Miami is about to play host to what may be the largest cryptocurrency conference the world has ever seen.
Thanks to a confluence of calendar, COVID and Miami’s soaring reputation as a tech hub, organizers are expecting as many as 50,000 to descend on the county for Bitcoin 2021. Headliners include Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, legendary pro skater Tony Hawk and a cavalcade of crypto gurus. Kicking off Thursday, the event is already sold out.
For Miami, the conference may also signal its emergence as a center for crypto and blockchain technology. As Axios and LinkedIn recently reported, Miami has experienced faster growth in its tech workforce in the past year than any other major metro (though the absolute size of that workforce remains small). Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has also been at the forefront of pushing Miami as a crypto hub, announcing initiatives to turn some parts of the city’s finances over to Bitcoin.
Yet some also believe that both crypto and Miami are experiencing coincident hype cycles — ones that may yet pay off, but which nevertheless likely carry some froth.
“I think it is real,” said Adam B. Levine, a managing editor at online crypto publication CoinDesk, of Miami’s emerging profile. “On the other hand, the Miami thing is happening not only because of its party status, but simply because you guys are open compared to other places that are still locked down.”
Crypto, too, is also experiencing a short-term bull run that may already be winding down. After rising to more than $60,000 in April, the price of a single Bitcoin has now sunk below $40,000.
“Crypto goes through this every couple of years,” Levine said. “There are signs this cycle may be different — but it’s not so different because you have a lot of opportunities coming out of the woodwork, and while some of those are good, a lot are bad and turn out to be scams.”
“And in the past, Miami has been associated with that, too,” he added.
WAITING ON DISRUPTION
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and their underlying technology, the blockchain, may still mystify many. The key, according to Daniel Stabile, a Miami-based partner at law firm Shutts and Bowen, is that blockchain removes the need for a trusted third party to carry out transactions.
MiamiHerald
