Exclusive Interview: ConsenSys CCO Talks About MetaMask Airdrop, Ethereum Shanghai Upgrade, Crypto Regulation and More

cryptonews.com:

The Cryptonews team is reporting live from the Blockchain Economy London Summit that's running from 27-28 February 2023.

Cryptonews had an opportunity to sit down with Lex Sokolin, the Chief Cryptoeconomics Officer at ConsenSys, to talk about a variety of topics, including current market trends, crypto regulation, and also the much-anticipated MetaMask airdrop.

Cryptonews asked Lex about the recent trends in the crypto market and what factors are driving them. 

Lex emphasized the importance of looking at macro trends and the interconnection between various asset classes. Lex noted that crypto is now considered just another risk asset class, with its performance tied to that of other risky assets – when risk assets do well, crypto does well. Lex explained that over the last year, there had been a big blowup in Terra Luna, which hit every asset manager and custodial service that had exposure to it. 

This resulted in lower trust in custodial services and perhaps greater trust in decentralized solutions and increased regulatory action. 

Lex highlighted that the market drivers now include the likelihood of entering a recession, which impacts discretionary spending and connects to how many NFTs people buy. Lex also mentioned other drivers, such as Ethereum's ability to stake and unstake with the Ethereum Shanghai upgrade, Bitcoin's ability to have NFTs, and fundamental progress in the technology, which reinforces the strength of the technology story. 

Finally, Lex touched on the regulatory challenges in the crypto market, which continue to be difficult and will take some time to become more clear.

Lex Sokolin discussed the potential timing of the next crypto bull market in relation to the current high-interest rate environment. 

Sokol