Attendees at the TOKEN2049 conference, which is expected to attract around 15,000 people, thronged the venue, while a pair of camels rested unbothered by the loud tunes playing in the background.
They shared mixed feelings about Trump’s impact on the industry. “In the long term, it’s going to be good for crypto, but it really relies on the world economy picking up again,” said Miklos Veszpremi, the chief operating officer of a web3-integrated streaming platform. “I think that once the tariffs actually start hitting countries, there’s going to be a lot of pain, and we might be headed towards some difficult times,” he said.
Still, the industry enjoyed a strong start to the year as money poured in.
Global venture capital investments in crypto companies totalled $5.4 billion in the first quarter of 2025, its best quarter since mid-2022, according to data from PitchBook.
Attendee Herbert R. Sim, wrapped in a bitcoin-themed jacket, said that predicting the impact of Trump policies on the crypto sector was very hard “but so far … (progress) is on the regulation side of things.”
“Things are easing up in America,” he said, as developers, investors and crypto fans weaved past packed industry marketing booths and joined queues to glide on outside zip lines.
CRYPTO HUB
The United Arab Emirates is quickly emerging as a key hub for crypto companies, with several setting up shop or seeking to expand.
Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, announced in March that Abu Dhabi-backed investment group MGX had made a $2 billion crypto investment in it, deepening its ties with the UAE.
The exchange’s founder, Changpeng Zhao, who last year served four months in prison after pleading guilty to violating U.S. laws against money laundering, was welcomed to the main stage with cheers from the audience.
Zhao stepped down as CEO of Binance as part of a $4.3 billion settlement with U.S. authorities but remains a major shareholder.
UAE authorities continue to promote crypto adoption.
Buyers for apartments in a new planned tower in Dubai the Trump Organization launched this week alongside a luxury real estate developer will be able to pay with bitcoin, Eric Trump said.
Dubai’s Emirates NBD bank recently launched crypto trading services on its digital arm Liv and one of the city’s largest free zones, the DMCC, which hosts more than 600 crypto firms, plans to open a “crypto tower” in early 2027 to host more.
“It’s much easier to do business here,” said Germany-based attendee Andre Liesenfeld, referring to Dubai.
