Let’s be frank with each other, fellow crypto nerds and bitcoin junkies: New York’s Blockchain Week kind of sucks.
On the one hand, it sucks in the way any big event sucks. SXSW, CES, and Coachella are also overcrowded, hectic, distracting, exhausting.
But Blockchain Week also sucks in its own unique way. Sited in the heart of the global financial industry, Blockchain Week has in recent years become a sump for Wall Street’s most pungent runoff—scammers, hucksters, pseudo-mystics, hype-beasts, and other assorted blowhards in shiny suits and/or leather hats. Sometimes, it’s hard to remember why any of this exists in the first place.
Which is why we’re incredibly excited to announce BREAKERCON—a showcase for actual critical thought and big ideas, right in the middle of the Upside Down.
You can think of BREAKERCON as the live version of BREAKERMAG. The focus won’t be on cryptocurrency and blockchain as a speculative investment opportunity, or even a transformative technology. We’re interested in blockchain and crypto as a movement, rooted in the biggest possible questions about the world we live in, and the world we want to create.
We are bringing together an unparalleled group of blockchain thinkers and doers from across the worlds of business, technology, art, and academia. Over the next few weeks, we will be releasing more details about our panelists and presenters. But trust us when we say this: No other event during Blockchain Week will have a more dynamic mix of smart, accomplished people, or discussions of more complex and vital issues.
To whet your appetite, here are just four names from our lineup of nearly 30 participants:
Alexander Zaidelson, CEO, Beam—Beam’s launch kicked off 2019 in style, showing that the crypto space is still full of new ideas and fierce energy. Alexander will help us understand how to balance an entrepreneurial model with the ideals and practical demands of decentralization.
Dr. Finn Brunton, New York University—Brunton’s forthcoming book, Digital Cash, sets a new standard for historical and theoretical research into cypherpunk ideals and practice. He joins us to explore the benefits and risks of crypto-anarchy in a world of creeping digital control.
Eve Sussman, Artist—Sussman’s work has been displayed at the Whitney Museum and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Her “89 Seconds Atomized” is a tokenized version of her 2004 video work 89 Seconds at Alcázar. She will help us understand what the rise of digital object-hood means for the future of art, media, and society.
Murad Mahmudov, Adaptive Capital—One of the world’s most respected theorists and analysts of cryptocurrency, Mahmudov consistently pushes past simplistic takes to ask fundamental questions about what cryptocurrency is, and what it could become. He joins us to peer into the weird and transformative future of money.
BREAKERCON, jointly produced with Ditto PR, will be a short, sharp dose of excellence and insight on the afternoon of May 15. Because this is our first year, we are keeping the event small, with most tickets distributed by invitation. Some seats are available to event sponsors, so please reach out if you’re interested.