Why Established Web3 Communities Continue to Build and Thrive Despite Economic…

Asset classes of every kind continue to suffer in today’s economic climate — and crypto has been no exception.

While I was attending CoinDesk’s Consensus 2022 conference in Austin, Texas, the Dow Jones was down more than 20 percent, with bitcoin dropping below $24,000. You would imagine that such a massive drop would have put a damper on the overall spirit and turnout of the event, but in all honesty, you’d have never even known the price was falling. As said by Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson, “Bear markets are actually quite comfortable. Those are the building parts.” Everyone was much more focused on discussing what problems were being solved by the blockchain, the undeniable adoption by entire industries, and most of all, what they were passionate about in the space and how these communities have changed their lives.

As someone who has experienced the ups and downs of crypto since 2016, the comradery of the event left me feeling incredibly inspired. In a like-minded environment where you might expect to hear panic and concern around why prices are so low, nobody really seemed to care. The excitement of the inevitable future of Web3 as a whole was palpable and inspiring. A unique attention-driver, CoinDesk’s own NFT allowed you to spend their social tokens on merch, food, drinks and other NFTs, which was a unique real-time use case integrated into their event.

In addition to Consensus itself, there were numerous ongoing celebrations and activations throughout each day of the event. I was particularly intrigued by ArtBomb, where a community of artists put on one of the most interactive and socially inclusive Web3 art shows that I’ve had the pleasure to attend. There were musicians performing on top of a school bus, freestyle painters creating sprawling murals, video technicians orchestrating amazing light shows and projections, and intricate statues created out of what most people would consider junk.

On the other hand, a growing number of Web3 startup brands are coming out of nowhere by individuals who have never been involved in the space. A new, outside venture promoted itself as “setting the bar for web3 events” by promising an elaborate three-day NFT awards gala at a prestigious hotel in LA. The closer the event date approached, problems quickly arose — talent publicly began to pull out due to concerns over unfulfilled promises, disorganization and low ticket sales. The event was ultimately postponed with no future date announced.

The Rolling Stone Culture Council is an invitation-only community for Influencers, Innovators and Creatives. Do I qualify?

As an observer of the space for nearly six years, I can confidently say that having a detached understanding of the culture and communities that give this space life is often the primary reason a project will fall short. While there is no doubt a lot of opportunity in the Web3 space, newcomers would do well to first focus on networking within the community, offering true value and learning the culture.

With that said, Web3 remains extremely relevant as major brands and artists continue to promote within the NFT and metaverse realms. Tiffany’s surprise move to create one-of-a-kind pendants for holders of CryptoPunks showed there truly is interest in pairing NFTs with high-value, real-world items. On the music side, Eminem and Snoop Dogg turned heads by headlining the MTV VMAs with their metaverse-inspired performance.

The reason so many have invested themselves in the cryptocurrency space boils down to two overarching themes. From my perspective, the first is that there are dire problems with the current financial system and crypto is believed by many to be a solution. The second is community.

Whether it’s Gary Vee’s VeeFriends or CryptoDickButts with the queen of cults Meltem Demirors, so much of the value in this space is indeed…