Bitcoin 2022 announces initial speakers and adds Pitch Day for Miami Beach conference

Bitcoin 2022 seems poised to kick off what Miami Mayor Francis Suarez recently called “Miami Tech Month.”

BTC Media, organizer of the world’s largest Bitcoin conference, released details of its expanded 2022 event, which will be April 6-9, 2022, at the Miami Beach Convention center. Bitcoin 2022, which will likely bring tens of thousands to the Miami area, will fall about 10 days before Miami Tech Week.

Among the speakers announced in recent days for Bitcoin 2022’s general conference on April 7-8 are Elizabeth Stark, CEO and co-founder of Lightning Labs; MicroStrategy Chairman and CEO Michael Saylor,  a return speaker; Adam Back, CEO and co-founder of Blockstream; venture capitalist Alyse Killeen; and former presidential candidate and now NYC mayoral candidate Andrew Yang. More speakers will be announced via @TheBitcoinConf on Twitter.

New this year will be a Pitch Day. Bitcoin 2021 will be giving a platform for early-stage teams to put their ideas and products to the test in a pitch day format on April 6 during its “Industry Day.” If you are interested in being considered for a slot on stage, apply here for Pitch Day. Startups at the idea stage all the way through later-stage venture-funded startups are welcome to apply, organizers said.

Bitcoin 2021 drew a record attendance of 12,000 to Mana Wynwood in early June, bringing together founders, C-suite executives, Bitcoin experts and Miami newcomers for discussions, networking events and live performances. Jack Dorsey’s keynote talk was a highlight, as well as the emotional closing announcement that El Salvador was moving to make Bitcoin legal tender. The 2021 conference also boosted the mayor’s campaign to make Miami a crypto capital, and Bitcoin 2021 was also the backdrop for a number of announcements of crypto trading platforms, as well as crypto finance firms and blockchain-focused funds, joining the growing crypto hub in the Magic City.

For 2022, the conference has been expanded and will include a fourth day for a “Sound Money Fest” music festival. The Miami Beach Convention Center will provide five times the space as the Wynwood conference, and organizers are expecting more than 30,000 attendees.

“At Bitcoin 2021, we booed, we cheered, we laughed and we cried. The conference ran the emotional gamut and our 2022 pilgrimage will do the same.  This conference is going to capture the world’s attention. Let’s show them what freedom, sovereignty and prosperity really mean,” said BTC Media CEO and event organizer David Bailey.

Tickets are now on sale in three tiers: General Admission (main conference and South Music Fest), Industry Pass and Whale Pass. BTC Media said it will be offering free and subsidized tickets to open-source Bitcoin contributors and students and more details on that will be coming soon. If you are interested in partnering, speaking or volunteering, contact the organizers here.

READ RECENT CRYPTO NEWS ON REFRESH MIAMI:

Follow @ndahlberg on Twitter and email her at [email protected]

Nancy Dahlberg