Give your JPEG Morgan sweatshirt a wash in anticipation.
It may be time to top up your crypto wallet! Because this week, Miami will turn into a mecca for non-fungible token experts and enthusiasts alike.
Miami NFT Week is a three-day, non-stop Web3-fest taking place at Mana Wynwood Convention Center from April 1st through 3rd. Organizers anticipate upwards of 250 speakers, and 3,000 crypto enthusiasts have already secured their spots. Featured presenters and panelists for the event include Mayor Francis Suarez, entrepreneur Mark Cuban, and Miami-based VaynerNFT President Avery Akkineni.
This event comes on the heels of last November’s NFT BZL event at the FTX Arena. And NFT Week is couched within a wide range of other crypto-focused events this April, including Bitcoin 2022 and CryptoWorldCon. NFT Week’s founders aspire for it to be one of the largest NFT-focused conferences in the world.
“We are the kickoff event for Miami tech month,” said Miami NFT Week co-founder and #MiamiTech OG Gianni D’Alerta. “The main idea of the week is to really just celebrate NFTs and its culture because it’s beyond blockchain and tech,” he said, noting the event will also encompass the worlds of art and gaming, to name a few.
“Web3 is a macro thesis,” co-founder Erik LaPaglia told Refresh Miami of his excitement about this tech movement. “I firmly believe we’re at an inflection point of what the internet is.”
The serial entrepreneur made the move to Miami from Palo Alto towards the beginning of “how can I help?” and has been an evangelist for our ecosystem ever since. He explained that the same excitement about growing businesses he saw in California years ago, he now sees in Miami. “This is a special time and a special place,” LaPaglia asserted.
Equally, Ted Lucas, a longtime Miamian and founder of record label Slip-n-Slide, underscored the importance of bringing the local community into the fold.
“A year ago, I went into the Bitcoin conference as a regular Joe Blow trying to learn about tech and learn about Bitcoin,” he said. “I was blown away by the mile-long line of people waiting to get inside. And I said, ‘do local people even know this is taking place?’”
Once inside, Lucas explained that he noticed very few locals. “We’ve got work to do. The local community has got to see what’s happening here. And that’s when I went to work.”
Since then, Lucas has begun working on a handful of initiatives, including a nonprofit and a venture fund, to help support founders from Miami. A particularly notable investment Lucas made recently was in cybersecurity startup ByteChek, founded by Miami native AJ Yawn. “I’m so happy to be in business with AJ. But I’m hoping by the end of the year to have six or seven more people that I have invested into locally and give them an opportunity.”
Lucas, LaPaglia, and D’Alerta all praised Venture Miami, the city government’s initiative to make Miami the “capital of capital” as the connective tissue for our local tech scene, and an enabler for the NFT Week event.
“Miami is where the future of Web3 wants to be, and we’re seeing new technologies evolve and be created right before our eyes whether it’s from homegrown tech companies or those who have seen the value in relocating or expanding their footprint in Miami,” MIami Mayor Francis Suarez commented in a statement.
“As these technologies continue to evolve, Miami NFT Week is the perfect launchpad for developers, trading platforms, crypto projects and all of the Discord communities to come together and exchange ideas to support the growth and understanding of the technology,” Suarez continued.
Probably nothing.
More info and tickets: miaminftweek.com
For a listing of other tech activities, events and conferences happening in April, known as Miami Tech Month, go to MiamiTechMonth.com
Photo at top of post: NFT Week co-founders Gianni D’Alerta, Ted Lucas and Erik LaPaglia.
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