{"id":10859,"date":"2023-05-19T08:05:43","date_gmt":"2023-05-19T12:05:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/markets\/crypto\/bitcoin2023-suffers-from-low-turnout-amidst-high-ticket-prices-and-crypto-downturn\/"},"modified":"2023-05-19T08:05:44","modified_gmt":"2023-05-19T12:05:44","slug":"bitcoin2023-suffers-from-low-turnout-amidst-high-ticket-prices-and-crypto-downturn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/?p=10859","title":{"rendered":"Bitcoin2023 Suffers from Low Turnout Amidst High Ticket Prices and Crypto Downturn"},"content":{"rendered":"
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“The world’s biggest Bitcoin conference” seems to have shrunk \u2013 attendance-wise, that is.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to the FAQ and the official social media sites<\/a>, Bitcoin 2023 is the biggest Bitcoin conference in the whole world, but despite the variety of speakers, panels, and events announced, there are reports that not many people have come – at least not as many as one may expect.<\/p>\n

The conference is held May 18-20 in Florida, USA, hosting a number of speakers from different fields, including MicroStrategy<\/strong>‘s Michael Saylor, former BitMEX<\/strong> CEO Arthur Hayes, financial analyst Lyn Alden, Lightning Labs <\/strong>CEO Elizabeth Stark, author Michael Lewis, US Senator Cynthia Lummis, USA Presidential Candidates Vivek Ramaswamy and Robert F. Kennedy JR, Credit Suisse <\/strong>Managing Director Zoltan Pozsar, Chief Strategy Officer at the Human Rights Foundation<\/strong> Alex Gladstein, Blockstream<\/strong> CEO Adam Back, Indonesian governor Ridwan Kamil, and many more.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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But it’s the number of empty chairs that caught some attendees’ attention.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Will Laurent, a contract worker for DFINITY<\/strong>, told Decrypt that yesterday felt like a ghost town compared to last year.<\/p>\n

“It’s not wall-to-wall packed like it normally is,” Andre Hicks, an attendee for the past two years, was quoted as saying. “I’ve never ever been to one where it was just like a dead bear market like it is now.”<\/p>\n

Last year, some 35,000 people attended, per the event organizers, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. It lasted for four days and featured more than 450 speakers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This year, only 15,000 attendees are reportedly expected to come.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Reasons for this drop in attendance unsurprisingly seem to include the vastly different crypto ecosystem compared to last year, given that the industry has been badly shaken by a prolonged crypto winter, failures and bankruptcies of several major players, and subsequent contagions, in addition to multiplying legal and regulatory issues.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Another reason may be the ticket price.<\/p>\n

The ‘general admission’ ticket for two days (Friday and Saturday) costs just below $1,000, the ‘industry pass’ for all three days is $1,399, and the ‘whale pass’ will set you back $12,000. The higher the price, the more perks, benefits, and pampering.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, in April 2022, when the previous conference was held, the general admission pass was $1,099, the industry pass was $2,499, and the whale pass cost $21,000.<\/p>\n

Despite the lower ticket prices than last year, the living costs are higher and so is the disposable income for the average person.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Another notable factor is the long bear market – people would be more enthusiastic about visiting this type of conference if they were in a celebratory mood because the prices are climbing, Hicks suggested.<\/p>\n

Still, Thursday was ‘Industry Day’, described as a day “dedicated to financial institutions, enterprise business, and startups.” It is designed to allow industry members to network and explore different opportunities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sam Miyakawa, an open-source developer, was quoted as saying that the conference would see “a lot more people here [on Friday]. I didn’t expect that many people to be here.”<\/p>\n

Similarly to Hicks, Miyakawa noted that Bitcoin 2022 happened right after a bull market.<\/p>\n

As the general admission begins today, more reports and impressions are bound to be shared.<\/p>\n

Here are just a few tweets from ‘Industry Day’:<\/p>\n

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Learn more:\u00a0<\/h3>\n

– Top 7 Bitcoin Conferences to Attend in 2023<\/u>
– This Metric of Bitcoin (BTC) Price Momentum Just Fell to its Lowest Since March \u2013 Is Now a Good Time to Buy?<\/p>\n

– How to Buy Bitcoin?
– Why Do Bitcoins Have Value<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n