The Most Awaited Crypto Events of 2020 that Have Been Affected by Coronavirus

The global coronavirus pandemic has impacted this season’s cryptocurrency and blockchain events, leading to a series of mass postponements because of the health concerns and restrictive measures imposed for minimizing the spread of the disease.

Consensus 2020

Consensus, one of the top crypto and blockchain events of 2020, was forced to postpone its conference for this year amid coronavirus fears.

Ever since its launch in 2015, Consensus has been one of the most awaited crypto and blockchain conferences in the industry.

But this year, Consensus will not be holding a conference in New York because of the Covid-19 outbreak.

However, the event has not been completely canceled. An official March 13 announcement revealed that Consensus 2020 will be hosted online for free, allowing a global audience of crypto enthusiasts to attend.

Those who have already bought tickets to Consensus 2020 in advance will be refunded within 60 days. The online event will be streamed in May, supported by quality platform providers.

The announcement stated:

“We are working with best-in-class platform providers to support this effort and are committed to bringing the entire crypto community together with the high-quality content you have come to expect from CoinDesk. With premier speakers discussing the most important topics of our time, all coordinated by CoinDesk’s experienced journalists and moderators in a rolling live TV-like experience, we are confident a virtual Consensus 2020 will be an enriching experience for our audience. And everyone can enjoy it from the safety of their homes.”

Bitcoin 2020

Bitcoin 2020, a major bitcoin-dedicated conference hosted by BTC Inc, was initially set to happen on March 27-28, but the event was rescheduled to take place in the third quarter of 2020. BTC Inc CEO, David Bailey, made the following statement:

“The Bitcoin 2020 team has been in close contact with health authorities, the Office of the Mayor of San Francisco and the State of California regarding this evolving situation. Following this week’s State of Emergency declaration by Governor Newsom and yesterday’s announcement by Mayor Breed regarding community transmission in the city, our commitment to delivering the best experience and protecting the safety of our community necessitated this shift.”

Bailey also said that the attendees that have already purchased their tickets would be able to use them at the rescheduled event, but he also suggested that those who are unable to participate can get refunds.

“Our standard policy is that all ticket sales are final, however this is a unique circumstance. We think you’re going to love the new Bitcoin 2020 event, and ask that all registered attendees wait until updated details are announced before requesting a refund. For any attendee that is unable to participate in the new event, we will work with you individually.”

The organizers of the event have expressed their optimism that Bitcoin 2020 will still be a big hit even though it will happen later on:

“Having spent the last year preparing for Bitcoin 2020 along with an amazing group of speakers, panelists, sponsors and partners, we’re disappointed to ask you to wait a few more months. But we’re confident that Bitcoin 2020 will still serve as the biggest and best celebration of Bitcoin in history at this later date.”

DC Blockchain Summit

The DC Blockchain Summit was scheduled to take place on March 11-12^th in Washington, D.C., but the event was also delayed because of coronavirus measures.

“Based on common sense recommendations from health experts and an abundance of caution, we believe it would be an irresponsible risk to bring hundreds of people together in Washington, D.C. next week.”

As of now, there is no information regarding the new location or date of the summit. The statement read that the organizers are still “currently working on a new date for the event and will update” attendees with their “plan on this site once that information is available.”

“This was a difficult decision, as we had a great event with fascinating speakers lined up in Washington. But the health and safety of our speakers, guests and the Chamber team comes first,” concluded the announcement.

The Bitcoin Reformation

Initially scheduled for 24-25 April in Antwerp, Belgium, the Bitcoin Reformation conference was moved to the fourth quarter of 2020 because of the coronavirus outbreak.

The event was planned to welcome over 400 people from all over the world to focus on subjects such as decentralization, smart contracts, and cryptos.

EDCON 2020

The Ethereum Development Community Conference, EDCON, was first scheduled for April in Vienna. But this conference also had to be canceled because of the COVID-19 virus. The participants and community members were notified by the organizers that the event will not take place, remarking that the decision was “difficult but necessary considering the safety and health.”

