Argued to be the hubs of decentralization and industry innovation, cryptocurrency conferences have taken hold of global cities this year. As a result of the high financial barriers to entry into these events, exclusion soared as fast as ticket sales.
After attending my first cryptocurrency conference earlier this year, I became increasingly attuned to online engagement with everything crypto and as it turned out, crypto events. I began noticing recurrent Tweets, updates, and messages about upcoming crypto conferences around the globe. Meetups scheduled in Amsterdam, speaker-series in Berlin, NFT Galleries in Austin, after-parties in the Hamptons, pre-after-parties in New York, and spotlights in San Francisco. As event-planning took shape, blogs, online guides, telegram groups, discord channels and group chats emerged with the goal of alleviating travel qualms and helping attendees maximize their conference experience.
Engagement with these events was so pervasive in Web3 Twitter and the numbers were startling. Since January, 2022, there have been 68 crypto conferences globally. That averages to roughly 2.2 conferences per week with an estimated attendance ranging from 500-10,000 people
The financial cost of attendance is just as staggering. Tickets at conferences can go from $99 up to $1,000 depending on the length of conference, celebritism, location and industry participant prestige. Some conferences also offer a tiered entry experience; this allows those with enough industry-clout or money VIP-style access to events, after-parties, and other perks. At $500 per ticket, this year’s NFTNYC drew 5,000 official attendees (excluding attendance at the 200+ satellite events). Conference sponsors netted over $2.5 million in revenue from ticket sales, notwithstanding earnings from sponsorships, donations, and merchandise sales.
For a Bored Ape holder, or crypto-evangelist, a $2,500+ conference (between cost of entry, airfare, hotel, and other expenses) doesn’t necessarily render financial stress. The same cannot be said for most aspiring Web3 participants and builders. For those industry leaders striving towards decentralizing power structures and unlocking access, this inaccessibility seems antithetical. Moreover, it seems unethical for an industry that pioneers remote-work and distributed teams to disallow a substantial percentage of industry contributors from participating. Particularly, as these conferences arguably serve as foundational industry events. And why does gathering “IRL” (in real life) matter?
Perhaps the importance of meeting in-person at such an event is to spark cross-functional problem-solving, allowing people to gather and speak freely through round-tables, networking events etc.. Or perhaps it's about instilling trust, person-to-person, founder-to-founder, in a space otherwise fraught with Zoom meetings and lacking personal connection.
Still, conferences appear to serve as the ‘token’ epicenters of blockchain innovation and talent sourcing. As such, they can be do-or-die for many builders, providing the opportunity to solidify that venture capital connection or scout your perfect co-founder.
The bespoke crypto-enthusiast who can afford attending is also afforded immensely valuable industry insights, and experiences including, networking, partnership, and educational opportunities. Aspiring builders, however, are often, and unfortunately, excluded. Failure to foster inclusivity at a physical level will not only hurt the industry’s image, it will also hinder the transformative type of action fundamental to the Web3 ethos, an ethos made possible by its underlying technology.
But there is hope. One way to foster inclusivity at these events is to simply subsidize costs for those who cannot afford to attend independently. Since conference attendance costs can be easily in the $1,000s, many protocols and Web3 communities (Celo, Consensys, and others) have issued grants to help cover ticketed entry costs and some accommodations. While these grants do help alleviate financial constraints, grant money remains finite and gatekept often requiring that grantees cover their own airfare, hotel accommodations and have pre-existing connectivity to people in the space.
Another avenue for increasing access is through corporate sponsorships, as many companies will subsidize the cost of attendance for employees, contractors and other market constituents. Although this key to entry is typically siloed to those who are already employed in the ecosystem, and therefore do not have to shoulder conference costs on their own dime.
I concede that there are incredible leaders in this space working to close the aforementioned inequalities and increase participation, both online, and IRL. It goes without saying that I too aspire to be one of them. However, to walk-the-walk of a decentralized community focused on increasing access and opportunity for all, industry leaders must wholeheartedly commit to removing the private keys of crypto conferences and grant broader access to outside voices.
To achieve this vision, Web3 companies and protocols can start by doubling down on their grant programs and ensure that they cover the cost of attendance in its entirety (airfare and accommodations included), and target diverse and underrepresented communities. Alternatively, conference sponsors can boost participation by providing free and interactive virtual attendance options with networking opportunities for those who cannot attend in-person. If the industry at large can commit to cultivating broader inclusivity in real life, we will see broader inclusivity, and the diverse innovation which we strive for on-chain.
This is not financial advice. If you don't want to spend money investing in crypto or Web3 — you don’t have to. The intent of this article is to help others educate themselves and learn.
Isabel Doonan is the CEO and Co-Founder of Girls Gotta Eth, and Sacreage, a web3 startup working to expand tooling for crypto philanthropy. With a background in Fintech and ESG, she is deeply passionate about the intersection of blockchain and climate funding, as she works to build a better, more equitable future in which everyone can participate in philanthropy.
