Consensus

In September 2015, CoinDesk held its first conference, Consensus 2015, in New York, with speakers from the crypto industry, traditional finance, law enforcement, and the aid sector discussing the uses of bitcoin and blockchain technology.⁠[1][1][1]

On January 13, 2016, Digital Currency GroupDigital Currency GroupDigital Currency Group (DCG) is a crypto asset investment and holding company headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, founded by Barry Silbert in 2015. It invests in blockchain startups with permanent capital and owns subsidiaries including the digital asset manager Grayscale. In 2022, its crypto lender Genesis suffered losses after major client Three Arrows Capital defaulted and filed for bankruptcy the following year, leaving DCG and Silbert facing a lawsuit by the New York Attorney General, an SEC penalty, and multiple civil suits.Open the full entry acquired CoinDesk and used the occasion to announce the dates and location of Consensus 2016; under the arrangements CoinDesk had previously announced, Consensus 2016 was scheduled for May of that year, again in New York. People familiar with the matter said the acquisition, priced at about $500,000 to $600,000, was largely intended to boost the visibility of the conference.⁠[2][2][1][2][2]

The 2018 Consensus was held at the Hilton hotel in New York with nearly 9,000 attendees; until the 2022 Austin conference, it was CoinDesk’s largest in-person event.⁠[3][3][3]

On March 13, 2020, CoinDesk announced that because of the worsening COVID-19 pandemic, Consensus 2020, originally to be held in New York, would become a completely virtual event that attendees around the world could join free of charge; Consensus was held online for the following two years. CoinDesk is also the organizer of Blockchain Week NYC.⁠[4][4][4][3][4]

In June 2022, Consensus was held in Austin, Texas, for the first time; it was the first in-person conference since 2019, with about 17,000 attendees.⁠[3][3]

On November 20, 2023, Bullish Global, the parent company of the operator of the crypto asset exchange Bullish, acquired CoinDesk from Digital Currency Group; terms of the transaction were not disclosed. CoinDesk continued to be run by its existing management team led by CEO Kevin Worth and operates as an independent subsidiary.⁠[5][5][5][5][5]

The 2024 Consensus in Austin had more than 15,000 attendees, 550 speakers, and 750 journalists. On May 30, conference chair Michael Casey announced on the main stage that Consensus 2025 would be held on May 14–16, 2025, at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, and that the conference would also go to Hong Kong on February 18–20, 2025. The conference left Austin after three years because the city’s convention center was undergoing a major renovation.⁠[6][6][6][6][6]

On February 18–20, 2025, the first Consensus Hong Kong sold out, drawing nearly 10,000 attendees from more than 100 countries and more than 300 speakers from the Hong Kong SAR government, regulators around the world, and industry, along with more than 350 side events; the organizers estimated it contributed about HK$275 million to Hong Kong’s economy.⁠[7][7][7]

On May 14–16, 2025, Consensus 2025 was held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, with 14,771 attendees from 102 countries and 500 speakers across six stages; the concurrent hackathon drew more than 1,000 developers. Eric TrumpEric TrumpEric Trump is an American businessman and the second son of US President Donald Trump; he has long served as an executive at the family business, the Trump Organization, and ran it with his older brother while his father was president. Since 2024 he has been one of the main public faces of the Trump family’s crypto businesses, co-founding World Liberty Financial and the Bitcoin mining company American Bitcoin.Open the full entry took part in two sessions as co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of American Bitcoin.⁠[8][8][8][8]

On the opening day, CoinDesk announced that the 2026 Hong Kong edition would take place on February 10–12, while the main conference would move to Miami for the first time, taking place on May 5–7 at the Miami Beach Convention Center. At the time, the conference chairman was Michael Lau and the managing director was Brad Spies.⁠[7][7][7][7]

On February 10–12, 2026, the second Hong Kong edition was held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, with 11,000 registered attendees from more than 122 countries and regions, more than 350 speakers, and more than 400 side events. Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive John Lee delivered opening remarks and Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po gave a keynote address; the organizers estimated the event generated close to HK$300 million in economic impact.⁠[9][9][9][9][9][9]

On May 5–7, 2026, Consensus was held in Miami Beach for the first time, with eight stages and summits and an agenda focused on “Crypto at Scale,” institutional finance, and agentic commerce; the first speakers announced included U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins, Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Michael Selig, and Galaxy CEO Mike NovogratzMike NovogratzMike Novogratz (Michael Novogratz) is an American investor and the founder and chief executive officer of Galaxy Digital, a digital asset and data center company. A former U.S. Army helicopter pilot, he spent 11 years at Goldman Sachs, becoming a partner in 1998, and later served as a partner and president of Fortress Investment Group, leaving after the macro hedge fund he managed closed in 2015 and turning to crypto assets.Open the full entry. Michael Lau said that since the conference was last held in the United States in 2024, a more constructive regulatory environment had laid a foundation for the industry’s growth.⁠[10][10][10][10][10][10][10][10][11]

As of October 2026, Consensus 2027 was scheduled for May 4–6, 2027, at the Miami Beach Convention Center, with 15,000 attendees expected; the official website also listed Consensus Hong Kong 2027.⁠[11][11][11]

Consensus: Official website: https://consensus.coindesk.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[11]

X: Public account: https://x.com/consensus2027 (opens in a new window)⁠[11][12]

LinkedInLinkedInLinkedIn is a social networking platform for professionals. It was founded in 2002 by Reid Hoffman and others, launched in 2003, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2011; after Microsoft acquired it for approximately $26.2 billion in 2016, it became a wholly owned Microsoft subsidiary. Its revenue comes from membership subscriptions, advertising, and recruitment solutions.Open the full entry: Public profile: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/consensus-coindesk/ (opens in a new window)⁠[11]