A long-running, crypto-centric conference has announced it’s coming to Toronto for the first time in 2025.
Consensus looks to bring together industry players from around the world to talk about digital assets, blockchain, Web3, and artificial intelligence (AI).
Consensus 2025 will take place from May 14 to May 16, 2025, at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Consensus chair Michael Casey announced on the Consensus main stage in Austin, Texas this morning. Casey also announced the conference will be heading to Hong Kong from February 18 to 20 next year.
Founded in 2015 and produced by crypto publication CoinDesk, Consensus says it is the longest-running crypto and Web3 event globally, with more than 15,000 attendees, 750 journalists, and 550 speakers at this year’s conference.
The event, which is leaving Austin after three years due to the city embarking on a significant renovation of its convention center, called Toronto’s tech ecosystem “among the fastest-growing in North America” and said it is driven by a thriving community of startups, tech giants, and a strong talent pool.
Toronto city councillor Shelley Carroll followed Casey’s announcement on the stage with a pitch to the 2024 attendees.
“Many of you have dabbled in Toronto but I want to see you collected in one place because if Toronto is full of one thing, it’s potential talent,” Carroll said. “There are so many people that are growing their careers, we have a collection of top flight North American universities and publicly funded colleges that are churning out ethnically and gender diverse talent that is waiting to connect with these things.”
Consensus 2024 includes speakers like ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood, a16z crypto managing partner Chris Dixon, and various American politicians including presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The event is also holding a hackathon, a pitch competition, and a “karate combat event.”
A Canadian delegation of more than 150 corporate, startup, and ecosystem leaders is present at this year’s conference, including representatives from Air Canada, RBCx, Kraken, Coinsquare, DMZ, and MaRS Discovery District.
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Consensus’ Toronto debut comes as the future of major North American tech conference Collision in the city is in question. Last year, Collision said it would remain in Toronto through 2024 after inking a one-year extension of its lapsed three-year contract. The deal followed BetaKit’s report that the tech event was seeking a three-year deal at more than double its previous rate.
At the time, a Collision spokesperson had confirmed to BetaKit that five other cities were bidding to host Collision, with one source familiar with the bid process telling BetaKit that Vancouver had put forward a “promising” proposal with “cash on the table.”
Consensus said its Toronto event will cover cryptocurrencies, tokenization, and the latest FinTech and blockchain innovations. The event will also explore Web3’s influence on culture and communities, AI opportunities and challenges, data management, privacy technologies, and address how governments are dealing with changes brought about by this tech.
Early bird tickets for Consensus 2025 in Toronto are on sale here.
UPDATE (05/30/24): This article was updated with additional information and Shelley Carroll’s on-stage remarks.
Feature image courtesy Consensus.