For the supporters of the original Bitcoin, as envisioned by Satoshi Nakamoto, here’s a challenge for you: can you live in a space where everything uses Bitcoin SV for a week?
That’s just one of the things that attendees can expect at the upcoming Expo-Bitcoin International 2019 in Bogota, Colombia—the first of its kind to take place in Latin America. The five-day conference features a host of opportunities for both the Bitcoin society and cryptocurrency enthusiasts alike to discuss adoption and learn “what Bitcoin already is.”
Event organizer Bitek describes Expo-Bitcoin as “a marketplace that functions as a small world where Bitcoin is the only payment method.” In an interview with CoinGeek, CEO Boris Javier Barrera Garcia explains:
“People will have the opportunity to live five days of a socio-economic experiment in a space where everything uses Bitcoin (SV); the reality is that a new community is being shaped by this libertarian money. This is really disruptive, so we have made a real bet for Bitcoin SV from the very beginning, since you cannot buy your tickets for the Arena but by using Bitcoin SV and everything you see at the Exhibit, you will be able to purchase using BSV—other cryptos also allowed depending on the merchant but no fiat currency is allowed. In the end, we want to demonstrate that markets can work in compliance with legal rules using Bitcoin as a mean of exchange.”
Expo-Bitcoin International 2019 will take place on June 19-23 at the Corferias, the international convention center that has hosted events in the country since 1954. Among the key features of this landmark event is The Marketplace, which has over 200 commercial stands offering products for sale with BSV, and The Bitcoin Arena, where delegates can watch as the brightest minds of the BSV society discuss Satoshi’s vision—from Bitcoin creator Dr. Craig Wright and Founding President of the Bitcoin Association Jimmy Nguyen, to BSV experts including MoneyButton CEO Ryan X. Charles, nChain CTO Steve Shadders, HandCash CEO Alex Agut, and other thought leaders like Coinlogiq CEO Dwayne Golden Senior, NEM Foundation Council Manager Pedro E. Gutierrez, medical surgeon Dr. Miguel Parra Saavedra, and Bitcoin advocate Connor Murray, among others.
“The Bitcoin Arena is the Agora of the modern economic thinkers. We brought the best, those who understood the importance of Bitcoin and the instrumental role of a stable protocol in Bitcoin,” Garcia says. “Many others fell in the way of confusion, but a remnant stays with the flag of this Libertarian, respectful of the law, peer to peer, Caesar-less money. That discussion not only about the technical topics but the philosophical views of Bitcoin have amazing importance that history will ponder.”
The event, as Garcia puts it, is all about allowing the laymen to experience Bitcoin in a marketplace where merchants are protected “as they would be in the real world by third parties like Bitek.” It’s also the perfect opportunity for network marketers in Colombia “who need to understand that Bitcoin is money, not another ‘get rich fast’ scheme.”
He notes, “We at Bitek always believed that real adoption needs payment processors since Bitcoin is not legal tender, most of the commerce would need to have cash flow in their local currency and that, among other reasons is why they are afraid to receive Bitcoin openly as a mean of exchange, so having POS applications with payment processing is absolutely necessary in this early stages.”
Colombia is just the first for Expo-Bitcoin International. Bitek plans to hold the event every two years going forward. According to Garcia, “We are Colombians, we love our country and we think this is an important door to Latin America. Beyond that fact, being objective, Colombia has the fifth largest bitcoin community in Latin America, and the third fastest growing in volume of Bitcoin transactions. And Bogota is the neuralgic center of this fever. We need to hit in Bogota first, but also Medellin is a very important node in this ecosystem, we plan to be there in the future. Other cities in Latin America are very important so we think in the future we have a lot of places to look at.”
It’s not too late to join this history-making conference. Get your tickets now, and seize the opportunity to learn more about BSV and find out all the ways it will change the future.
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