The coronavirus has given much of the event world a hard time. The Mobile World Congress in Barcelona was one of the first shows to close its doors. Facebook canceled its Global Marketing Summit and Google called off both its I/O developers conference and its Google Cloud Next event. For cryptocurrency enthusiasts though, the show goes on.
From April 26 to May 2, the Bad Crypto Podcast and CoinTelegraph will present Virtual Blockchain Week. For three-and-a-half hours every day, a host of cryptocurrency and blockchain leaders will deliver online talks, make business announcements, offer their analyses, and explain the latest news from the world of digital coins. The online conference has lined up an impressive roster of speakers including John McAfee, Justin Son, Roger Ver, and Changpeng Zhao of Binance, as well as many others. Altogether, 30 of cryptocurrency’s top thinkers will address the conference, which will end with the 3rd Annual Crypto Influencer Awards. Winners are selected by the public.
“While the threat of Coronavirus has led to the cancellation or postponement of our favorite blockchain events, we are fortunate to have an incredible community and the technology to create similar experiences on a global scale,” said Joel Comm, co-founder of Virtual Blockchain Week. “We are dedicated to delivering a conference experience that delivers fantastic content in an interactive setting which sets a new high bar for all future virtual conferences.”
Registration for the conference is free so anyone can watch the talks from home and hear some valuable information. But the real value of conferences usually comes from the networking—and the goodies that fill up the tote bags. Virtual Blockchain Week is attempting to deliver that value too by providing a range of VIP Experience options. Tickets for those experiences start at $97 and include the meet-and-greet on the opening day with the conference’s speakers. VIP attendees will also be able to receive exclusive, digital collectible NFTs and resources given away by the speakers. Half of the proceeds raised by the VIP Experience tickets will go to a charity providing COVID-19 relief.
“In today’s world, you have to be nimble,” said Travis Wright, co-founder of Virtual Blockchain Week. “With many events around the world being canceled, we decided now would be the time to produce a global livestream experience with the top minds in the blockchain space. We are all ecstatic about creating an event unlike any other that can be enjoyed from the comfort of your own home or office.”
The coronavirus might have prevented people from flying around the world to attend conferences but it has meant that conferences now come to the people. That gives everyone an easier time, and it’s a benefit that might just survive the crisis.