The first Bitcoin conference was held in Wall Street South (Miami) this past weekend. Over 12k people attended - investors, builders and basically everyone else who talks crypto on Twitter. For many, this was the first big event since the pandemic and it wasn't just a "conference," think more Coachella for crypto nerds; booze was free flowing, swag included neon fanny packs, bracelets and a Lamborghini. There was even a "Whale" party for the people who bought a special $20k ticket for the event. (wtaf?)
Major figures in attendance included CEO of Twitter and Square, Jack Dorsey, who said “If I were not at Square or Twitter, I would be working on Bitcoin,” and the Winklevoss twins who apparently own 1% of the Bitcoin in circulation. Cameron Winklevoss wore a shirt with the Fed building, captioned "Rage Against the Machine," to highlight the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies. Elon Musk was not in attendance but was mentioned a few times. (both fans & haters, check out this extremely weird dude with a message for Elon #NSFW)
Many Californians and New Yorkers moved to Miami in the pandemic to escape the tight covid restrictions, cold weather (for NY'ers) and lower taxes. Miami mayor, Francis Suarez, has been the center of this attention, and has developed a cult following among Miami-grants. It started with a viral tweet, where he responded "How can I help?" to a VC investor's tweet: "ok guys hear me out, what if we move silicon valley to Miami." He recently announced that Miami would accept tax payments in crypto and let its employees get paid in crypto as well.
Short Squeez Takeaway: Miami might never replace New York to become the financial capital of the world or Silicon Valley to become the center of the tech world but looks like Miami has taken the pole position in becoming the center of the crypto world. Miami has gone full crypto and there is no stopping it.
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