September 13, 2018 Article

How do Conferences Facilitate Growth of the Cryptocurrency Industry?

The emergence and growth of the cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology has inevitably introduced new concepts to the traditional way of doing business, including the money market. The cryptocurrency index funds offer maximum returns on investment while ensuring less risk for investors, compared to conventional hedge funds and exchanges.
An analysis of the crypto index fund conducted by Crypto Fund Research indicates that performance in the first half of 2018 overran investments made in 2017, to register a 28% increase. In the first half of 2018, the total investment recorded was $637.7 million, compared to $496.7 million recorded in 2017. This is a clear indication of the growing popularity this channel of investment is registering, especially among the millennials.
But despite the steady growth experienced through this investment strategy, it is important for any discerning investor to gather adequate information before committing his hard earned money. Developers also need to come up with profitable projects that can attract investors.

Convergence Point
Every month, blockchain and cryptocurrency conferences take place in different parts of the globe. These conferences are great platforms for cryptocurrency community members, including those in the initial coin offering (ICO) space, to interact and share new knowledge, experiences and ideas.
Over the past years, numerous innovative projects have been developed on blockchain. The business space has been dominated by revolutionizing ICO projects. They include BlockVest that is focused on management of digital assets and HFC Coin that uses blockchain to solve problems that face the mortgage industry.
The advertising and marketing sector has not been left behind. Innovations such as Qupon, a digital coupon advertising marketplace, Noiz Chain, and interactive advertising platform and IOU, a platform focused on customer satisfaction in the e-commerce space are carrying the day.
In the social networking space, some interesting projects worth considering include secure social networking platform, ONeNetwork and family smart contracts platform, URAllowance. For ICO company owners, seasoned crypto investors and blockchain developers, it is important to participate in cryptocurrency and blockchain events that serve as a convergence points for industry members.

New Investor Leads
Apart from honing skills and boosting knowledge, cryptocurrency and blockchain conferences create opportunities for people with like-minded ideas and working on similar projects to network with investors.
Raghav Reggie Jerath, CEO of Gath3r says, “Conferences certainly help with networking, finding new leads and in certain cases fundraising. However, it depends on what conference(s) you are attending. For any type of event, you must be very well aware of who is the attending audience, and what their goals are. Conferences are also great places for demos, validating your product in person, and receiving live feedback on it. That, in essence, will attract attention. Any potential investors will always highly appreciate a working product, even if it’s still in the testing phases. So the opportunities for funding are definitely there, all it takes is a very good understanding of the type of event you are attending and, of course, lots of preparation beforehand.”
Andy Ann, CEO of NDN Group, attests to other benefits of attending cryptocurrency or blockchain conferences, saying through such platforms, he has met investors and developers with similar blockchain projects. With such leads, he has discussed plans to enhance blockchain projects and in some instances, growth the leads to partnerships.
In Ann's view, the growth of the digital community happens faster when interactions are continually facilitated in crypto event. “This is how the digital community will grow at a faster rate, when the digital platforms work together for the purpose of adding value to a digital asset,” he says.

 
 Disclaimer: David Drake is on the advisory board for most of the firms mentioned or quoted in this article.