Blockchain conference season is here, the industry’s equivalent of Hollywood’s awards season. It’s an opportunity for crypto celebs to tread the red carpet and for everyone from minnows to whales to mingle, network, and learn. But if you’re not careful, it’s also a chance to get your devices pwned and your cryptocurrency swiped.
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May Is the Month for Blockchain Conferences
There are cryptocurrency conferences all through the year, but May is when they reach their zenith. Last weekend saw in Dubai, a glitzy event whose guests included Brock Pierce and whose closing party took place on a yacht in the Gulf. Next week it’s the turn of Consensus NYC, the industry’s largest event that will welcome 7,000 attendees and hundreds of delegates.
The cumulative value of the portfolios swilling around inside New York’s Hilton Midtown will comfortably run into the billions of dollars. The vast majority of that wealth will have been left at home on hardware devices and paper wallets stashed in secure vaults, but that doesn’t mean attendees will be immune from thieves.
For one thing, you probably have more of your crypto holdings on an exchange, readily accessible via the 2FA app in your pocket, than you’d care to admit. And for another, hackers don’t have to strike at the event. They can phish or social engineer now and strike later when you’re on the other side of the world, or when you’re on the long-haul flight home and unaware that your SIM card has just been swapped.
Keep Calm and Be Prepared
The first rule when attending any public conference, especially one as high profile as Consensus, is to avoid insecure wifi networks. How do you know if a network’s insecure? You probably don’t, which is why you’re best relying on mobile data only. That wifi point named after the conference you’re attending could just as easily be a honeypot.
If you must connect via wifi while at the conference or your hotel, be sure to use a VPN. In addition, keep your cellphone’s bluetooth and NFC turned off and to charge. You don’t know what’s on the other end of that cable, and while it could be innocuous, it could just as easily be extracting your data.
Be Careful What You Share and Who You Share It With
The best thing about blockchain conferences isn’t the panel discussions and it certainly isn’t the ICO pitches. No, the best part is the after-parties. All those networking opportunities and chances to bump fists with crypto bros you’ve previously only known as an avatar in a Telegram group. Some words of caution are necessary though.
Literally anyone can whip together a business card purporting to be an investor or OTC broker, pull on an expensive shirt, and extend a firm handshake. Due to the public nature of crypto conferences, there is no means of vetting participants, and no easy means of telling who’s legit and who’s a snake. That ICO whale who’s befriended you and returned to your room for drinks could be the real deal…or they could just be waiting for an opportunity to slip something in your vodka and pilfer your laptop once you’ve passed out.
Crypto People Are Good People
This advice isn’t intended to be alarmist. Crypto people are some of the friendliest and most generous people you could ever hope to meet IRL (the less said about their Twitter personas the better). Provided you follow basic op-sec, you will be able to relax at the conference, enjoy yourself, and forge friendships that will last for years. Be careful, though, not to brag about gains, share portfolios, or engage in any other behavior that could mark you out as a target.
If possible, leave your primary laptop and smartphone at home and travel with a burner. That way, whatever happens, you’ll wake up regretting nothing more than that last shot of tequila. Be discrete, conceal your wealth, and remember that there’s no such thing as free wifi. Do all that and you’ll be sure to have a ball.
What other precautions do you think conference delegates should take? Let us know in the comments section below.
Images courtesy of Shutterstock.
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Wirex is a hybrid personal finance platform where cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies coexist to give customers total flexibility and freedom of choice with their money. The crypto wallet is linked to a fiat wallet that has a physical or virtual debit card attached to it.
Pavel Matveev, CEO of Wirex, says,
“We are extremely excited about this addition to our core offerings. The fact that we pay our CryptoBack rewards in bitcoin means that crypto-curious people can start building up a cryptocurrency portfolio.”
The contactless Visa debit card, with the Wirex CryptoBack rewards feature, is the latest enhancement in the new Wirex 2.0 offering. Customers who wish to spend their CryptoBack rewards can choose the redeem option in the app and their rewards are credited to their Wirex bitcoin wallet.
From there, customers can convert their crypto to fiat and spend it at their leisure.
Customers can also earn additional CryptoBack rewards when they refer people to the platform, and while there is a nominal monthly fee for the payment card, there is no fee to join the rewards programme.
crypto wallets are on an open platform, which means customers can buy, sell, and exchange their cryptos in or out of their accounts without restrictions.
“We are leveraging our crypto know-how to redefine the payments landscape and are constantly working towards more innovation in this space,”
– says Matveev.
General information
The card can be funded from a bank account and one can top up using a debit, credit card or crypto wallet;
If a client loses the card it can be blocked on the app, or if both the phone and the card are lost;
The card is valid for 3 years;
To be approved for the card you need to become a Verified user by submitting a proof of address, however, more information may be required depending on client circumstances.
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Every attendee who buys their ticket before 9:59pm each day will be put into a complimentary raffle, where one lucky winner will receive $300 of Ethereum transferred to their wallet immediately. (Considering that, on a typical day, ticket sales range from four to ten, the odds of winning stand at between 10% and 25%.)
“I am stoked about Ethereum’s rally this past month”,
– said Mr. Jacobs.
“Ethereum is up more than 700% year-on-year, and some insiders believe this number two crypto will blow right on past bitcoin, straight into number one cryptocurrency status. As always, it pays to get in while the gettin’s good, so I’ve decide to run this special promotion. Every day, until Sunday, we’re giving away $300 of Ethereum at 10pm. Every person who bought a ticket will be put in a hat, and we’re going to draw ONE name. If you win, we’ll transfer $300 of Ethereum into your wallet right away.”
This second conference – which follows on from the bitcoin, Ethereum, and Blockchain Super Conference that took place in February – is being held in Dallas on September 14th, 15th, and 16th.
Headline speakers include
Tim Draper – the billionaire venture capitalist whose firm successfully bet on Skype, Twitter, Tesla, and Space X before they got big, who predicts that bitcoin will hit $250k by 2022.
Randi Zuckerberg – Founder & CEO of Zuckerberg Media & early Facebook executive, who is now leading several future-tech initiatives, and is one of the most well-connected future-tech professionals in Silicon Valley.
Mark Yusko – the Wall Street money man who not only runs a $4.5 billion hedge fund, but is also betting $500 million of “smart money” into cryptocurrency and blockchain assets.
Nick Spanos – the founder of Blockchain Technologies Corp and an early member of the bitcoin scene who was featured on Netflix’s Banking on bitcoin movie.
David Hirsch – an enforcement attorney from the SEC, who’s going to talk about how the world’s most important financial regulator is softening its stance towards blockchain.
Lyn Ulbricht – the mother of Ross Ulbricht, who was unjustly imprisoned for his role in creating the Silk Road marketplace and democratizing commerce.
And many others.
The overarching theme of all their talks, and the entire conference, will be the next crypto and blockchain market cycle. All signals indicate that crypto is heading back into bull territory, and when the new market cycle begins, it’s going to make a new wave of blockchain investors seriously rich.
This conference is about discovering how “smart money” is already getting in before the next rush.
Tickets to the usually cost $897 but are available a special Summer price of $597.
About the bitcoin, Ethereum, and Blockchain Super Conference II
This three-day conference will be held at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas from Friday September 14th to Sunday September 16th, 2018.
We are expecting more than 1,000 attendees, at least 50 headline speakers, and upward of 50 exhibitors – with talks from founders, developers, and early-stage investors of cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups, including many that are planning ICOs throughout the last quarter of 2018 and 2019.
The focus will be on the next crypto market cycle.
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