RA:Why did you choose Singapore for the location of the http://www.bitcoinsingapore2013.com/ conference?
HM: We, myself and my partners, are physically located in Europe, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The three of us have lived in Asia for many years. We are all very familiar with the Asian area, and Singapore is a thriving place for investments and business. So, it made sense to start the first one in Singapore.
RA:How is Bitcoin adoption in Singapore?
HM: Well, it’s growing in Singapore. It’s nothing like what we’ve seen in the US or in Europe, but it is growing. I would say that most of the English speaking countries have shown to be further ahead than the other countries around the world. And Singapore people do speak very good English as well as the Hong Kong people. They have a small community that is growing and Singapore is a small island as well, of course, so it is relative.
We expect to have more interest as time progresses in Singapore, Hong Kong, and China.
RA:I’ve been to a few conferences before, and it seems that a good set of speakers really helps contribute towards a good conference. But having opportunities to network helps all the conference members as well. What have you done to have a good balance between speakers and networking time?
HM: It’s a one day conference. The day before the conference, on the 14th of November, there’s an evening where we are going to invite people, such as our speakers and startups to network. And we’ll also have the press there to do interviews for people the night before.
During the day itself, we’ve got a very full schedule with breaks in between. Those breaks will be the moments for people to network and the lunch break will be the longest break.
The deadline for the Bitcoin Singapore conference is quickly approaching. Visit http://www.bitcoinsingapore2013.com/ for more details.