DAVOS, Switzerland - Cryptocurrencies firms lined the main street in Davos this week were told they need to clean up their act before they can receive full acceptance from the World Economic Forum's old guard.
Nela Richardson, senior vice president and chief economist for human resources software provider ADP, said the future of cryptocurrencies looks regulated to me. She thinks central banks will step in to provide oversight.
The main conference hosted parties, briefings, and panels blitzed Davos with the hope of gaining credibility and inking deals with companies ranging from Tyson Foods Inc to Salesforce.com Inc.
Some of the events outside the security cordon of the main event featured speakers from traditional financial institutions, including Perella Weinberg Partners and State Street.
There was a cry for regulation and concerns about the sector, including about it being used illegally by sanctioned Russians, inside the gates.
Saudi finance minister Mohammed al-Jadaan said that cryptocurrencies have received a big push from Russian sanctions. I'm worried because it could be used for illegal activities. David Rubenstein, co-founder and co-chairman of U.S. buyout firm Carlyle, shared his concerns.
A lot of wealthy people who want to hide their assets after the Russian situation will say I will put 5% to 10% in a basket of cryptocurrencies.
The government won't know what I have, they can't get it and I can't get access to it. The roles of regulators, authenticators and custodians have come into sharp focus in Davos, which began after a crash in a coin that saw digital assets lose $800 billion in market value and one of the top ten digital coins become worthless.
It is still early days for cryptocurrencies in terms of investment class, said Ling Hai, co-president for international markets at Mastercard, told the Reuters Global Markets Forum GMF It needs to be sanctioned and regulated by the central bank and government. The value needs to be stable. Financial executives and technology executives on the sidelines said the rout would strengthen the industry because strong technology and coins would survive it.
Justin Fogerty, managing director and founder of financial consultancy Pivotas AG, said there's been a lot of volatility but the reality is it's here to stay. I think it has taken a lot of speculators and gamblers out of the market because of the volatility. Locations looking for investment have attracted new interest in cryptocurrencies, especially at Davos.
Vit Jedlick, the President of Liberland, a micronation claiming disputed land between Serbia and Croatia, attended an event for Polkadot in hopes of establishing a stronger partnership with the technology of the digital ledger.
The Indian delegation to Davos, which included six state governments, was housed in pavilions surrounded byBlockchain andCrypto-Crypto houses and has been meeting many of them to attract investment, particularly in education and training.
India pops up very, very high on the map when you map out where the next generation of developers are and where the talent and where should we go, according to Marieke Flament, CEO at the NEAR Foundation, which backss blockchain projects, told GMF.
In the spotlight over the crash of the MiamiCoin, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said he was working with the operators to fix glitches.
Suarez told a WEF panel that I still am taking my salary in bitcoins. It's not my only salary for the record.