The suits are coming to town, and this time they’re bringing their fat wallets. Abu Dhabi’s second Bitcoin MENA conference kicks off December 8-9, and if last year taught organizers anything, it is that the Middle East has serious money interested in crypto, and not just curious onlookers.
2024 debut got thousands of people, with speakers like Saifedean Ammous and Eric Trump taking the stage, plus backing from heavyweights like Binance, eToro, and M2. But this year’s got a different feel to it. Michael Saylor’s flying in—his first time speaking at any Bitcoin event in the Middle East. Getting him to Abu Dhabi says something about where the region is heading.
Peter Todd, one of the original Bitcoin Core developers, is confirmed too. Dylan LeClair from Metaplanet will be there. Prince Filip of Serbia, who runs JAN3 and spends his time convincing heads of state that Bitcoin matters, is also on the roster. So is Simon Gerovich, president of Metaplanet, and Andrej Majcen, the CEO of Bitcoin Suisse B—Switzerland’s oldest crypto firm, founded back when most people thought Bitcoin was internet’s funny money.
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Why Abu Dhabi Makes Sense
The UAE’s been working the regulatory angles for a while now, making it easier for crypto businesses to actually operate without constantly looking over their shoulders. And when you’re talking about Bitcoin mining—which burns through electricity like there’s no tomorrow—having access to the kind of energy infrastructure Abu Dhabi’s built matters.
The two-day event at ADNEC Centre is aimed squarely at institutional investors, high-net-worth individuals, and policymakers. Translation: people who can actually move markets, not just talk about them on Twitter. The exhibition hall will have the usual mix of mining hardware and wallet providers, but the money conversations happen in those VIP areas where you need the right badge to get in.
What’s on Deck
The event is packed with keynote speeches, panel discussions, and technical workshops covering everything from Bitcoin adoption trends to regulatory frameworks. There will be multiple stages running simultaneously, so anyone attending can catch everything from deep technical knowledge on Layer 2 solutions to more business-focused sessions on how sovereign wealth funds are thinking about digital assets. Interactive workshops and networking sessions have also been planned to actually get the crypto industry talking instead of just collecting business cards.
Whether Bitcoin MENA becomes a permanent fixture depends less on the keynote speeches and more on what gets hammered out between sessions. Don’t miss the event and follow coinmedium.com, the official media partner for the event, for the latest updates.
