What to expect at Bitcoin London 2013
Digital currency enthusiasts will head to England's capital next week for the inaugural Bitcoin London conference.
Organised by st-ART, the one-day event will take place at Level 39, One Canada Square in Canary Wharf on Tuesday, July 2. Registration is between 08:00 and 09:00, with the final speaker finishing at 17:50.
Those scheduled to speak at the invitation-only event include Stefan Thomas of Ripple, Jered Kenna of Tradehill and our very own Shakil Khan (founder of CoinDesk).
There will be a number of panel discussions covering topics such as 'The rising stars of the Bitcoin start-up ecosystem', 'Regulatory and legal challenges' and 'Investment opportunities in the Bitcoin space', plus plenty of opportunity to network.
Attendees will learn more about bitcoin as an asset class, the world of decentralised finance and Sveinn Valfells, of Bitcoin Investor, will explain why he believes Iceland should adopt bitcoin as its national currency.
Gulnar Hasnain, one of the event organisers, anticipates around 200 people will attend the event, travelling from the US, Canada and Eastern and Western Europe.
"Most of the bitcoin events so far have been grass roots meet-ups with a strong focus on tech and libertarian politics. We wanted to do something that was purely focused on the business and investment opportunities around bitcoin," she explained.
Hasnain said the event provides an opportunity to connect bitcoin entrepreneurs, angel and venture investors as well as hedge fund and financial services professionals.
"We want to promote understanding of the digital currency space, and develop the start-up ecosystem through our events so bitcoin and digital currencies become the norm for the masses," she added.
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Tuur Demeester, editor of financial newsletter MacroTrends, will be sharing his views on Bitcoin at 09:15. He believes Bitcoin London will be "one of the most high-powered networking occasions for bitcoin entrepreneurs and investors" to date.
"The quality of both speakers and attendees is excellent, and so everyone there will get the opportunity to build new business relationships, as well as to hear the latest news straight from the horse's mouth," he added.
Demeester went on to say he is looking forward to meeting more of the people involved in the digital currency world and hearing the new ideas they have to offer.
"I'm curious to learn how everyone in the space is moving forward after the hugely successful Silicon Valley conference last month, and the recent regulatory challenges in the US," he said.
Jered Kenner, CEO of Tradehill, is also looking forward to the event, where he will share his experience in building a bitcoin business focused on servicing professional investors at 'The rising stars of the Bitcoin start-up ecosystem' panel discussion at 09.55.
"Events like Bitcoin London are important because they provide a collaborative meeting space for the Bitcoin community where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Attendees are naturally more creative, more innovative, and more excited about Bitcoin when feeding off the energy of other guests," he said.
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Event organiser Pamir Gelenbe, venture partner at Hummingbird Ventures, believes cryptocurrency is the biggest invention since the internet and will ultimately be adopted by the masses.
"While I have no doubt that bitcoin and cryptocurrencies will become huge eventually, it's a long-winded road to get there and these events are an important part of the journey," he said.
Gelenbe hopes this will be the first in a long line of Bitcoin London events, but said, for now, his focus is making this first event a success.
While the conference is an invitation-only event, there is an open application process on the Bitcoin London web page, where entrepreneurs in the Bitcoin space, as well as investors and other participants in the ecosystem are encouraged to apply.
will of course be reporting at the conference all day. Conference videos will be available after the event on the conference website and YouTube. If you're coming to Bitcoin London and see us there, feel free to come and say hello!
Full Conference Schedule
08:00–09:00 - Registration and coffee
09:00–09:15 - Opening remarks and greetings
Pamir Gelenbe, st-ART
09:15–09:35 - Some thoughts on Bitcoin and money
Tuur Demeester, Macrotrends
09:35-09.55 - A tour through the strange and wonderful world of decentralized finance
Stefan Thomas, Ripple
09.55-10.55 - Panel Discussion: The rising stars of the Bitcoin start-up ecosystem
Erik Vorhees, Coinapult, Nejc Kodric, Bitstamp, Jeremias Kangas, Localbitcoins.com, Jered Kenna, Tradehill
Moderated by Isaac Kato, Co-founder, Verne Global
10.55-11:15 - Networking and coffee break
11:15-12:15 - Panel session: regulatory and legal challenges
Patrick Murck, General Counsel, Bitcoin Foundation, Constance Choi, General Counsel, Payward, Danny Friedberg, Attorney, Graham Dunn, Stuart Hoegner, General Counsel, Gaming Counsel
Moderated by Stefan Greiner
12:15-13:00 - Start-up Pitches
Zach Harvey, Lamassu, Yurii Rashkovskii, Bex.io, Tamas Blummer, Bits of proof, Jonathan Rouach, Bitsofgold, Tom Robinson, Bitprice, bitBlu
13:05-14:00 - Lunch and networking
14:00-15:00 - VC panel: Investment opportunities in the Bitcoin space
Nick Shalek, Ribbit Capital, Michael Jackson, Mangrove, Stefan Glaenzer, Passion Capital
Moderated by Stefanie Baker, Bloomberg
15:00-15:20 - Why Iceland should adopt Bitcoin as its national currency
Sveinn Valfells, Bitcoin Investor
15:20-15:40 - Fireside chat with Shakil Khan, Angel Investor and founder of CoinDesk, and Charlie Shrem, BitInstant
Moderated by Pamir Gelenbe, Co-founder, st-art
15.40-16:00 - Networking and coffee break
16.00-17.00 - Bitcoin as an asset class?
Yoni Assia, eToro, Luzius Meisser, Bitcoinfund.ch, Gatis Eglitis, Exante, Jaron Lukasiewicz, Coinsetter
Moderated by Garrick Hileman, LSE
17.00-18.00 - Merchant opportunities in the Bitcoin Space
Pierre Noizat, Paymium, Aleksandr Lossenko, 9Flats, Grzegorz Luczywo, SecurityKiss
Moderated by Patrice Touboulie, Zipzap
18:00-18:10 - Closing Remarks
Pamir Gelenbe, st-ART
18:10-20:30 - Networking cocktails
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