Digital currency fans from across the globe will be heading to Slovenia next month for the Bitcoin Central and Eastern Europe Conference.
Taking place on 11th and 12th September, the event is being organised by GreCom and its primary sponsor is GoCoin, which helps merchants accept payment in bitcoin and other digital currencies.
According to GreCom managing director Gregor Knafelc, the aim of the conference is to “showcase the success stories of businesses and […] cover legal aspects of the bitcoin business models”.
“We will discuss new trends and business models and of course have fun too. […] We wish to see our participants get complete information regarding bitcoin business through our conference, for instance, about the banking, taxations and other legal procedures in the CEE region.”
The speakers
Knafelc wants the participants “to see and hear which direction bitcoin [is] heading in the terms of business opportunities” and said that the conference is aimed at professionals as well as enthusiasts.
Steve Beauregard, CEO and founder of GoCoin, will give the keynote speech, and other speakers and panellists will include:
- Jesse Heaslip, CEO, Bex.io
- Josh Zerlan, operations manager, Butterfly Labs
- Christian Ander, CEO, Goobit.se
- Elizabeth T. Ploshay, member of Bitcoin Foundation and account manager, BitPay
- Radoslav Albrecht, founder, Bitbond.net
- Abdul Haseeb Awan, co-founder, BitAccess Canada
- Alexis Roussel, vice president, The Pirate Party
- Stanislav Wolf, VP product development, Yacuna AG
- Hans Henrik H. Heming, CEO, coinify.com
- Jean-Louis Schiltz, legal adviser, professor at University of Luxembourg, ex minister of the Luxembourg government
- Matija Mazi, software developer
- Deborah Thoden-Peden, partner, Pillsbury Law
- Matjaž Pajk, barrister, Dušan Korošec and Barristers Law Firm
- Luka Pušić, president, Bitcoin Association of Slovenia
- Jeremy Bonney, product manager, CoinDesk
The schedule
The first day will start with a keynote speech on the importance of bitcoin payments as a checkout method, and will then have sessions on:
- Bitcoin and financial inclusion and innovation
- The future of bitcoin mining
- The history of the bitcoin exchange space (featuring Mt Gox, Ripple and others)
- Network effects, exchanges and pump and dump schemes
- The opportunities offered by bitcoin two-way ATM machines
- The issues of bitcoin regulation
- Business with bitcoin in Slovenia (with an emphasis on tax and criminal law)
The second day will focus on investment opportunities in cryptocurrencies, virtual currency regulations and anti-money laundering practice, how to explain bitcoin to clients, and the future of bitcoin.
An ambitious project in a new location
The Bitcoin Central and Eastern European conference is the first of its kind in the area, and GreCom hopes that it will become “a yearly event with regional impact”, which will create a bitcoin hub in Slovenia.
The country benefits from a “good reputation within the technical and business communities of bitcoin”, and is close to many other European cities, including Vienna, Milan, Munich and Zagreb.
Gregor Knafelc added :
“[It] will be the first opportunity to host and mingle with really successful people from bitcoin eco-system in Slovenia.”
The conference will take place at the Best Western Premier Hotel in Ljubljana. Early bird registration has now ended, but one and two-day passes can be purchased on the website, for €250 and €300 respectively.
To find out about other bitcoin events taking place across the world over the coming months, visit our events page.
Ljubljana image via Shutterstock