Bitcoin 2021, the biggest Bitcoin event in history with a sold-out crowd of at least 12,000 attendees in Miami, is kicking off with some of the world’s biggest industry players.
The conference will be one of the largest crypto gatherings to emerge following the COVID-19 pandemic, with organizers expecting more than 50,000 attendees. An unofficial part of the conference kicked off Thursday with a “Whale Day” featuring Galaxy CEO Mike Novogratz and BitGO CEO Mike Belshe.
The event is positioned to be something “more like a music festival,” featuring multiple stages, including the main “Nakamoto Stage” as well as side stages like “Stacking Sats Stage" and "End Of Fiat Stage."
Bitcoin 2021 relocates to “Bitcoin capital” Miami
The conference is hosted by Bitcoin Magazine, a crypto publication co-founded by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin back in 2012. Initially set to take place in Los Angeles, California, Bitcoin 2021 was relocated to Miami earlier this year as mayor Francis Suarez began campaigning to establish Miami as the “world’s cryptocurrency capital.”
“Mayor Francis Suarez is making a play to establish Miami as the Bitcoin capital of the world, so naturally he’s asked us to bring the largest Bitcoin conference in history to his city, as soon as it’s safe for attendees and residents,” the event organizers said in March.
Day one notable speakers
Mayor Suarez himself is set to be the opening speaker of the main conference day one, kicking off the event with opening remarks at the main Nakamoto Stage at 9:00 am ET.
Cointelegraph will be on the ground covering the latest developments live on Twitter. But if you’d like to experience the atmosphere of the event, do make sure to tune into our YouTube channel.
The event will feature some United States government officials including Senator Cynthia Lummis and U.S. pro-crypto Representative Warren Davidson. Sworn into the Senate in January, Lummis showcased her support for Bitcoin (BTC) earlier this year, adopting the laser eyes photo as part of a laser-eye flash mob on Twitter. Davidson and Lummis will talk at a panel “Bringing Bitcoin Innovation Home To America” at 3:35 pm ET.
Bitcoin 2021 will also feature major former U.S. government regulators including Chris Giancarlo, a former chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and Brian Brooks, a former acting comptroller of the currency of the United States Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the current Binance US CEO. Giancarlo and Brooks are set to discuss financial innovation at 1:45 pm ET.
Other notable Nakamoto Stage speakers include BitGold creator Nick Szabo, Gemini founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, Morgan Creek Digital co-founder Anthony Pompliano, MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor, former presidential candidate and congressmember Ron Paul, and major crypto and blockchain investor Tim Draper.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is set to discuss the crypto industry’s opportunities to bank the unbanked with Human Rights Foundation chief strategy officer Alex Gladstein at 12:25 pm ET.
Some of the world's biggest celebrities are not missing on the major Bitcoin 2021 event. Paris Hilton announced her attendance in a Thursday tweet, stating that she loves being a part of this the crypto community. She made a major move into the cryptocurrency industry earlier this year, stating that she was bullish on non-fungible tokens in her April article about NFTs.
The #CryptoQueen has arrived in #Miami for @TheBitcoinConf! ✈️ So excited to go to the #BitcoinConference to hear all the leaders in this space speak. I love being a part of this amazing community. And can’t wait to perform tonight at @11Miami! See you there! pic.twitter.com/m24f8WpeIV
— Paris Hilton (@ParisHilton) June 3, 2021
Stay tuned to Cointelegraph for updates and coverage of the most notable crypto players at this year’s Bitcoin 2021 conference.