1st Global Guide To Bitcoin & Blockchain Conferences
My very first bitcoin conference was the San Jose Bitcoin Foundation Conference in May 2013. It was a singularly amazing event. I think back on it as the Woodstock moment in the Bitcoin world. It was the first time the whole bitcoin community really came together in one place and connected in person. The speakers included Gavin Andreasson, Roger Ver, Erik Voorhees, Brian Armstrong, Vinny Lingham, and many others that would shape the ecosystem the next two years.
The BitAngels was formed the 1st night of the conference and its first meeting held over lunch in a corner of the hackathon room the 2nd day of the conference. With in a few weeks, more than a 100 investors had joined the angel network ready to support bitcoin startups, with in a few months membership was pushing 500 (making it one of the world’s largest angel networks). That gives you just a sense of energy and speed of action that the conference created among the attendees.
Since San Jose, I’ve attended a lot of bitcoin conferences the past few years. When I say a lot, I mean over 24 in the last 24 months. At most of these events I’ve been a speaker or panelist talking about startups, angel investment, and my favorite topic of decentralized applications.
Now that there are so many bitcoin conferences globally, folks have asked my thoughts on which conferences are worth attending. Rather than recount this advice one on one I’ve rated the list of conferences below based on a simple ranking system which offers practical advise.
First Rate is: “Must Attend”
Second Rate is: ”Should Attend, If Its In Your Area”
Third Rate is: “Watch The Talks On YouTube”
Plus a single sentence description of the event.
General Bitcoin / Blockchain Themed Conferences
Bitcoin Foundation Conference — San Jose / Amsterdam — May 2013 / May 2014 — Ranking “MUST ATTEND”
Often one of the largest conferences each year and it tends to attract a very high level of speakers / attendees, good mix of developers and business folks, + the location changes each year and there is a good hackathon / startup pitch event.
Texas Bitcoin Conference — Austin — March 2014 / March 2015 — Ranking “MUST ATTEND” (Full Disclosure I’m on their Board of Directors)
One of the most technical and developer focused conferences each year with a focus on bitcoin 2.0 applications, advanced proposals and uses of blockchain tech + hackathon.
The North American Bitcoin Conference (TNABC) — Miami / Chicago — January 2013 / January 2014 / January 2015 — Ranking “MUST ATTEND”
Held twice per year, this is considered very much a destination conference especially the Miami event in January, more of a party vibe, and fairly well attended.
Canadian Bitcoin / Blockchain / Fin Tech Expo — Toronto —April 2014 / September 2015 — Ranking “MUST ATTEND”
A solid technical and developer presence, new proposals on protocols, heavy Ethereum presence, and a good hackathon attendance.
Coin Summit — San Fransisco / London- March 2014 / July 2014 — Ranking “MUST ATTEND”
Held twice per year, once in SF and once in London, attracts high end silicon valley crowd and more on the expense side. (Might only have been a 2014 phenomena, not sure its being held again as the organizer is focused on his own ventures).
Coin Congress — Singapore / San Fransisco — May 2014 — “SHOULD ATTEND IF YOU ARE IN THE AREA”
The events have a good mix of development and business topics, with a focus on the gaming segment of the bitcoin industry, good showing of the local Singapore / SF communities.
O’Reilly Bitcoin and the Blockchain — San Fransisco — January 2015 — “SHOULD ATTEND IF ITS IN YOUR AREA, ESPECIALLY IF YOU WANT TO MEET SILICON VALLEY LEADERS”
Thought of the successor to Coin Summit in 2015, attracted Silicon Valley top brass, good mix of technical and business aspects, 1 day event, more on the expensive side.
Inside Bitcoins — Las Vegas / Tel Aviv / London / Hong Kong / Berlin / Paris — 2014 / 2015 — “SHOULD ATTEND, IF YOU ARE IN THE AREA”
The most frequent of the conferences held, taking place in many different cites each year, smaller events, more introductory, new comer, merchant and mining focused.
Bitcoin Expo 2014 — Shanghai / Vienna — July 2014 — “WATCH THE TALKS ON YOUTUBE”
Small attendance, far from the city (in the case of Shanghai), limited local community attendance, plus a good deal of schedule confusion made this conference of limited value to the attendees. A few good speakers gave talks which are worth seeing online.
Specialized / Regional Conferences
Money 20 / 20 Bitcoin Track — Las Vegas October 2014 / October 2015 — “MUST ATTEND, IF YOU WANT TO MEET LEGACY PAYMENT NETWORKS + BANKS”
Huge event with 7,000 + attendees from the finance, payments and legacy banking industry, 1 of the 4 tracks dedicated to bitcoin / blockchain, great cross pollination between the old and new.
Satoshi Round Table — Dominican Republic — February 2015 — Ranking “MUST ATTEND IF YOU ARE A BTC SPEAKER or MOVER / SHAKER”
VIP / destination type event to escape the February cold, extremely high level attendees, very interactive, great deep level conversations and a must for those doing important projects in the blockchain eco-system.
BitAngels / Coin Agenda Conference — Las Vegas —October 2014 — Ranking “MUST ATTEND IF YOU ARE AN INVESTOR OR STARTUP” (Full Disclosure I Was One Of The Co-Founders of BitAngels)
Held right after the Inside Bitcoin Las Vegas event, lots startup presentations, mostly for the interaction of investors and startups.
Dubai Bitcoin Conference — Dubai — December 2014 — “MUST ATTEND, IF YOU WANT TO INTERFACE WITH THE GULF STATES COMMUNITY”
First Gulf States event with a solid local presence from folks out of Saudi, Kuwait, UAE, and the surrounding developing counties.
Porc Fest (Porcupine Freedom Festival) — New Hampshire — June 2014 & Every year “MUST ATTEND, IF YOU ARE A LIBERTARIAN OR WANT TO CONNECT WITH THE GRASS ROOTS COMMUNITY”
Held every June for the past 11 years in the beautiful white mountains of New Hampshire, this gathering of people that are passionate about liberty is THE annual event where the bitcoin and libertarian communities intersect.
Inside Bitcoins — New York — July 2014 / 2015 — “SHOULD ATTEND IF YOU ARE A LAWYER, MERCHANT, or A LEGACY FINANCIAL INSTITUTION”
In 2014 this was the largest conference with more than 2,000 attendees. The crowd was heavily focused on finance, regulatory, and merchant type of issues.
Crypto Valley — Isle of Man — September 2014 — “SHOULD ATTEND IF YOU ARE IN GAMING, GAMBLING OR GOVERNANCE AREAS RELATED TO BITCOIN”
Solid attendance by local government, lots of gaming / gambling companies present, one of the most forward thinking and blockchain friendly places on earth.