“The well-being of the Ethereum community is the most important thing for us. As we are all well aware of the COVID-19 epidemic, we made the hard decision today to cancel EDCON 2020,” said the notice sent by EDCON organizers.

Paris Blockchain Week Summit

Paris Blockchain Week Summit has also put its event on hold. Initially slated for March 31-April 01, the organizers rescheduled the summit to take place on December 09-10 in order to prevent coronavirus contamination.

Furthermore, organizers have stated that they have been closely following the progress of the virus in the last few weeks.

“The security and safety of our attendees, speakers, and sponsors will always be our top priority,” stated the notice.

The government of France has also issued new rules banning large gatherings in the country in order to minimize the spread of the outbreak, which also posed a risk to the event.

The venue, agenda, and setup of the summit will remain unchanged.

The ANON Summit

The ANON Summit is a huge event where over 1500 attendees and 50 renowned keynote speakers from the industry were expected. The dates for the summit have also been pushed back to October 21 and October 22 in Vienna.

TOKEN2049

A much-awaited yearly crypto event, TOKEN2049, had to cancel its date. TOKEN2049 was first organized to happen in mid-March 2020, but now it has been moved to 7-8 October 2020.

The TOKEN2049 team made the following announcement:

“Over the past weeks, we have been monitoring the global developments around the coronavirus closely. Whilst Hong Kong is managing the situation well and has taken strict precautions to contain any potential impact, uncertainty prevails.”

Vietnam Binance Blockchain Week

On January 3, the well-known crypto exchange, Binance, revealed that it had postponed Vietnam Binance Blockchain Week, originally programmed to occur between 29th Feb – 4th March 2020. Binance has stated that registered users will be refunded or will be able to use the tickets at a later date, and new dates for the event will be communicated in further updates:

“We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused by the delay. If you have registered for the Binance Blockchain Week, you can get a full refund through the event registration platform […] We will inform everyone soon regarding further updates on this event.”

Its official booking website posted:

“Health and safety is the utmost priority under whichever circumstances. As of January 31, over 10,000 cases have been diagnosed with novel coronavirus across 14 countries. In the past two weeks, Binance has closely followed the updates of the epidemic, pledged $1.5 million and worked on logistics support for those in need in China. Meanwhile, at this global public health emergency, it would be irresponsible if we put the attendees’ health at risk through any public gathering. Thus, we have to postpone this event.”

TEAMZ Blockchain Summit/Tokyo Blockchain Week

The biggest crypto event in Japan, Tokyo Blockchain Week, has been rescheduled because of the Coronavirus epidemic. It was initially set for April 22-23, 2020, but it will now be held between September 27 – October 3. The TEAMZ summit, which was part of the event, has been moved to September 28.

The organizer, TEAMZ, has stated that they are “closely monitoring the global development of the coronavirus” and that they are “duly concerned about the safety and security of those attending the summit, speakers and sponsors.”

The venue, program, and setup will remain unchanged, but there will be new additions made in order to enhance the event.

More than 2000 visitors from around the world were expected to take part in the event.

Hong Kong Blockchain Week 2020

Another major crypto conference from the Asian region, HK Blockchain week, announced in late January its postponement for its event in March 2020. According to its organizer, NextChange, the new dates for the event are 28 to 30 September, while the venue and program are expected to remain the same.

“NexChange is delighted to present Hong Kong Blockchain Week taking place on 28-30 September 2020. The largest blockchain event in Hong Kong will see the global blockchain community converge on Hong Kong to discuss the latest developments and insights into the evolving, real-world applications of blockchain technology. Asia’s World City is the Gateway to China and its blockchain industry.”

Final Thoughts

The coronavirus outbreak has forced the cancellation or rescheduling of many events and gatherings, both within and outside of the cryptosphere.

Those of you that have already bought tickets should not worry, as the organizers have all stated that there will be refunds or the tickets will maintain their availability to the rescheduled events.

We should all maintain our calm during this epidemic, be strong amid the panic in the crypto world, and refrain from panic-buying loads of toilet paper.

Featured image: KMPH.com