BlockDown, the leading virtual crypto conference, is set to tackle the industry’s hottest topic, NFTs, when it gets underway on April 15.
The event is set to host a debate between SuperFarm co-founder EllioTrades, an NFT bull, and LSE professor Edmund Schuster, who falls into the bear (critic) category.
Conference to Assess NFT Mania
NFTs have generated endless headlines in recent months, largely propelled by the success of the digital collectible platform NBA Top Shot and numerous high-profile NFT auctions.
The art market, in particular, has been infected by the NFT bug, with digital works going under the hammer at historic auction houses such as Christie’s. One NFT, Beeple’s The First 5,000 Days, fetched almost $70 million back in March.
BlockDown, organized by blockchain marketing agency EAK Digital features interactive talks, interviews, networking opportunities, and AMAs, and attracts some of the brightest talents in the industry.
In what will be the fourth virtual event since BlockDown debuted a year ago, the centerpiece will be a 45-minute head-to-head between EllioTrades and Edmund Schuster, with each putting forward their case as to why NFTs are meritorious – or an unsustainable, overhyped bubble.
Schuster is no stranger to this format, having previously argued on the motion “NFTs are dumb” with Sfermion managing partner Andrew Steinwold. (Schuster won the post-debate poll by a score of 64-29).
An Associate Professor of corporate law at the London School of Economics and Political Science, Schuster is a self-professed no-coiner who regularly puts the boot into blockchain (and NFTs) via his social media channels.
Last month, he appeared on CNBC to critique the burgeoning NFT market. EllioTrades, meanwhile, heads up cross-chain defi protocol SuperFarm, which enables users to deploy crypto and NFT farms without coding experience.
EllioTrades, meanwhile, heads up cross-chain defi protocol SuperFarm, which enables users to deploy crypto and NFT farms without coding experience.
He is also one of the most popular crypto YouTubers, with close to 300,000 subscribers, plus another 130k on Twitter. Philosophically, EllioTrades is poles apart from the sceptic Schuster, as evidenced by a recent tweet that read: “Everyone I know that stuck in crypto since 2018 is now buying houses for their families.” Let the bickering commence.
Metaverses and Miami Mayors
Elsewhere at BlockDown 4.0, Artur Sychov, founder and CEO of blockchain-powered VR platform Somnium Space, will conduct a 30-minute talk titled ‘The Future of Immersive Metaverse.’
The lecture, which will kick off the conference at 11:10 CET on Thursday, April 15, is likely to focus on the interrelation of blockchain, virtual reality, and non-fungible tokens, and where the market might be headed.
The deep-pocketed buyer of Beeple’s record-breaking NFT will also be in attendance, as NFT fund Metapurse will be dispatching Twobadour for a fireside chat with EllioTrades at 11:05 am CET on day two. Chainlink CEO Sergey Nazarov will have a similar virtual tête-à-tête with Andy Pickering, editor and host of the Crypto Conversation podcast.
Although NFTs are likely to be a recurring topic (Akon will be waxing lyrical about his new Akoin NFT platform), Republican Mayor of Miami Francis X. Suarez is expected to look at the bigger picture during his own fireside chat.
The Mayor wants the coastal metropolis to become a clean energy BTC mining hub, and under his stewardship, a slew of tech and finance startups have set up home in the city. Suarez has even advanced proposals that would allow the city to pay municipal workers and accept tax payments in cryptocurrency.
BlockDown will bring the curtain down on its fourth jamboree at 11pm CET on April 16, with tickets still available.
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Disclaimer: CryptoSlate is a media partner of BlockDown.
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