Coronavirus is killing the Bitcoin conference business - Decrypt (decrypt.co)

Major global crypto conferences such as Paris Blockchain Week are being cancelled or rescheduled. It could be time for a more decentralized approach.



CONSENSUS, AT THE NEW YORK HILTON MIDTOWN, IS THE PINNACLE OF NEW YORK BLOCKCHAIN WEEK. IMAGE SOURCE: COINDESK.


In brief

  • Organizers are cancelling and postponing conferences in Asia and Europe in response to the Coronavirus
  • Major US conferences such as SXSW and Consensus are currently unaffected
  • Smaller, more local events, online conferences and virtual reality could fill the gap until large gatherings are deemed safe

Hundreds of crypto delegates were converging on Paris today for the start of the third annual Ethereum Community Conference (EthCC)—one of the biggest events in the blockchain platform’s calendar. In response to the threat of the coronavirus, attendees were putting on a brave face.

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Valeria Kholostenko | Paris 1f950.png@vkholostenkoEn route to #ethcc, too cautious or good to play it safe?


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On Saturday, the French authorities announced a ban on large indoor gatherings; Paris has closed the Louvre, its eminent museum, and the Paris Half Marathon has been cancelled. Crypto events have followed suit, with the French capital’s flagship blockchain event, Paris Blockchain Week, postponed until December 9, organisers today told Decrypt. (The bans don’t apply to EthCC, as the event is for less than 5000 people.) 

As the coronavirus—and fear of infection—spreads across the globe, could this be the end of crypto events as we know them? And what would that mean for an industry that's heavily weighted towards meet-ups and conference 
extravaganzas to woo investors and spread the word? 

Global crypto conferences cancelled


Conference organisers throughout the world have been cancelling, postponing or planning to livestream events as the impact of the coronavirus spreads beyond China.Many crypto events in Asia, including NiTROn2020 in Seoul, Hong Kong Blockchain Week 2020 and Token2049 were postponed last month. 

Andrew Asmakov, CEO and Founder of 
Crypto Events, told Decrypt that many events had been postponed until midsummer or later, but decisions were largely being made on a case by case basis.

To date, there was no news on Japan’s top industry event, 
TEAMZ Blockchain Summit, which is due to place on April 22 and 23 in Tokyo, he said. 
“It’s more quiet in the rest of the world so far,” he added, but that could soon change. “Italy, Switzerland, Germany, France, Spain, United Kingdom—many countries in Europe are at risk, with authorities either banning large scale events or restricting the number of visitors.

” Today, the risk of coronavirus in the European Union was raised by the EU commission to moderate-high, the second highest level, leading to the cancellation of Paris Blockchain Week.

Also cancelled was Vienna’s 
Ethereum development conference, EDCON, which was scheduled to take place at the beginning of April.
Meanwhile, in the US, the organisers of South by Southwest (SXSW), the huge Austin, Texas tech conference which includes a substantial crypto track, said they planned to continue with the event on March 13 to 22.

The move came as an 
online petition calling for the event to be postponed reached 15,000 signatures.


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SXSW has not been cancelled, despite opposition to the decision. (Image: Shutterstock)

In New York City (which confirmed its first case of coronavirus today), New York Blockchain Week was still going ahead as planned in May, according to a tweet posted by its organisers on Friday. The week will still kick off with the Ethereum-focused Ethereal Summit (organized by venture production studio ConsenSys, which funds an editorially-independent Decrypt).

But Blockchain Week organisers later 
tweeted that they didn’t know whether Consensus 2020, the flagship NYC event, would go ahead. We’ll update if Coindesk, which organises Consensus, responds.


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NYC Blockchain Week 2020@NYCBlockchainWkNew York Blockchain Week is going to be incredible this year.

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Premier Bitcoin conference Bitcoin 2020 is not planning to cancel either, unless directed to do so by the government, organizer Brandon Green, told Decrypt.

The situation is changing on an hourly basis 


In the UK (which currently has 36 coronavirus cases), the organisers of London Blockchain Week (March 4-11) today informed sponsors, speakers and attendees that the city’s top industry events, Blockchain Summit Global and Crypto Compare Digital Asset Summit 2020, will go ahead.  

They said that extra contingencies such as ensuring that surfaces were wiped with disinfectant regularly and promoting regular and thorough hand-washing would be introduced.

Those who are unwell will be discouraged from attending, and sessions would also be live streamed. Adam Rizvi, organizer and host of Coinfest, a crypto event in the UK city of Manchester, today confirmed to Decrypt that his event would also go ahead on April 3, 4 and 5. Rizvi said that he spent the morning fielding calls from sponsors, speakers and visitors.

One exhibitor was forced to withdraw because equipment due to be showcased at the event was coming from Northern Italy, which is suffering a 
major coronavirus outbreak. But most people confirmed their attendance, he said, adding: “If we onboard [or] further educate just one person at the event, then that’s our job done.

However, the coronavirus situation is changing on an hourly basis, with new outbreaks cropping up. If the UK government is minded to cancel large gatherings (as it has threatened to do), Rizvi and others will have little choice but to toe the line.

Events are going virtual as coronavirus spreads


With many events in danger of being cancelled or postponed, a way must be found for the industry to continue networking and collaborating.

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Ryan Selkis@twobitidiot · Mar 2, 2020

Two weeks left for western crypto conferences. (e.g. CryptoCompare, DC Blockchain Summit.)

Then there will be a multi-month shutdown.

Small events likely to be proactively cancelled, and bigger conferences will remain "live" only until force majeure clauses are triggered.

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Ryan Selkis@twobitidiot

The Paris Blockchain Week events have been cancelled, and I'd put the probability of Consensus ultimately being canceled at 50-75%+.


Barring a major reversal of fortune, I wouldn't expect new live events until mid-Q3 earliest.

Major disruptions still under-appreciated by most.

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Event-heavy industries such as sports and entertainment are already taking action to minimize the fallout. In sport, some events, such as racing, are already taking place behind closed doors. In crypto-land, influencers are laying down their own ground rules:

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Meltem Demirors@Melt_Dem

i’m not an epidemiologist or health expert. my approach to Coronavirus...

- all meetings moved to video
- mesh network meetup w @foamspace postponed
- all work travel postponed
- wfh if unwell
- prioritize health

there is nothing worth risking your / team’s life. nothing.

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An obvious direction to take is to move events online. Major tech companies including Salesforce and Facebook have already cancelled their huge annual conferences in favour of an online-only offering.

Facebook said its 
F8 conference will be replaced by “locally hosted events, videos and live streamed content,” while Salesforce is planning an online event. 
One forward-looking option could be to use virtual reality.

Bitcoin influencer, developer and consultant Udi Wertheimer claimed that his VR event on privacy could be the first of its kind, and saw an 
impressive turnout


For those intent on face-to-face networking, one option is to make like Silicon Valley VC firm Andreessen Horowitz and don’t shake hands. Alternatively, you could adopt the latest coronavirus prevention craze: shaking feet
    • 1
    Francisco Gimeno - BC Analyst The reality: we all fear disease and as society we must get together to fight against it, whether in the next future this virus is real bad or not. Fortunately many people on this era have the digital infrastructure to work together but online. Conferences are not an urgent need in times of uncertainty.