Report by @elian.
Info:
- dates: 2019-05-24
- location: Auditorio Antel, Montevideo, Uruguay
- site: https://bitcoinday.tv/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/BitcoindayLa
- visitors: 200 (estimated)
- workshop: ~20
Decred presence:
- attendees: @elian
Swag:
- 10 T-shirts
- 3 tote bags
BitcoinDay is one of the most active events in Latin America, they have presented a series of events in Argentina, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay, and they have plans to make more presentations in the region. The next event will be in Medellín, Colombia, on August 22th. BitcoinDay is known for attracting a high quality audience of entrepreneurs, professionals and enthusiasts of the crypto and blockchain industry. It is refreshing to assist events in which the focus of the conversation goes around the fundamental quality of the technology and its potential use cases.
As part of our participation in the event I presented a workshop about use cases for dcrtime and Politeia in context of businesses and government in Zonamerica with an audience of business people looking to understand more about specific use cases for blockchain and timestamps. As per the comments and questions of the audience the presentation was clear and general enough for them to imagine how they could use timestamps in their own business cases. The background of the attendees to the workshop was lawyers, accountants and professionals in the commerce and supply chain management industries. The same day in the afternoon I was part of a panel on business and blockchain in which I talked about Decred fundamentals and the importance of exploring how to make decisions in a decentralised fashion and the future of public blockchains like Decred or Bitcoin in the context of digital Stores of Value.
The average age of attendees was between 30 and 50 years old and that there was an even balance between men and women, this could be seen as a reflection of Uruguay which is characterised as an ageing society with a significant number of women in business. As with the audience in Argentina, people are interested in understanding how cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology can disrupt industrial processes and to learn about business use cases beyond investment and speculation.
An interesting take from the event was the presentation of the project Crypto Bay in Zonamerica. This project wants to create a dedicated hub for development, research and investment in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology inside Zonamerica, which is an special economic zone north from Montevideo with special tax, income and fiscal laws that aim to attract international companies to invest in Uruguay. The idea is to create a technology hub focused on crypto and blockchain. The project is still developing but the interest from the Uruguayan government, industry professionals, the owners of this special economic zone and from international companies seems to be clear. If the project manages to establish Crypto Bay, I do see a future in which Montevideo will be the most important crypto and blockchain hub in Latin America.
Some of the high profile contacts that were present at the event are Franco Amati founder of Bitcoin Argentina, Carlos Maslaton Head of Treasury and Financial Markets Xapo, Pablo Coirolo & Mercedes Aramendia from Crypto Bay initiative, Leandro Bonilla business dev from Zonamerica, Leonardo Elduayen cofounder of Koibanx, Manuel Beaudroit cofounder Bitex, Pablo Magro business dev OKCoin Latam, Adrian Eidelmann from RSK & RIF, Adrian Giannini from dexFreight, Gabriel Garcia from Aragon and Roselo Lopes from Stratum.
I got the chance to talk with Gabriel Garcia from Aragon about the future of blockchain governance and how this will become one the most important aspects of this technology as more and more value is stored on these chains. We agree that there is an imperative need to explore more about how to make decisions in a decentralised fashion. It was very nice to perceive the interest of the community in Uruguay on what Decred is doing and on how the project is dealing with these questions of governance and decision making on the blockchain. The perception that the project is at the forefront of these issues and advancing with innovative ideas to explore governance was clear and definitely something we should take advantage of. There is a consensus that Decred is building cutting edge technology, the great quality of project and our active community.
A characteristic that is notable in both Uruguay and Argentina is their deep entrepreneurial culture and tech industries. In this regard, it is important to note that Argentinians and Uruguayans are several steps ahead when it comes to software development education and entrepreneurial efforts: two out of three in the both countries want start a business to be their own boss.
Interesting to notice that the building of IBM Uruguay is just right in front of the building of the Presidency of Uruguay. This is first time that I notice such close relation between a major tech firm and the government of a country. This is something that reflects on the high number of developers, tech startups in the country and the role of technology on the national development agenda. Historically the society in Uruguay has been an affluent one, Uruguay is known as the Switzerland of Latin America and has had several golden periods where investment and wealth have been key for the country economy and development.
Photos:
- Tweet from attendee: https://twitter.com/Zircon_Tech/status/1131973509129940992
