🔥 HISTORY: Less than 100 people attended the first Bitcoin conference in 2011.
In 2025, it drew 35,000.
The 2011 Bitcoin Conference (officially called the "First Bitcoin Conference") was a landmark event that captured Bitcoin's raw, early idealism. Here’s what made it historic:
🔑 Key Facts:
When & Where:
August 16–17, 2011
New York City (Hotel Pennsylvania)
Scale:
Tiny by today’s standards: ~50–60 attendees (vs. 50,000+ at recent Miami events).
Tickets cost 0.5 BTC (~$5–$10 at the time 😮).
Who Was There:
Gavin Andresen (Bitcoin’s lead dev after Satoshi)
Charlie Shrem (founder of BitInstant)
Roger Ver ("Bitcoin Jesus")
Early miners, cypherpunks, and libertarians.
Hot Topics:
Survival: Bitcoin had just crashed from $31 to $2 (Mt. Gox hack).
Adoption: How to convince businesses to accept BTC.
Mining: GPU vs. CPU debates (ASICs didn’t exist yet).
Privacy: Discussions on mixing/tumbling coins.
Vibe:
A mix of optimism and paranoia. Attendees used pseudonyms, fearing regulators.
One famous quote:
"We’re creating magic internet money!"
— Anonymous attendee
