The Next Big Web3 Trend Wasn't on Stage at Consensus

Last week at Consensus, Yat Siu nearly missed his talk on the Main Stage because he was swamped by a throng of adoring fans, desperate to steal a minute with the metaverse mogul. Siu’s fellow panelist, Maya Zehavi, and I, his moderator, were getting mic’d up backstage, watching as the production crew got more nervous with each passing minute. When someone finally found him and relayed back what had happened, I thought it was brilliant. Brilliant, because not even three years ago, Web3 and NFTs weren’t a thing. Blockchain gaming wasn’t a thing, and Yat Siu wasn’t getting mobbed by groupies. Early Web3 believers like Yat were more likely found at the fringes of major conferences, hosting meetups between themselves.