The view from Paris Blockchain Week 2023: Web3 builds while the city burns

cointelegraph.com:

Paris Blockchain Week (PBW) celebrated its fourth edition in spring 2023 against a backdrop of riots, protests and general civil unrest. The builders in the Bitcoin (BTC), crypto, and Web3 spaces were unfazed by protesters chanting and dancing on the doorstep of the conference venue. 

The event occurred amid ongoing protests in Paris and worsening macroeconomic conditions in France. Many attendees expressed concern about the impact of these factors on the future of the blockchain and crypto industry, particularly in Europe.

Nevertheless, the overall mood at PBW 2023 was optimistic, with many attendees citing the recent surge in Bitcoin’s price as a sign of growing mainstream acceptance of the technology. As the CEO of Ledger, Pascal Gauthier, explained to Cointelegraph: “Bitcoin was designed for this.”

However, as protestors marched by the entrance of “Les Salles du Carousel” — the crypt in the Louvre where the event was held — there appeared to be a disconnect between the Web3 space and reality.

Denelle Dixon, CEO of the Stellar Development Foundation, explained that “It is a little bit like we’re not recognizing what’s happening with the builders and what’s happening with the protesters.” Nir Kouris, the founder of Creator Nations, told Cointelegraph that the work of Paris Blockchain Week is “super important,” but it’s important to speak to those in the mainstream world:

Cointelegraph interviewed some of the protesters during the event; very few were aware of crypto, and some had not heard the word “Bitcoin” before.

The streets of Paris saw fires, trash and fire extinguisher fluid — an apocalyptic scene for many of the tourists visiting France — but Parisians were unperturbed, and some called for calm. Gauthier, a Parisian