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It is impossible to put into words all the experiences I lived during my last few days in Miami for the Bitcoin 2021 Conference. As I hop into the plane, back to Los Angeles, I am constantly having flashbacks of the colorful streets of Miami's Wynwood neighborhood, which for few days was simply packed with Art, Crypto, and Technology enthusiasts.
The scale of this event was unlike any other crypto event I have attended before. And yes I have been to a great share of them in many metropolitan cities, but man this one was unique. It was not only its sheer scale, the very large venues and the number of attendees that captured my attention but also how mainstream this event has gotten and how much it has segmented into other areas of society. There were people from all walks of life. The event truly showcased diversity. A new dimension!
I was present at the last Bitcoin Conference which happened in the eclectic city of San Francisco, pre-covid in 2019. And the scale was nothing compared to this one. This year, the event has reached a new magnitude and one that is attracting many high-end brands, sponsors, and investors.
In addition to the booths that we see in our conventional crypto events such as centralized crypto exchanges, mining tools, payment providers, Crypto ATMs, wallets, and many other tech-related vendors. We saw many brands trying to capture the eyes of crypto investors as well. There I also found names such as Playboy, Montblanc, Gucci among other luxurious brands.
The lineup of speakers was extraordinary. Politicians, Fintech CEOs, and industry leaders were lined for a series of outstanding speeches and debates that were live-streamed to the whole world. The event echoed the voice of "bitcoiners" across borders and also revealed a whole new wave of interest that has been driven by the arrival of few large institutional investors in the market such as Michael Saylor, present at the event as a speaker; and Elon Must who was not present but was highly talked about.
The incredible lineup of speakers which included Ron Paul, Nick Szabo, Michael Saylor, Max Kaiser, Tony Hawk, Ross Ulrich, Diego Gutierrez Zaldivar among many others certainly contributed to the extremely large attendance of this event. It is estimated that over 10.000 people were present in this event but given the sheer size of the line, I would assume the number is even larger than that.
Check out the Video Below as we had a ton of fun recording the size of the line. IT WAS HUGE Check it out.
Now, when you think it ends it does not, there were arcade games, a sports arena, and a whole NFT and art gallery featuring some of the best and most popular crypto artists in the world. I was stunned to see the collection of pieces on display and most importantly I had the pleasure to meet so many of the artists in person. Thanks to them I am feeling quite inspired!
I will stop here otherwise I will keep going into every single detail of this fair. How I followed bolivars on the floor and ended up in a dumpster full of them. How I was stunned by the incredible murals and NFT artists in action Live. How I loved discovering a series of delicious food trucks back of the ginormous venue. How we received so many treats just being there. How we were all amazed by how warm and tropical the city is. How the music was contagious and I could not help to dance few times all by myself. How the music was so good and we all danced together too.
Stop by my Instagram account and you will see tons of pictures and moments that I captured.
The event was larger than Life and just like decentralization... well distributed. It was grand and revolutionary. Despite marking the end of an era, an era in which we were few and we gathered in a more cozy atmosphere. It marks the beginning of a new era, one that showcases how our industry is trying to embed into mainstream culture and that we are successfully making a change in society. The familiar faces were still there, just a little bit harder to pick the familiar faces from the crowd, but we are there mixed in mingling with everyone and super ready to talk CRYPTO!
Hope to see YOU in Bitcoin 2022.
Curious about 2019? Check out this blog post... I was there too :) I hope to keep covering these for YOU as long as I can.
Love,
Michelle Mafra
www.Mammycrypto.com
