Miami is hosting the largest-ever cryptocurrency conference this week in a sign that what was once dismissed as a passing fad is now going mainstream.
The conference, which runs from June 3 to June 5 at the Mana Convention Center in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood, brings a host of reputable attendees including Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who has said he wants to make the city a crypto hub.
The conference was originally scheduled to run from April 30 to May 1 in Los Angeles but was changed to Miami amid concerns of California’s strict COVID-19 policies. The date was also changed back to allow time for the second wave of the virus to pass and allow vaccines to roll out.
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Conference organizers expect upwards of 50,000 attendees.
Though still small compared to its west coast counterparts, Miami has emerged as a major tech hub in recent years. The Wynwood neighborhood, in particular, has become a hub for arts, technology, and innovation.
Mayor Suarez told Fox Business in January he is looking into allowing citizens to pay taxes and fees to the city in bitcoin.
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“We want to be one of the most crypto-forward and technological cities in the country,” he said. “So we’re looking at … creating a regulatory framework that makes us the easiest place in the United States to do business if you’re doing it in cryptocurrencies.”
Fox Business’ Catie Perry contributed to this report.