Insights from TOKEN2049: What Changes Are Happening in the Industry?

Author: Yue Xiaoyu

Here comes a brief report from the conference!

After a busy two or three days, I finally have time to share my observations and thoughts from attending TOKEN2049 in Singapore.

At every industry conference, Binance, as the largest exchange in the world, can be said to be the most core sub-event outside the main venue of TOKEN2049.

Therefore, during our visit to Singapore, we set up booths at two events: one at the TOKEN2049 main venue and the other at the BNB Chain venue.

Here, I will mainly share insights based on these two events:

The TOKEN2049 and BNB Chain venues are actually two separate circles.

Since we had booths at both events, it was very clear to feel the differences between the two.

About 80% of the attendees at the TOKEN2049 main venue were foreigners, while 80% at the BNB Chain venue were Chinese.

From the perspective of the venue types, the main venue had the most booths from two categories: exchanges and cryptocurrency payment-related projects, which intuitively reflects the current industry trends.

On the other hand, the BNB Chain venue featured leading projects within the BNB Chain ecosystem, covering meme coins, stablecoin payments, on-chain contracts, prediction markets, etc., representing the popular trends of the BNB ecosystem.

At the same time, the demographics of the attendees at the two events were completely different: most attendees at the main venue were project representatives and industry practitioners, while those at the BNB Chain event were more KOLs, traders, and major investors.

Additionally, the TOKEN2049 main venue strictly checked tickets, while the BNB venue was semi-open.

If the main venue is like the business bureau for industry projects, then the BNB venue is like a carnival for Chinese players.

At the TOKEN2049 main venue, the people who actively came to consult and communicate with us mainly fell into three categories:

The first category consists of those involved in cryptocurrency payments, who can provide us with fiat or cryptocurrency payment solutions.

During our discussions, I found that fiat/crypto dual payment solutions have become quite mature.

Overseas compliance for deposits and withdrawals, as well as localized payment infrastructure, have become essential standard configurations for all overseas projects.

The second category includes various marketing agencies responsible for market promotion in regions such as Europe, South America, and Africa.

It is evident that if one wants to expand internationally, they need to shift towards refined localized operations, as the differences between countries and regions are significant, and market expansion methods vary greatly.

The third category consists of other project representatives and industry practitioners, most of whom were just browsing and learning about our project.

This group may not seem to directly convert, but they represent potential increments in industry brand recognition and exposure.

My biggest takeaway from this conference is that the emotions online and offline are also disconnected: online is pessimistic, while offline is optimistic.

Typically, the online community has a generally pessimistic atmosphere, filled with market noise and negative emotions, and everyone seems quite anxious.

However, upon attending the offline event, I found that the emotions were completely different.

Many practitioners and users were very interested in our project, optimistic about our development, and eager to participate deeply.

Some deep users also provided us with valuable feedback, wanting to help us improve.

I also realized something: online discourse is dominated by emotions and market conditions, while offline events are driven by value and community.

Many people online are shouting about a garbage market and lack of opportunities; offline, everyone is looking for reliable projects and actively connecting with others.

People are voting with their feet, more willing to seek opportunities at quality projects.

Thus, truly quality projects stand out more offline and receive recognition far exceeding that online.

This is also a form of positive selection.

Finally, I want to discuss whether project teams should attend exhibitions and whether it is worth going offline.

My advice is clear: for startups just getting started, I do not recommend renting a booth at the main venue, as the ROI is very low; however, for projects in a rapid growth phase or mature stage, it is very necessary.

The core function of a booth at the main venue is not conversion or client engagement; rather, it is more about showcasing the brand and demonstrating strength.

The greatest value of exhibiting at the main venue is brand exposure, making the industry aware of the existence of your project, while also providing a scenario for offline communication with partners and ecosystem collaborators.

Therefore, this model is more suitable for strong projects that need to build their brand. This is why the core booths on each floor of the main venue are mostly occupied by major exchanges, fundamentally to showcase their strength.

However, not renting a booth does not mean not attending; on the contrary, attending offline and engaging in face-to-face communication is currently the most cost-effective action in the industry.

During this offline trip, we had in-depth communication and exchanges with long-term partners, KOLs, and core deep users, establishing a strong sense of trust.

I have always believed that in this era, trust is the most scarce resource between people.

Talking online ten times is not as good as meeting offline once.

The noise is online, but the opportunities are offline.

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