Several women who attended Miami's Bitcoin 2022 conference were harassed and say the conference doesn't go far enough to enforce its anti-harassment policies
WiredArielle Pardes
Context & Ripple Effects
The harassment reports land on top of a string of operational stumbles for Miami's flagship Bitcoin event. A year earlier, the 2021 edition drew COVID-19 positive tests from attendees after skipping mask and vaccine requirements, and this year's gathering was already described as confusing and disjointed, with Ethereum's cultural spotlight leaving Bitcoin feeling stale.
The enforcement gap matters because the conference is Miami's marquee crypto showcase — and the city's crypto moment is cooling, with local enthusiasm fading ahead of the next edition, which drew barely half of 2022's attendance in a subdued mood.
First-order effects
Women attendees are directly harmed and are publicly naming the conference's anti-harassment policy as unenforced, putting the organizers' stated commitments and their handling of specific incidents under scrutiny right as they plan future editions.
Second-order effects
The reports compound the event's existing reputation problems — the COVID lapse in 2021 and the disjointed 2022 programming — giving sponsors, speakers, and prospective attendees a third reason to discount Miami's flagship gathering, a pressure visible in the halved 2023 crowd.
Third-order effects
If crypto conferences keep treating safety and health policies as paper exercises, the industry's flagship events risk ceding the convening role to smaller, better-run formats — and the Miami-hosted model in particular, already fading locally, loses its claim as crypto's annual town square.
The trend: Miami's run as crypto's conference capital is winding down, with each edition — 2021's COVID lapses, 2022's disjointed program and harassment reports, 2023's halved turnout — eroding the event that anchored the city's crypto boom.
“The whisper network of women in crypto is 100 percent real. I'm not going somewhere that other women are warning me not to go.” For some women, inappropriate conduct from other conference-goers continued to haunt them online. https://www.wired.com/...
This shit reflects poorly on our industry as a whole. It's not even the cyber bullying that's the problem imo...you don't post photos of ppl at conferences without their permission. That should be a given considering how much the community values privacy. https://twitter.com/...
Is anyone surprised by this? 😡 Miami's #Bitcoin Conference Left a Trail of Harassment For some women, inappropriate conduct from other conference-goers continued to haunt them online. #BTC #Inclusion #FinTech #FinServ https://www.wired.com/...
As I've been saying, misogyny hinders Bitcoin adoption. Curious how sponsors like @CashApp will respond to ongoing reports of Bitcoin Conference's participation in, and indifference to, sexual harassment at their events. https://www.wired.com/...
“Another woman attended an after-party at the home of a prominent crypto investor, and later discovered that someone had slipped an AirTag into her bag at the party.” https://www.wired.com/...
Wow. A grim portrait of the misogynistic atmosphere at @TheBitcoinConf in Miami and what that says about Bitcoin bros. By my colleague @pardesoteric https://www.wired.com/...
@RVAwonk I have certainly seen exhibits of absolutely zero self-awareness and empathy among crypto enthusiasts. It often feels like the modest reforms of recent years in tech around D&I have not touched crypto at all. https://www.wired.com/...
Last month, more than 25,000 people gathered in Miami for the annual Bitcoin Conference. Some women say they were harassed or assaulted while they were there. Worse, they say the conference did nothing to protect them. My story for @WIRED: https://www.wired.com/...