Ms Warren says about the importance of inclusion while at the same time confirming her biggest warning: narrow control by the wealthiest companies over what are intended to be universally accessible technologies.

"I've always seen myself as acting on behalf of, I don't want to call them consumers, but people [should] get precedence in this ecosystem," Ms Warren said. "What's been critically important for the beginning is making sure that people who are not like me, that don't have the privilege that I have in this ecosystem, are able to access these opportunities."

Ms Warren highlights the example of Axie Infinity, a blockchain-based play-to-earn game that spread like "absolute wildfire" in the Philippines and other nations.

"It's not a great example, because of what happened recently [with the crypto crash], but the model ... it proved [the idea]. Now you have a chance to stay in your country and earn a living," she says. "And so I think that there are so many parts of the world where it's forgotten that this flow of labour ... has gotten so complicated with the pandemic."

Ms Warren concedes the reputation of the crypto industry needs better "parameters around spotting scams".

"The reality is, we want to mitigate that as much as we possibly can, but it's never going to be zero. So we have to just be practical about it and say, 'How can we ensure that we're empowering people to make educated choices themselves?'"

It's a big question — and the answers are still to be decided.

SPECS

Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
On sale: Now

The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

Asia Cup 2018 Qualifier

Sunday's results:

  • UAE beat Malaysia by eight wickets
  • Nepal beat Singapore by four wickets
  • Oman v Hong Kong, no result

Tuesday fixtures:

  • Malaysia v Singapore
  • UAE v Oman
  • Nepal v Hong Kong
Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The winners

Fiction

  • ‘Amreekiya’  by Lena Mahmoud
  •  ‘As Good As True’ by Cheryl Reid

The Evelyn Shakir Non-Fiction Award

  • ‘Syrian and Lebanese Patricios in Sao Paulo’ by Oswaldo Truzzi;  translated by Ramon J Stern
  • ‘The Sound of Listening’ by Philip Metres

The George Ellenbogen Poetry Award

  • ‘Footnotes in the Order  of Disappearance’ by Fady Joudah

Children/Young Adult

  •  ‘I’ve Loved You Since Forever’ by Hoda Kotb 

Ammar 808:
Maghreb United

Sofyann Ben Youssef
Glitterbeat 

Leaderboard

63 - Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA)

64 - Rory McIlroy (NIR)

66 - Jon Rahm (ESP)

67 - Tom Lewis (ENG), Tommy Fleetwood (ENG)

68 - Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP), Marcus Kinhult (SWE)

69 - Justin Rose (ENG), Thomas Detry (BEL), Francesco Molinari (ITA), Danny Willett (ENG), Li Haotong (CHN), Matthias Schwab (AUT)

Other key dates
  • Finals draw: December 2
  • Finals (including semi-finals and third-placed game): June 5–9, 2019
  • Euro 2020 play-off draw: November 22, 2019
  • Euro 2020 play-offs: March 26–31, 2020
RESULTS

Light Flyweight (48kg): Alua Balkibekova (KAZ) beat Gulasal Sultonalieva (UZB) by points 4-1.

Flyweight (51kg): Nazym Kyzaibay (KAZ) beat Mary Kom (IND) 3-2.

Bantamweight (54kg): Dina Zholaman (KAZ) beat Sitora Shogdarova (UZB) 3-2.

Featherweight (57kg): Sitora Turdibekova (UZB) beat Vladislava Kukhta (KAZ) 5-0.

Lightweight (60kg): Rimma Volossenko (KAZ) beat Huswatun Hasanah (INA) KO round-1.

Light Welterweight (64kg): Milana Safronova (KAZ) beat Lalbuatsaihi (IND) 3-2.

Welterweight (69kg): Valentina Khalzova (KAZ) beat Navbakhor Khamidova (UZB) 5-0

Middleweight (75kg): Pooja Rani (IND) beat Mavluda Movlonova (UZB) 5-0.

Light Heavyweight (81kg): Farida Sholtay (KAZ) beat Ruzmetova Sokhiba (UZB) 5-0.

Heavyweight (81 kg): Lazzat Kungeibayeva (KAZ) beat Anupama (IND) 3-2.

Company Profile

Company name: Yeepeey

Started: Soft launch in November, 2020

Founders: Sagar Chandiramani, Jatin Sharma and Monish Chandiramani

Based: Dubai

Industry: E-grocery

Initial investment: $150,000

Future plan: Raise $1.5m and enter Saudi Arabia next year

Specs

Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric

Range: Up to 610km

Power: 905hp

Torque: 985Nm

Price: From Dh439,000

Available: Now

Winners

Best Men's Player of the Year: Kylian Mbappe (PSG)

Maradona Award for Best Goal Scorer of the Year: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)

TikTok Fans’ Player of the Year: Robert Lewandowski

Top Goal Scorer of All Time: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)

Best Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)

Best Men's Club of the Year: Chelsea

Best Women's Club of the Year: Barcelona

Best Defender of the Year: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/Italy)

Best Goalkeeper of the Year: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy)

Best Coach of the Year: Roberto Mancini (Italy)

Best National Team of the Year: Italy 

Best Agent of the Year: Federico Pastorello

Best Sporting Director of the Year: Txiki Begiristain (Manchester City)

Player Career Award: Ronaldinho

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid

When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid

The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Jigra
Director: Vasan Bala
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Rated: 3.5/5
GYAN’S ASIAN OUTPUT

2011-2015: Al Ain – 123 apps, 128 goals

2015-2017: Shanghai SIPG – 20 apps, 7 goals

2016-2017: Al Ahli (loan) – 25 apps, 11 goals

FINAL LEADERBOARD

1. Jordan Spieth (USA) 65 69 65 69 - 12-under-par
2. Matt Kuchar (USA) 65 71 66 69 - 9-under
3. Li Haotong (CHN) 69 73 69 63 - 6-under
T4. Rory McIlroy (NIR) 71 68 69 67 - 5-under
T4. Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP) 67 73 67 68 - 5-under
T6. Marc Leishman (AUS) 69 76 66 65 - 4-under
T6. Matthew Southgate (ENG) 72 72 67 65 - 4-under
T6. Brooks Koepka (USA) 65 72 68 71 - 4-under
T6. Branden Grace (RSA) 70 74 62 70 - 4-under
T6. Alexander Noren (SWE)  68 72 69 67 - 4-under

Profile

Company name: Jaib

Started: January 2018

Co-founders: Fouad Jeryes and Sinan Taifour

Based: Jordan

Sector: FinTech

Total transactions: over $800,000 since January, 2018

Investors in Jaib's mother company Alpha Apps: Aramex and 500 Startups

Updated: May 26, 2022, 3:36 PM`