- Summary:
- The NiceHashX conference is expected to encourage more people to view Maribor and Slovenia as a Bitcoin hub, similar to Zug in Switzerland.
NiceHash, one of the leading hashrate marketplaces, has announced the first-ever Bitcoin conference, NiceHashX, set to be held in Maribor, Slovenia’s second-largest city. The NiceHashX conference will take place in the wine-region hills of Maribor on November 8th and 9th, to commemorate a decade of operation for NiceHash, which was launched by two Slovenian students in 2014.
The conference, dubbed the ‘Bitcoin Conference on the Sunny Side of the Alps’, aims to drive the adoption of Bitcoin and blockchain technology in Slovenia and provide an entry point for new users aiming to start businesses within the European Union. In addition, the conference is expected to encourage more people to view Maribor and Slovenia as a Bitcoin hub, similar to Zug in Switzerland.
Welcoming the global blockchain community to NiceHashX, Vladimir Hozjan, CEO of NiceHash said:
“We are delighted to welcome the world to discover how Slovenia is leading the way in European Bitcoin adoption.”
Slovenia’s Efforts To Drive Blockchain Adoption in the EU
One little-known fact is that Slovenia ranks as one of the European Union states aggressively pushing for blockchain and Bitcoin adoption. The central European country has over 1,000 businesses across the country that already accept BTC as a medium of payment, including restaurants, hotels, cafes, supermarkets, and more. Attendees at the NiceHashX conference will have the opportunity to learn about some of these businesses, with more local Maribor-based companies expected to showcase how they leverage blockchain technology in their businesses.
In 2019, Slovenia became the second country in the world – after China – to announce its plans to launch the national test blockchain infrastructure, SI-Chain, which will enable the testing of existing and new blockchain applications for the public and private sectors. It set Slovenia as the first member state of the EU to establish a blockchain test infrastructure, allowing developers to build real-world solutions for the continent.
Notwithstanding, Slovenia ranks as the country with the second-largest number of blockchain startups in the EU, only topped by Switzerland. Additionally, the country ranked in the top 100 countries in Bitcoin adoption rates in 2023, according to Chainalysis data, with the number of crypto users expected to reach 385,700 by 2028, nearly 20% of the population.
Welcoming Prominent Speakers in the Crypto Space
So far, NiceHashX is expected to welcome a long list of prominent crypto enthusiasts and entrepreneurs. Some of the prominent speakers at the conference include Saifedean Ammous, author of The Bitcoin Standard; ex-Cointelegraph reporter Joe Hall (Nakamoto); BTC Prague conference CEO Martin Kuchař; Bitcoin FilmFest Co-founder Pierre Corbin; CASA CTO Jameson Lopp; and many others.
“With 10 years of experience in this industry, we have witnessed phenomenal growth in the interest of using Bitcoin, here in Maribor and around the country,” Vladimir Hozjan said. “Join us as we celebrate, and witness Bitcoin in its purest form, used by everyday people, alongside some of the brightest speakers in the industry.”
The conference will tackle some of the most important topics in the blockchain realm currently including European Bitcoin adoption and regulation, the mining and energy landscape, and the future of exchanges in the age of increased regulation.
In addition, attendees will have the chance to meet and interact with various blockchain innovators within the expo area, listen to various topic discussions in three main stages and enjoy the hospitality of Slovenians in multiple side events, including the official after-party with a VIP dinner and music show.
NiceHash also teased an official soft launch of a novel BTC payment solution, in partnership with local Maribor merchants, allowing attendees to pay with BTC during the conference.