Bitcoin being its own killer app and its use-case as a stealth instrument for solving international remittances are just two highlights from the 2017 North American Bitcoin Conference (TNABC) currently underway.
TNABC: ‘Bitcoin is Bitcoin’s Killer App!’
The annual event, which traditionally showcases the biggest innovations in crypto with big announcements from startups, finishes today in Miami.
Speeches are coming from some of the industry’s biggest names, including Roger Ver, Charlie Shrem and even John McAfee.
The mood is cautiously optimistic this year, with many celebrating Bitcoin’s solid run through 2016 and steadying of volatility as China grapples with regulatory hurdles.
“Bitcoin’s killer app is Bitcoin!” proclaimed Bitcoin investor and venture capitalist Sean Walsh in his talk on how to drive Bitcoin adoption forward in 2017.
Meanwhile, Genesis Mining came out with a pertinent summary of the status quo with a trailer it brought to the conference (again), which was subsequently used for selfie purposes by Max Keiser.
'Beware of fake news' pic.twitter.com/KVkJ5pPfbB
— Max Keiser (@maxkeiser) January 18, 2017
More Sleepless Nights For Western Union
In terms of offerings, TNABC 2017 is not falling short of expectations. Money transfer startup Abra, which is looking to launch in February, captured the imagination of many with its fiat-Bitcoin-fiat personal transfer and teller network, alongside some recently announced funding support from Pantera Capital.
Abra’s app allows anyone to send anyone else money in any currency, which they can withdraw from their phone as physical cash anywhere there is an agent acting as a ‘bank teller.’
Bitcoin is used as the intermediary currency, but interestingly, this is never disclosed; parties can transact and never know that Bitcoin was involved in the transaction at all.
“The core value is… the belief in the individual’s right to conduct all forms of commerce freely,” CEO Bill Barhydt said during the pitch. He also announced,
Today, at the North American Bitcoin Conference, I announced the next phase of Abra’s global expansion: Next month, we’ll be enabling Abra worldwide, activating a global network of Tellers who can transact in over 50 currencies, including directly in Bitcoin.
Monero Still in the Spotlight
Elsewhere, educational talks were offered by Roger Ver, Jeffery Tucker and others, while outside Bitcoin, ‘The Future of Monero’ came from one of the rapidly-rising altcoin’s core developers Riccardo Spagni.
Ver’s publication and Bitcoin educational resource Bitcoin.com is TNABC 2017’s major sponsor. Various startups and other businesses are also supporting, with official media coverage coming from Bitcoinist among others.
Wednesday sees McAfee take to the stage, having made quite a name for himself at previous Bitcoin events with his choice language concerning the shortcomings of traditional consumer security setups.
Are you at TNABC this year? What are your reactions? Let us know in the comments below!
Images courtesy of Twitter, Abra, Shutterstock
