Hi All! Following up from my “something more formal” posting we have secured a great new space to host something, well, more formal. Scheduled for the evening of the 24th July 2013, we will be taking over a floor at the soon to be launched Alpha Beta tech hub building on the edge of The City. If well received, the idea of these events will be to cover relevant ground that is informative to both newcomers to the bitcoin space as well as those currently developing, or planning to develop, bitcoin projects of their own in the UK as well as providing the usual networking opportunities.We hope to cover various topics going forward but will be starting out by covering some of the basics for newcomers and also the regulatory environment in the UK, a subject that seems to engender the most questions.We still need to check on the capacity for the venue. I think we have sufficient room but will set a limit of 70 for now and will adjust accordingly if necessary. It is our aim to keep these events free to enter as long as our own overheads are kept to a minimum. We will be selling tokens on the door for alcoholic and soft beverages – bitcoin payment accepted, naturally.We will also be on the lookout for more speakers at forthcoming events so if you think you have something to contribute, get in touch.
[UPDATE] The agenda for the evening will be as follows:
7:15pm Doors open and time to network
8:00pm Bitcoin Bootcamp- presented by Darragh Browne of Bitcoin start-up @Blockspin
To kick things off, and for newcomers to the bitcoin space, Darragh will present the fundamental workings of the Bitcoin protocol before moving on to the less obvious features and potential use cases that have the power to take it way beyond being the speculative fad that the main stream media would have us believe it to be.Followed by Q&As.
8:30pm The regulatory landscape in the UK from a Bitcoin perspective- presented by Adam Vaziri of e-payment compliance advisory firm Neopay (www.neopay.co.uk). Adam will be discussing the regulatory challenges that have already been faced by new entrants to the e-money space in the UK in recent years and sharing some insight into the barriers bitcoin start-ups will need to overcome if they are to form viable relationships with regulators and banks. Followed by Q&As.
9:00pm The bigger picture- presented by Javier Marti of Bitcoin Global Investments (www.bitcoinglobalinvestments.com/).
Javier will be sharing his opinions on how governments and financial institutions will approach the rise of a crypto-currency world and whether they choose to fight it or ultimately embrace it. Followed by Q&As
9:30pm Open mic
Attendees can take to the mic to advertise their projects, share experiences or scout for useful contacts
9:45 – 10:30pm Networking over drinks bought with bitcoins (or paper money if you really want to!)