The Bitcoin 2022 Conference (Bitcoin 2022) will take place on the Miami Beach Convention Center campus on April 6-9, 2022. The conference is the world’s largest Bitcoin gathering featuring the best and brightest leaders in the cryptocurrency industry. The Bitcoin 2021 Conference was the biggest Bitcoin event in history with a sold-out crowd of 12,000 attendees. Bitcoin 2022 will bring together over 35,000 global Bitcoiners, with a goal to accelerate hyperbitcoinization.

The Administration is actively participating in Bitcoin 2022 including sponsoring an exhibition booth, a mayoral welcome and a potential outdoor activation for key technology leaders and influencers to coincide with public relations and marketing promotion to highlight Miami Beach’s business programs and amenities.

Additionally, the Administration seeks to leverage the indirect partnerships and resources, generated by Bitcoin 2022 presence in Miami Beach, to cultivate relationships with and grow the interest of technology and financial services industries to and within Miami Beach. The Administration has a unique opportunity to showcase current programs, policies and incentives; research and participate in identifying trends; marketing Miami Beach and engage with business owners, entrepreneurs, investors and thought leaders on the Miami Beach Convention Center campus and beyond.

At the request of Commissioner Samuelian, the Administration was introduced and met with Jalak Jobanputra,  founding partner of Future\Perfect Ventures, an early stage venture capital fund originally based in New York City and now local to Miami Beach. Future\Perfect Ventures (FPV) is focused on next generation technology such as blockchain and machine learning. FPV’s portfolio includes Abra, Open Garden, Blockstream, Bitpesa, FuseMachines, Everledger and Blockchain. Ms. Jobanputra was an Institutional Investor’s Top Fintech Dealmakers awardee in 2017 and 2016, and in 2017, she was cited as a “Top 5 Investor Powering the Blockchain Boom” and CB Insights noted FPV as one of the top VC funds in blockchain “before it was cool”. Since founding FPV, she has spoken on blockchain technology at many global conferences, including the Milken Global Institute, Dutch Development Bank/FMO annual meeting, and The Economist Buttonwood Gathering.

An active supporter of education and social entrepreneurship, Ms. Jobanputra offered to participate in  a thought-leadership/author discussion (the “event”) on the eve of Bitcoin 2022. The event would feature Laura Shin, journalist, podcast host, and author of the newly released The Cryptopians – a story of the idealists, technologists, and opportunists fighting to bring cryptocurrency to the masses.  Ms. Shin is a sought-after guest speaker for leading technological and cultural podcasts, events, and conferences around the world. She was an invited contributor to TEDx San Francisco, CME’s Global Financial Leadership Conference, the IMF, Singularity University, and more. A Stanford University and Columbia University graduate, Ms. Shin has over twenty years of financial journalism experience and is a key storyteller of cryptocurrency which led to her spearheading the first Forbes Fintech 50 list.

The event will include approximately 100 tech startups, entrepreneurs, thought leaders, inspiring young blockchain savants and government leaders and invite them to participate in Ms. Jobanputra’s  interview of Ms. Shin. A key component to the event is to host it in a location in the Convention Center neighborhood to ensure attendees of Bitcoin 2022 can attend easily. The tentative location of the event is Sky Yard, within the Lincoln Eatery. The cost of the event, for the city, will not exceed $10,000 and the cost may be shared with other potential partners including the Beacon Council.

The economic benefit of the event is the access to the  diverse technology audience who value Ms. Jobanputra and Ms. Shin’s experience and unique understanding of crypto and blockchain technology. This is an opportunity for Miami Beach to be a catalyst for explorative conversations, and to distill complicated crypto concepts into an unbiased, accessible narrative so the public can understand everything from Bitcoin, Ethereum, blockchain technology/crypto, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Expenditures will not exceed $10,000 for venue, audio/visual and food services.

The Administration is confident that this event is an ideal occasion for Miami Beach to step out as an innovative leader and a destination for tech businesses interested in being bold, daring, and courageous to think, work and live outside the box. More importantly, it is a fitting moment to speak directly to our strategically targeted tech industry.