Loading...
Main page  |  News  |  APRIL 2016: A Large-Scale Conference on Bitcoins in Vilnius!

APRIL 2016: A Large-Scale Conference on Bitcoins in Vilnius!

10.12.2015 Most recently official sources published information that the largest conference on Bitcoin circulation will be held in spring 2016 in Baltic region. As of now we know the exact date and place of the conference: April 8, 2016; Vilnius. This grand Bitcoin-event will host participants from all over the world including not only Bitcoin users, but financial analysts, cryptocurrency experts and guru of economics as well.
It is safe to assume that the audience of the conference will traditionally split down the middle:
1) Participants who favor free cryptocurrency circulation; these people highly appreciate advantages of Bitcoin settlements, focusing on it;
2) Participants who argue against free cryptocurrency circulation; they are usually focused on risks of virtual payments.

It is known that the conference is organized by Nextury Ventures (a venture fund). The fund was established several years ago, in 2013. In couple of years fund organizers have succeeded to build bridges with many Lithuanian companies and partnered with various educational institutions. Ilja Laurs, known as a founder of Nextury Ventures, explained the choice of a locality of the conference: in his opinion, Vilnius is one of the best places with favorable conditions for innovations’ development. Favorable conditions involve a great number of users in a designated area including both individuals (buyers of goods and services) and businesses (sellers of goods and services).

Besides Nextury Ventures, one of the independent organizers is Vilnius municipality, which always supports promising financial innovations. It is worth noting that the Mayor of Vilnius, Remigijus Simasius, favors economical “break-throughs” and supports any start-ups of scientists and businessmen in the field of finances and virtual payment systems. Some time ago in an interview to one popular economic edition the Mayor of Vilnius announced that the forthcoming Bitcoin conference scheduled for April offers an attractive opportunity to take a good look at the most recent economic innovations, and with the help of invited experts to learn advantages of using Bitcoins in everyday life.

It is an open secret, that the European Union has an ambiguous view on cryptocurrencies. Recent events related to terrorist attacks in France and other countries impaired cryptocurrencies’ circulation in all European countries. Many governmental meetings raised a question on excluding cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, from capital turnover because cryptocurrencies were considered as one of the funding sources for criminal activity. At this point the issue of regulation of Bitcoin circulation in Baltic countries is delayed till the final decision of the supreme authorities of the EU. However, in 2014 the Bank of Lithuania officially announced that Bitcoin is not a currency, therefore it cannot be considered as a legal payment instrument, and asked population to heighten level of awareness while using cryptocurrencies and informed about potential dangers related to them.

At the same time, Bitcoin along with other cryptocurrencies is still a very popular payment instrument in Baltic countries. Virtual payment system Bitcoin spread quickly in Baltic territories and currently is widely used in everyday life and business activities. This includes not only small private businesses but large retailers and other market players as well. An example is Lithuania Airlines: the company started to sell tickets in exchange for Bitcoins in 2014. In addition, among other large businesses accepting virtual currency there are located in Baltic countries fuel stations Lukoil, some taxi companies, cafes and restaurants, several stadiums and online-shops.

What the April 2016 conference will be dedicated to? Undoubtedly, the key issue is related to advantages of using Bitcoins. The point is that in 2008 Bitcoin broke into our life and in a very short time turned over our modern views on settlements involving virtual currency. Prior to Bitcoin launching mankind was familiar with the term “virtual settlements”, however, payment systems existed at that time had a number of following disadvantages:
- high commission fees for virtual transactions;
- complicated registration and verification process;
- all virtual transactions were monitored by regulatory authorities.

With Bitcoin launching people appreciated instant transactions with no burdensome commissions. To register in Bitcoin system you don’t need to provide a large number of supporting documents – this approach has significantly simplified e-settlements. The cryptocurrency has proved to be not only a payment instrument but a fully valid asset owned by a Bitcoin-wallet holder. None but a wallet-holder has an access to the e-currency kept in an account. In other words, e-settlements via Bitcoin exchange are completely independent and free of regulatory (including governmental) authorities’ control. Apart from everything else, settlements via virtual accounts are absolutely anonymous, therefore they allow holding in confidence a payer who buys specific goods and services.