Crypto events: Are they worth attending?

When it comes to attending crypto events, there are a few things you should be aware of.

First and foremost, these events can be quite expensive.

Tickets for some of the more popular conferences can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Additionally, you’ll need to factor in travel and accommodation costs, as with any other conference.

So, the million dollar question has probably crossed your mind: Is it worth it at all?

Ultimately, the decision will be yours but here’s a list of three major points to help you decide if you should splurge or not.

1. If you are a blockchain enthusiast, you won’t learn anything new.

Most of the talks are given by people who have been in the industry for a while and they don’t tend to go into much detail. You will get a good overview of what’s going on in the space, but that’s about it. Unless you plan to network aggressively to get a job, don’t go.

If you want to meet people in the industry, this is a great opportunity though.

You’ll be able to network with a lot of people who are involved in blockchain and cryptocurrency. You might even meet some potential business partners or mentors.

As for learning, a hackaton even would be a better fit for you. There are many events online and offline these days on platforms like Devpost.

2. Crypto events are heavily geared towards fintech.

If you are an ancap hero, you won’t have much to talk about with the others at most events.

The vast majority of attendees will be people who want to learn about how to make money by way of receiving venture capital funding in the space of cryptocurrency or blockchain technology.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s something you should be aware of before you go.

We all know that blockchain and crypto are about tech from a good part, and then there’s the whole trading industry.

The tech and privacy are niche interests, and you will not find them heavily represented in current crypto events.

Trading is an individualist pursuit, there’s no commercial benefit in networking with other traders. You might want to look into events around quant or technical analysis though. John Bollinger appears at events, occassionally.

If you want to meet investors, crypto events are a great opportunity though.

This is probably the biggest reason why people attend crypto events.

3. If the speakers are interesting people, it might be worth it anyway.

Some people would go see an event with Andreas Antonopoulos regardless of what he’ll talk about.

If that’s your case and you are inspired by a crypto personality, it might still be worth it even if you won’t be the typical attendee who is heavily working the room.

That’s why it’s always a good practice to scan the speakers at your local events and meetups anyway.

Final words

Whether or not you should attend a crypto event is entirely up to you and your goals. If you want to learn more about the technology and meet people in the industry, it might be a good idea to go. However, if you are looking to learn something new, you might want to invest your time and money elsewhere.