Bitcoin's Conferences: From Modest Beginnings to Global Conferences

[alastantiger]

Bitcoin is a force to be reckoned with. Since its introduction to the world, it has grown from height to height surpassing the expectations of naysayers, and even enthusiast. Yesterday which is exactly, 11 years ago the first bitcoin conference was held New York. Those in attendance were around 50. My focus is to appraise how far bitcoin has come and the quantifiable and measurable progress it has achieved in comparison to the Bitcoin conference held in 2022.

Key things to note:
1. Attendance: In 2011 there were less than 100 persons in attendance at the first bitcoin conference. In 2022, from April 6-9, over 35,000 people attended the Bitcoin 2022 conference held in Miami, Florida.

2. Speakers: There were just 7 speakers in the first bitcoin conference. They were Bruce Wagner, Gavin Andresen, Jeff Garzik and Stefan Thomas. In contrast, in the Bitcoin 2022 conference, there were over 70 speakers including - Saifedean Ammous, Nick Szab, Obi Nwosu, Michael Saylor, Jimmy Song, Anthony "Pomp" Pompliano, but to mention a few.

3. Ticket Purchase: The first Bitcoin conference did not require purchasing tickets or signing up. It was about 50 people who had spent months talking with one another on the phone, in chat rooms, and over Skype. They came to talk about how Bitcoin could change the world. In contrast, attendees of the Bitcoin 2022 conference could purchase tickets on the official website: https://b.tc/conference.

4. Sponsors: There were only 4 sponsors in the first bitcoin conference. They were Mt. Gox, Bitpay, MezeGrill.com and CableSaurus.com. In contrast, there are more than sponsors of the Bitcoin 2022 conference. They include BitGo, XBTO, Curve, etoro, Paxos, Moonpay, crypto.com, sofi, BinanceUS, Cleanspark, IBEX just to name a few.

 

Image on my left: First Bitcoin Conference 2011.

Image on the right: Bitcoin Conference 2022
Please note that the reason why the comparison is with Bitcoin conference 2022 and not 2023 is because the conference for this year is yet to hold. It will be held in October.



My References
https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-worlds-first-bitcoin-conference
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5410991.0
https://b.tc/conference/2022/sponsors
https://refreshmiami.com/laser-eyes-on-miami-as-worlds-largest-bitcoin-gathering-goes-down/

[Bureau]

This year it will be much bigger and better than the last year. I am expecting  more audience more speakers but I guess sponsors would be different. The discussion might be primarily be around Bitcoin ETF as it has been a hot topic for quite sometime now. Good to know the difference between the first Bitcoin confrence and the one happened last year. It only took a decade to see such a big change.

[Faisal2202]

You have made a great comparison to point things out, which really points out how far BTC has come in such a short period, even in the presence of huge marketplaces and competitors that want BTC dead. But BTC has made its way within the rigid rocks, just like water could.

The reason for such huge adoption cannot be covered in a few words, but the main and basic point is that people who get to feel the benefits of BTC and blockchain technology are eager to pay thousands to connect with new people at such events.

If I have the potential to go there, then I will, but I am more of a home-attached dude.

[Smartgoat]

this year own is going to be a bigger one, because Bitcoin has gone global. this year 2023; the audience is going to be much . the speakers and suponsors will also going to increase, all because Bitcoin have make the way in the heart of the masses. because it's more trust and reliable in terms of investment

[mk4]

this year own is going to be a bigger one, because Bitcoin has gone global.

Not sure what you mean by that, but Bitcoin has been "global since forever". What's just going to determine if Bitcoin conferences will be bigger this year is the revenues of Bitcoin-related companies and overall bullish sentiment of the masses(the better the market sentiment, the more people will be going).

If anything, 2021 might be the biggest, not 2022.

[OcTradism]

Gavin Andresen is one of early adopters and contributors of Bitcoin. He is the person who made a speech with audiences are CIA agents.

Gavin will visit the CIA in April 2011. His speech to CIA 12 years ago is very iconic and CIA was convinced by Gavin that Bitcoin is not a threat to US dollar, fortunately.

[Stepstowealth]

1. Attendance: In 2011 there were less than 100 persons in attendance at the first bitcoin conference. In 2022, from April 6-9, over 35,000 people attended the Bitcoin 2022 conference held in Miami, Florida.

The first 100 people that were present in the first conference must have taken the knowledge gained out to the world and been able to share this knowledge and interest with other people that is why the number of attendees increased exponentially. Now if over 35,000 people attended the conference in 2022, 2023 conference should expect roughly 50,000 people or more in attendance.

3. Ticket Purchase: The first Bitcoin conference did not require purchasing tickets or signing up. It was about 50 people who had spent months talking with one another on the phone, in chat rooms, and over Skype. They came to talk about how Bitcoin could change the world. In contrast, attendees of the Bitcoin 2022 conference could purchase tickets on the official website: https://b.tc/conference.

Any attendee who purchases the tickets will take whatever they learn there seriously because they paid for it. People value knowledge more when it is not free.

[kryptqnick]

That's a nice comparison with an incredible difference over 11 years. I don't think that conferences are the most important things when it comes to products and services, but they do show the scope of involvement of people, their willingness to build their own businesses around something or suggest further directions.
Is there info about the price of these two events, how much has it changed between 2011 and 2022? Were people in 2011 even charged, or was it more like a meetup of interested professionals?
I'm also wondering whether the specs of 2022 at the highest in Bitcoin history or whether some years ago the number of speakers, sponsors, participants was higher.

[348Judah]

Image on my left: First Bitcoin Conference 2011.

Image on the right: Bitcoin Conference 2022
Please note that the reason why the comparison is with Bitcoin conference 2022 and not 2023 is because the conference for this year is yet to hold. It will be held in October.

I can't remember precisely when or the user that has once created a related threads on the subject matter some months back, where it was made kown that the first image was the first bitcoin conference held back in those days, even though the two are showing a perfect clarification on what adoption has brought to the bitcoin network with it's acceptance, i also expect seing comparison like that of Miami 2023 conference or Warsaw bitcoin conference among other world ranking bitcoin conference being compared to the first one held back in those days as OP have pointed out.