In just over six weeks time, the free three-day event will once again be hitting the streets of Manchester – making t the third year in a row and the fourth UK event – where it hopes to maximise on the success of last year.
Organised by Manchester-based CryptoBatesGroup, the event will be taking place from 4th-6th April 2019, at the Manchester Conference Centre in the heart of the city.
Continuing on its previous themes, this year’s CoinFestUK is scheduled to be packed with the established and latest from the space, bringing together workshops, exhibitions, and over 40 speakers.
Headline sponsors this year include MonetaryUnit, a digital money service to buy goods and services for less, and EthBits, an exchange platform for users to convert fiat into any cryptocurrency available on the market.
Other sponsors at CoinFestUK include BittyBot, Cryptoversity, Hodl.Rocks, Kryptoes, and Lightning Collect.
Founded in 2013, by Bitcoin advocate Andrew Wagner, at a Waves Coffee House in Vancouver, CoinFest has grown from a small gathering of 100 crypto enthusiasts to an event that is steadily gaining international recognition.
At CoinFestUK’s 2018 event, it saw more than 400 people from over 17 countries attending the three-day conference. It’s hoping to better those results this year.
Who’s Speaking?
Connecting bright minds and targeting all levels of knowledge, CoinFestUK has a host of speakers lined up.
These include the likes of Colin McCrae, CEO and co-founder of Edge Fund, a decentralised platform for fixed odds games, Gavin Brown, a senior lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University, Bertie Stephens, CEO of Flubit, a UK-owned marketplace for branded goods, William Hern, discussing The Mysteries of Satoshi Nakamoto, and Matthew Rodbourne, co-founder of EthBits and business growth manager.
There will also be a mystery speaker attending the event whose identity will be revealed two days beforehand (At the speaker’s request). Can you guess who it might be?
Hosting the conference once again will be Chris “The Cryptoverse” Coney. He’s also the host of the show and podcast The Cryptoverse and founder of an online school for cryptocurrency, Cryptoversity.
Exhibitions and Workshops
Aside from the various talks that will take place, there will be a number of exhibitions and workshops available.
A few exhibitors to keep an eye out for include stands from headline sponsors MonetaryUnit, and EthBits aswell as MyHardwareWallet, a UK-based company that is set on putting a Bitcoin hardware wallet in the hands of every Bitcoin user in the country, Hodl.Rocks, a laser cutting crypto crafter, DigiByte, a global blockchain with a focus on cybersecurity for digital payments and decentralised applications, and Polymerbit, a company that is making tangible products for online currencies such as Bitcoin.
Workshops taking place include a mining workshop and transaction workshop, which will both be held by Greg Walker, owner of the LearnMeABitcoin.com website, Bitcoin basics, hosted by Matthew Baldock, a digital currency consultant for Portsmouth Crypto, Will from MyHardwareWallet will be giving a workshop on a beginner’s guide to hardware wallets, and Steve Ratheram, from Inspiring Company Limited, will deliver two workshops: driving the blockchain and lifting the bonnet.
When attendees select their free ticket they will be able to choose the workshops they want to attend; however, these will be allocated on a first come, first serve basis.
A Bitcoin ATM will also be at the event for people to use (what better place to use it) as well as a setup of running mining rigs showing attendees the raw workings of a GPU mining operation.
Crypto Activities
There will also be the opportunity to take part in a number of activities during the three days.
On offer will be a crypto raffle, with each ticket linked to a unique raffle number. A winner will be selected each day from the tickets scanned upon entering the event. The cash grabber will make a return visit, which involves participants entering a wind cylinder to grab the most custom notes they can.
Guess the combination will see every ticket holder having the chance to guess a six-figure combination in order to win a prize. CoinFestUK’s newest addition is the CryptoGrabber. This is CryptoBatesGroup’s own creation and involves a refurbished arcade claw machine that accepts a number of cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Litecoin, Digibyte, and MUE.
A balloon pit with MonetaryUnit and EthBits themed balloons will also be present where participants have to find the balloons with encrypted cryptocurrency keys hidden inside them.
Crypto Art
Keen to showcase artwork from crypto artists around the world, CoinFestUK will be displaying some of the world’s famous pieces of art in April.
The current lineup for CoinFestUK’s 2019 conference includes @SlackerX3, @Block_Designs, @combugnera, Giosuemarongiu, @LeeDRHolland, @trevorjonesart and @HodlrDotRocks and Mosaic.Rocks
Of course, no event would be complete without music involved. Making appearances throughout the event will be CryptoRaptor.
Whether you’re a newbie to the event or an avid enthusiast, CoinFestUK is set to provide the ideal platform that will be both educational and fun over three days.
