Although those in the Bitcoin community prides themselves on distancing themselves from the institutions of the old world, cryptocurrency and blockchain are inextricably tied to events taking place in the outside world, so to say.
This has been proven true over the past few months with the outbreak of a coronavirus-caused illness, COVID-19, which has since spread from China to all over the world, with hotpots appearing in Italy, South Korea, Iran, Germany, and France.
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Top Bitcoin Event Postponed Due to COVID-19 Fears
Over the past few months, I’ve been anticipating Bitcoin 2020 — a BTC-themed conference that was set to take place at the end of March in San Francisco with speakers like Blockstream’s Adam Back, FTX and Alameda CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, and countless other prominent industry members.
My hope was that representing this very site and HTC, whose cryptocurrency branch I also work for, I would be able to meet many like-minded individuals at the event.
Unfortunately, it seems that this event won’t be happening, at least not for now. In a post published to Bitcoin Magazine on Friday, whose parent company runs Bitcoin 2020, it was revealed that the event has been “postponed from March 27 and 28, 2020, to Q3 of 2020.”
This comes in response to Bitcoin 2020’s event team keeping in close contact with “health authorities, the Office of the Mayor of San Francisco and the State of California regarding this evolving situation.”
Indeed, responding to the declaration of a State of Emergency in California, the organizers felt it right to move the event.
Despite the delay, the organizers remain optimistic, writing in the note:
Having spent the last year preparing for Bitcoin 2020 along with an amazing group of speakers, panelists, sponsors and partners, we’re disappointed to ask you to wait a few more months. But we’re confident that Bitcoin 2020 will still serve as the biggest and best celebration of Bitcoin in history at this later date.
Far From First Industry Event Affected
Bitcoin 2020 is far from the first industry event affected by the global outbreak of COVID-19 and its respective coronavirus strain.
niTROn, the Tron-themed crypto event put on by Justin Sun’s Tron Foundation, was recently revealed to have been “postponed”:
“We are very sorry to inform you that #niTROn2020 will be postponed due to the ongoing coronavirus epidemic in Wuhan, China. The safety and health of our community and the wider public is our top priority. The new date will be decided based on the ongoing situation.”
Tron has been keeping a close eye on the coronavirus situation for a while now (along with Binance), with the Foundation earlier this year claiming to have sent health supplies like masks to the region of Huibei and the city of Wuhan.
Also, in a notice published in February, the organizers of Hong Kong Blockchain Week and Token2049, which occur around the same time, noted that the events have been postponed until later this year.
Our coverage of last year’s iteration of Token2049 — which included extensive Bitcoin market commentaries and interviews with Charlie Lee, Justin Sun, and other top industry executives and token founders — can be found on our site via this link.
Featured Image from Shutterstock
