BEN Goes to Miami 2019
January has been a whirlwind of events! In just the first two weeks, the Blockchain Education Network (BEN) was at CES in Las Vegas & Blockchain Connect: Academic in San Francisco. On the third week, BEN took to Miami for the 2019 North American Bitcoin Conference (TNABC).
BEN has had a longstanding relationship with TNABC. For the 5th year in a row, BEN students from all over the world came together in Miami. BEN got free student tickets, making it more feasible for students to come out and experience the magic of this high energy blockchain conference.
BEN at previous TNABCs
Fast Forward to 2019
Crypto winter has come and the hype of cryptocurrency has died down. However, the resolve from those who are serious about blockchain has never been higher. BEN brought students from Florida Atlantic University, University of Miami, University of South Florida, Gator Blockchain Club (University of Florida), New York, Philadelphia, Delaware, and more! Two of our students were even high schoolers — Richard and Lucas — who both already have their own companies and came to TNABC looking for potential investors.
This year, TNABC had a crypto art museum installation which included a graph of “The Great Bear Market of 2014”, an homage to the 10,000 BTC pizza, another to Mt. Gox, and a wall of Guy Fawkes masks.
It didn’t end there. BEN was invited to the Bitcoin Center Miami Launch Party at the Supercar Rooms Miami. Freebee cars wrapped in Bitcoin decal zipped around driving attendees to the event.
Why BEN Helps Students Get to Conferences
I joined BEN last year when I was an MIT undergrad and President of the MIT Bitcoin Club. I was right in time for TNABC 2018 and stayed with at least a dozen other BEN students. There were no beds or couches left so I slept on top of three chairs pushed together. Worth it.
I met students from the Ole Miss Crypto Club, Badger Blockchain, Blockchain at Berkeley, and more. Meeting the presidents of these other clubs was like meeting alternate versions of myself. I experienced firsthand the magic of meeting my fellow students as well as meeting the founders and CEOs of my favorite blockchain projects. I wanted to make sure BEN continued the tradition.
At TNABC, our students interfaced with movers and shakers in the blockchain space. Meeting someone in person and having a conversation with them is much more powerful than watching videos of their talks online.
As one of our previous executive directors, Dean Masley, puts it, “Conferences help you jump start your personal network of blockchain peers by building the initial trust necessary for remote collaboration later.”
What’s next?
Come out to a blockchain conference! Check out our list of upcoming events. Then take a page out of our Playbook — the BEN Travel Guide —for a packing list and tips to find cheap flight and hotel deals. Lastly, join BEN to make some new friends before you even land!
Thank you Moe Levin, Amandah Hendricks, Amy Issersohn, and the rest of the North American Bitcoin Conference team for sponsoring our students’ tickets and for throwing another outstanding conference.
Thank you Eryka Gemma, Scott Spiegel, and Bitcoin Center for getting BEN plugged into the local Miami blockchain scene while we were here and involving us in the official launch party for Bitcoin Miami.
