Bitcoin
What to expect from Consensus 2024: spotlight on Blockchain technology
Layer 2 of Bitcoin. Reestablishment of Ethereum. Interoperability. AI. DePIN. Next generation encryption.
These are just some of the cutting-edge blockchain technology topics on CoinDesk’s agenda Consensus Conference 2024which takes place from Wednesday, May 29th to Friday, May 31st in Austin, Texas.
For blockchain developers, it’s red meat. For others, it may seem strange. For everyone, including those in between, the three days are packed with opportunities to learn about the latest crypto technology in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Cosmos and XRP Ledger – from the world’s top experts.
We took a look at the agenda to identify internships and sessions that might interest blockchain developers and people interested in the technology.
In general, there are six broad categories of relevant programming:
The general agenda of the Consensus is quite extensive. In terms of the highlights of blockchain technology, the following would represent our picks.
1:45 pm (main stage): Joe Lubin by Consensys discuss Ethereum with Consensus Chairman Michael Casey.
2:45 pm (main stage): Emin Gün Sirer, CEO, Ava Labs, the lead developer of Avalanche, joins a panel about what blockchain can do for AI and what AI can do for cryptography.
3pm (City Square): Bryan Bishopone of the first Bitcoin coders (and now a Bitcoin improvement proposal editor), discuss the first few days on a panel with other crypto OGs.
12:45 pm (main stage): David Marcusformer head of Facebook/Meta Diem/Libra, he speaks about Lightspark, his digital payments startup based on Bitcoin’s Lightning Network.
1:15 pm (main stage): Sergei Nazarovco-founder of Chainlink, he speaks about his project’s work with global banking payments network Swift, in a panel moderated by Sam Kessler of CoinDesk.
4:15 pm (City Square): John Adlerco-founder and director of research at Celestia Labs, and Austin Federahead of strategy at the Solana Foundation, to discuss whether modular or monolithic blockchains are the best way to scale.
10am (Money Reimagined Stage): Co-founder of MakerDAO Runa Christensen discuss where DeFi is heading.
10:40 am (main stage): Raj Gokalco-founder and president of Solana Labs, discuss the future of networking and the upcoming release of Firedancer software designed to improve performance.
11am (Money Reimagined Phase): CEO of Hélio, Abhay Kumar speaks on a panel about the future of “decentralized physical infrastructure networks”, or DePIN (previously referred to as the Internet of Things, or IoT).
11:30 am (Main Stage): Casey Rodarmorthe developer who almost single-handedly created the two most impactful protocols launched on Bitcoin in the last two years – Ordinals and Runes – he speaks about what’s next and his vision for the oldest and largest blockchain.
12pm (Municipal Square): LOVE with Casey Rodarmor
12:15 pm (Startup Village): Injective Co-Founder Eric Chen discuss his vision for the future of finance.
3pm (Money Stage Reimagined): Gauntlet Co-Founder Tarun Chitra speak in a panel about “de-risking DeFi,” from preventing smart contract bugs and rug pulls to dealing with treasury management strategies and audits.
For blockchain developers and venture capital investors, this is probably where you will end up spending a lot of time.
1:30 p.m. Cosmos (in “Bitcoinization)
11:30 am Alchemy Engineering Lead, Rohan Thomare talk about “building the next killer dapp” and “how to simplify the Web3 user experience with account abstraction.”
1:30 p.m. Marcin Kazmierczakco-founder of RedStone Oracles, gives a collision course in “Pull vs. Push Oracle.”
On Thursday and Friday, Startup village is where the PitchFest semi-finals and finals are happening. The winner will be announced at 1:20 pm on Friday.
On Wednesday and in between PitchFest, there are sessions scheduled on crypto VCs; secure financing; how to win field competitions; Web3 and decentralized identities; and Web3 games.