The crypto market tumbled downward for weeks leading into NFT NYC, but the line to pick up passes on the convention’s first day still stretched hundreds of yards around the block.
As its doors opened, the New York Mariott Marquis became a coordinated scene of attendees filing through a vertical maze of escalators and walkways, while company reps put final touches on numerous displays. People chatted in line enthusiastically about their connections to crypto, and some munched on complimentary fruit. Once badges were secured, almost everyone dispersed throughout the hotel and beyond.
(Photo: André Beganski / Decrypt)
The conference’s main purpose was to showcase the world of NFTs and provide a venue for people to network and celebrate amid companies peacocking their success in front of competitors. But the week could’ve also been seen as a chance to gauge the temperature of the crypto community, which seemed just as optimistic as ever.
(Photo: André Beganski / Decrypt)
The Marquis’s floors were stacked with some of the biggest names in cryptocurrency, from Coinbase to Tron, but only a couple exhibits were up and running by Monday afternoon. Not much was taking place, aside from people partaking in the hype by snapping selfies, gawking at some Rare Pepe NFTs presumably for sale, or plundering the conference floor for whatever stickers and freebies they could find.
(Photo: André Beganski / Decrypt)
If the Marquis served as the conference’s head, its body extended far beyond the confines of Times Square–which was plastered in advertisements from Web3 companies. NFT NYC sprawled across Manhattan and into the city’s outer boroughs. The so-called satellite events that companies could host on their own felt instead like the convention’s main pull, and sent attendees ping-ponging from Midtown to Brooklyn and back as the week went on.
(Photo: André Beganski / Decrypt)
It would’ve been possible to partake in a lot of the events attached to NFT NYC and never step foot inside its central hotel. Despite that, organizers promised over 15,000 artists and enthusiasts, along with 1,500 speakers would attend, according to Jodee Rich, confounder and producer of NFT NYC.
The venues ranged from lofty rooftop bars overlooking the city’s skyline to stuffy dance floors tucked underground, and also included Gotham Hall, an over-the-top venue in Midtown with tall ceilings and a distinctly neoclassical style. Steve Aoki would go on to take the stage there and participate in a panel that discussed how Web3 could change the future of media, music, and entertainment.
(Photo: André Beganski / Decrypt)
A lot of the events felt lavish, grand, and pricey to put on–something that seemed to fly in the face of what an outsider to the crypto space might expect as capable given the current market. A few organizations changed venues, but a majority of companies seemed to stick to their plans that could’ve been organized well before the prices of digital assets began to slump.
(Photo: André Beganski / Decrypt)
Nobody at these events seemed concerned about the state of the crypto industry either, at least outwardly so. There was no permeable sense of doom or gloom surrounding the recent crash that one could glean from the crowd’s behavior at various events or in snippets of overheard conversations. The bear market might’ve been a backdrop to NFT NYC, but it was completely out of focus for most of the attendees.
(Photo: André Beganski / Decrypt)
People’s spirits seemed high. They appeared excited to be there and connect with each other, whether it was over the ownership of name-brand NFTs (of which many repped clothing as if they were sports teams),a bright new idea for a startup, or the longer-than-expected wait times present at almost every event.
(Photo: André Beganski / Decrypt)
Most of the attendees at NFT NYC seemed to be in their 20s or early 30s, but the events they attended were usually managed by people who were relatively older. It was something completely dependent upon the location and organizer of the event, but a majority of the convention-goers were also men—prompting criticism from one twitter user.
Hi if you’re hosting an NFT NYC event: just let women in. For free. Any women. Trust me, you need them
— Bita Del Rey (@_b33ts) June 22, 2022
The week was not without its PR stunts, and one of the most notable ones took place on the convention’s first day. Streetwear brand The Hundreds staged a fake religious protest on the streets of Manhattan, with people brandishing signs against NFTs that included language such as “God hates NFTs” and “Crypto is a Sin,” according to reporting from AdAge
Another viral moment took place a day later when Snoop Dogg was supposedly perusing the Marquis’s conference floor and posing for photos with fans—not too unlikely considering his involvement in previous Web3 projects like Dectraland.
I’m at the NFT NYC conference again in Times Square, and Snoop walked by, flanked by security. I grabbed his handler, said I’m a reporter, would love a few minutes. The guy said actually that’s an impersonator, legally can’t say it’s him, they hired him to drum up excitement.
— Kevin Collier (@kevincollier) June 21, 2022
However, the man turned out to be an impersonator, wearing a conference pass labeled Doop Snogg. The real Snoop Dogg would later release a BAYC-themed music video with Eminem that week at ApeFest, which ran parallel to NFT NYC.
(Photo: Eric Chen / Decrypt)
While people were there doing business-related things, like at any other conference centered around corporate events, some attendees treated NFT.NYC more like it was a festival. Clean-cut businessmen stood alongside artists in over-the-top costumes and people cosplaying as their PFPs—all part of the same crowd. At Serotonin’s event in Williamsburg, a person in a bear costume rubbed a crystal ball and foretold cynical fortunes for people before they sat down to eat barbecue and chit chat.
(Photo: André Beganski / Decrypt)
A few blocks away, the digital had turned physical and a mural depicting dozens of NFTs spanned a building’s exterior. The walls were covered with a collective of different art projects including characters from Doodles, Goblintown, BAYC, World of Women, CryptoPunks, and Cool Cats. While it was only a mish-mosh of spray-painted art, the mural’s significance seemed greater as a permanent, physical marker left on the city itself by a community of artists united through the internet that crossed paths for a week.
(Photo: André Beganski / Decrypt)
But maybe events like the Goblintown after party felt like a piss-soaked petri dish because… they were. As the week drew to a close, more and more people tweeted that their time at NFT NYC was cut short when they tested positive for COVID.
At least they headed home (or into quarantine) feeling bullish on Web3.
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Source: https://decrypt.co/104111/vibe-check-what-was-nft-nyc-like-amid-a-bear-market
