The world’s most powerful men and women have met in Davos, Switzerland, to attend the World Economic Forum. The various forums are mainly about the Russian invasion, inflation and taxes. But Bitcoin and cryptocurrency are not neglected either.

The WEF is an annual, international meeting of about two thousand politicians, representatives of companies and international organizations, academics, civil society organizations and journalists.

Cryptocurrency Dominates Boardwalk

According to the Reuters news agency, crypto companies dominate the Davos promenade. This is a street near the convention center for eating and shopping. During the annual WEF, the promenade is traditionally taken over by banks and other major financial players.

This year it is the turn of the future. During the bull market in the crypto sector, a lot of money was apparently earned, as many companies can afford to make an appearance on the Davos promenade. The aim is, of course, to convince politicians and business leaders of your project.

“A big step for the crypto industry, because they have always been against Davos”, an industry representative told CNBC. This is especially true for Bitcoiners, as Bitcoin was developed in response to the failure of a centralized money world. With all the powerful in Davos, the WEF simply radiates that they are for a central power. Bitcoin is not represented by anyone, but often enough it is discussed by participants at the WEF and on the Davos promenade.

Pizza and NFTs

For example, the company Tether (known for the stablecoin USDT) distributed free pizzas last Sunday on the Davos promenade. This was done in honor of Bitcoin Pizza Day.

rollApp, which sells NFTs), has set up an NFT shop in the main street to promote the digital collectibles. Speaking to Reuters and CNBC, participants say that the crypto sector has taken over 50-60 percent of the shops and bars on the Davos promenade.

But cryptocurrency doesn’t just play a role on the boardwalk, it starts on arrival. WEF visitors were bombarded with signs advertising stablecoin issuer Circle and crypto broker Bitcoin Suisse as they got off their plane in Zurich or off the train in Davos.

But crypto was also discussed during the WEF. Jeremy Allaire, chairman and CEO of Circle Pay, and Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, sat side by side on Monday to talk about wire transfers and digital money during a briefing. According to Allaire, the world is moving towards a situation where the concept of a cross-border payment sounds just as crazy as the concept of a cross-border email.

Ray Dalio Talks about Bitcoin

Billionaire and hedge fund manager Ray Dalio is also in Davos. He spoke about this on the American news channel CNBC, discussing various topics.

He expressed pessimism about the US economy and the policy of the US Federal Reserve:

“The Federal Reserve will sell, individuals will sell, foreigners will sell, and the United States government will sell because it has to finance its deficit. There will be a supply/demand problem, which will lead to a bottleneck.“

Cash is rubbish

Dalio said cash is still rubbish. “Of course, cash is still garbage”, said Dalio. “Do you know how quickly you lose cash in purchasing power?“

“When I say that cash is a waste,” Dalio clarified, “I mean all currencies in relation to the euro, in relation to the yen. All these currencies, like those of the 1930s, will lose value relative to goods and services.“ At the same time, he calls cryptocurrency digital gold.

Bitcoin is digital gold

„Especially cryptocurrencies, I think blockchain is great“, said Dalio. „But let’s call it digital gold. I think digital gold, which would be a kind of Bitcoin, is something that is probably in the interest of diversification, in order to find an alternative to gold, have a small place over gold and then over other assetst.“

By this small square, he means the portfolios of investors. That this comes from Ray Dalio’s mouth is significant. To clarify who he is: in 1975 he founded his Bridgewater Fund. Bridgewater is now the largest hedge fund in the world with a capital of about $ 150 billion. Since its inception, the fund has paid out $52.2 billion to investors, more than any other hedge fund in the world.

New findings

Nevertheless, Dalio cannot (yet) be compared to Michael Saylor. Dalio does not shout from the rooftops that Bitcoin is the best invention since sliced bread. However, it is noteworthy that his opinion on Bitcoin has changed significantly since Davos 2020. He said at the time that Bitcoin was not money because it did not act as a store of value or a medium of exchange. Dalio now holds Bitcoin in his personal portfolio.

Prime Minister Rutte will attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) for two days. Finance Minister Kaag, Defence Minister Ollongren, Social Affairs and Employment Minister Van Gennip, Foreign Trade and Development Minister Schreinemacher and Infrastructure and Water Management State Secretary Heijnen also travel to Davos.