Hey Folks! Blake here, reporting live from Bangkok. I just emerged from what might have been the most intense week in crypto this year — Devcon.

This year’s Devcon didn’t just live up to the hype—it blasted past it. Bangkok became the epicenter of crypto energy for one wild week of conversations that could shape the future of web3.

Here are my boots-on-the-ground reflections, spicy takes, and a peek into the results of our first post-conference survey with Myosin’s global crew and friends. Buckle up.

Bangkok as a Host City

What a stunning, electric city. For many attendees, it was their first time exploring this Southeast Asian gem—and it didn’t disappoint.

The food? 10/10. The vibe? Immaculate. The traffic? Absolute chaos.

If you were brave enough to hop on a scooter, you could weave through the madness like a local. Cars, though? Forget it.

And while most events were conveniently close to the main venue, some side events were inexplicably 30+ minutes away. Have we learned nothing about event planning?

900+ side events

Now, let’s talk side events—Devcon had over 900+ of them. Token2049 may have set the bar, but Devcon said, “Hold my sticky rice.”

The sheer sprawl meant you couldn’t possibly catch everyone you wanted to see, even with lightning-fast scooter rides. Singapore may have matched the numbers, but Bangkok’s layout took “spread out” to another level.

So yes, everyone was at Devcon, but sometimes it felt like everyone was everywhere except where you were. And there were friends who I literally didn’t see all week because there were only so many side events one could attend. Bummer, but such is life.

Most Interesting Events and Activations

From side events that pushed boundaries to curated gatherings that brought the community closer, Devcon didn’t hold back. Here are the highlights that stood out to me:

Main Event

Okay, confession time: I didn’t make it to the main event (I was too deep in the side event circuit). But by all accounts, from talking to my network and friend, it was incredible:

This was definitely the best Devcon by far. Amazing venue (the Wi-Fi worked!), great food options, lots of cool talks and booths. Justin Drake’s announcement of rethinking ETH’s consensus layer with Beam Chain definitely was a big deal.

The side events were high-quality and had a large proportion of builders, and from what I heard, people loved how diverse the attendees were, probably because of the lack of visa restrictions for visiting Thailand.

g(t)m Conference

This was the perfect way to kick off the week: one big room, no frills, just killer presentations. A few standout moments:

• Ekram (Celestia) crushed it with his talk on brand storytelling.

• Jin (Nuffle Labs) shared insights on how founders can leverage AI for marketing.

• Emily (Hype) nailed it with her session on data-driven marketing.

Massive shoutout to Claire from Aztec for putting this all together. 👏

Superfluid Flow House

GENIUS. That’s the only word for it. Superfluid hosted this brilliant activation at a wave pool, complete with swimsuits and towel merch. It was bold, memorable, and so on-brand.

I also joined a panel alongside Brian Flynn from Boost (formerly Rabbithole) to discuss whether airdrops are dead (verdict: bots are here to stay, but airdrops have life in them yet).

Evgeniy (Zerion) and Keeks (Parabl) followed with an insightful session on points-as-loyalty-meta. Let’s just say I’m bullish on loyalty points making a comeback.

…

Walletcon

A quick stop, but worth it. Big ups to the Reown team and everyone working on improving wallet UX and advancing smart account adoption. It’s a slow journey, but these efforts are critical for the ecosystem’s future.

Caladan Bull Market Rally

This was a nostalgic throwback. The last bull market rally I attended was at Solana Breakpoint in Lisbon, just before the FTX crash.

Steph (a friend) confirmed this event was inspired by that, and hopefully, the timing is better this time around. It was a blast—fun, friendly competition to shake things up.

Refraction x Serotonin Party

Refraction never misses. They transformed the same space that hosted Walletcon earlier into a DJ-fueled vibe machine. Excellent music, excellent crowd, and an absolute must-attend.

rAAVE

rAAVE always delivers. Ronnie and the Avara Labs team did a great job building the hype and setting the theme as always, and the music, merch, and energy made the trek well worth it. An ideal way to close out an intense week of conferencing!

Curated Private Brunches/Dinners

I have to mention our Myosin x Spartan Labs x Airfoil brunch—an absolute success. Delicious Issan (northeastern Thai) food and the best company: members and friends from across the globe. We’re going to keep running this playbook back!

These curated moments? They’re where the real magic happens. Special shoutouts to:

• Iggy (Squads): For hosting intimate dinners and morning Muay Thai sessions.

• Stef (Guava): For an incredible dinner at her insane villa, requiring a boat ride through a rainstorm (talk about dedication).

Bullish or Bearish?

Now after the conference, we just issued our first survey to start understanding sentiment, and our results lined up with what we observed on the ground: sentiment in the industry is all over the map.

While there’s undeniable excitement around AI agents (formerly known as bots), bearish clouds are forming over consumer crypto and onchain gaming. Mixed chatter surrounded ZK tech, memecoins, L2s, and infrastructure.

Where the Industry Stands

• Bullish

  • AI agents: 8.7

  • Zero-knowledge tech: 8.0

• Mixed

  • Memecoins: 7.8

  • Web3 infrastructure: 7.6

  • Consumer crypto: 7.0

• Bearish

  • Layer 2s: 6.2

  • Onchain gaming: 5.4

Insights and Hot Takes From Survey Respondents

The general sentiment was upbeat, with plenty of takeaways for me personally: next year, I will make time for the main event, double down on curated private gatherings, and accept this truth: even when it feels like everyone knows what’s happening, no one actually knows anything (looking at you, AI agents).

Here are some of the most interesting comments from our survey:

“Most company-specific events were mid at best, like Cronos House, Polygon Coworking, Base Meetup, etc. They run the risk of being echo chambers with unoriginal talks and uninspiring contacts.”

“Memecoins are here to stay—the question is how the launch form factor will evolve, and which memes can graduate into ‘cult’ or ‘movement’ status.”

“ATH conversations about TEE, new L2s & scaling Ethereum, probably nothing.”

“Nice to see more involvement from non-ETH communities like BTC & Solana.”

“Best place to make friends is 1-1 conversations & outside of the meetup circuit. People prefer high-quality food to low-quality drinks.”

“No one understands AI agents. Trust me on this!”

“Devcon is one of the only conferences where the main event is actually as valuable—or even more valuable—than the side events!”

“We need more events across Asia because that’s where the majority of crypto investors reside. Hosting events in places like Thailand allows students and aspiring crypto professionals to participate without breaking the bank, which is key to onboarding the masses.”

The Crystal Ball Moment

Here's what became clear through the haze of amazing Thai coffee and late-night debates: the onchain economy is growing up.

We're seeing regulation that doesn't make us cringe, adoption that isn't just about pumps, and technology that might actually be usable by regular humans (eventually). The most refreshing part? Nobody really knows what's next, and we're all okay with that.

Looking Forward

All in all, Devcon was an incredible week with our members, friends, and partners worldwide, and a great way to end 2024.

There's still years of work ahead, but the energy at Devcon proved we're on the right track. The builders are building, the thinkers are thinking, and somehow, the memes are still meme-ing.

Onwards!