Inside the World Economic Forum: Circle, Ripple reflect on Davos 2023

cointelegraph.com:

Key figures from the wider cryptocurrency space painted a picture of increased dialogue and collaboration at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos.

Cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology remained but a small part of the projects and initiatives discussed and workshopped at the annual WEF conference high in the Swiss Alps. However, an increased number of sessions focused on the sector suggests that the wider world is looking for synergies between traditional finance and decentralized finance.

This theme emerged from a number of interviews conducted by Cointelegraph during January’s conference in Davos. Senior executives from XRP issuer Ripple and USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin firm Circle highlighted the importance of embracing solutions and systems that are creating tangible utility and value.

Circle and Ripple had a bird's eye view of the wider crypto and blockchain conversation in Davos, given their participation outside the WEF conference at a myriad of crypto-focused events like Blockchain Hub Davos and GBBC’s Blockchain Central.

Ripple’s team rented out office space in Davos to conduct meetings and business during the WEF conference. Cointelegraph met Ripple’s APAC managing director, Brooks Entwistle, inside their Davos hub to discuss the firm's involvement at this year’s conference.

Entwistle painted an interesting picture as an individual who has been to past WEF Annual Meetings in different roles for different companies and organizations from as early as 2009. The presence of crypto and blockchain industry participants has come to the fore in recent years, as Entwistle explained:

However, the prolonged downturn across conventional and cryptocurrency markets, coupled with seismic events like the collapse of