Web3 a hot topic at SXSW despite bear market and declining interest in NFTs
Web3 was a major theme at SXSW 2023, yet previous hype around NFTs and building during a bear market may be contributing factors to Web3 adoption. Giant rabbits wearing trendy outfits situated alongside cartoon characters with rainbows flowing out of their mouths lined the streets of South by Southwest (SXSW) last year. This is because two nonfungible token (NFT) projects — Doodles and Fluf World — dominated SXSW 2022. Yet these projects were nowhere to be found at SXSW 2023, demonstrating the lack of interest in NFTs this year. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, though. With crypto prices down, coupled with declining NFT prices and trading volumes, very few projects seem to be focused on digital collectibles. Instead, SXSW 2023 was overrun by major brands and consultancy firms boasting the promise of Web3. Brands discuss Web3 strategies at SXSW 2023 Avery Akkineni, president of Vayner3 — a Web3 consultancy firm founded by Gary Vaynerchuck — told Cointelegraph that Web3 is moving b...