LaBITconf , the Latino American Bitcoin Conference, is setting roots in Mexico City on December 4-5, bringing Bitcoin pioneers from all over the world to one of the the largest cities in the world, including the exclusive reveal of the Rootstock white paper. Mexico is often heralded as a diamond in the rough when it comes to ecommerce and fintech innovation. In 2014, eMarketer forecast that “between 2014 and 2018, smartphone users will grow from 24.0% to 40.0% of Mexico’s overall population.”To put that in perspective, “Less than a quarter of Brazilians and Argentinians use smartphones, while in Chile and Peru the numbers drop to less than one fifth. In the U.S,. smartphone penetration tops 65%. By the end of 2015 there will be 65 million Internet users in Mexico, and by 2018 the number of ‘internautas’ is expected to jump to 80 million – 21.1 million of whom are expected to become online shoppers,” according to journalist and researcher Nathaniel Parish Flannery . Add to that Mexico’s massive remittances market with the United States to the tune of $20 billion in 2013, making up a third of Latin America’s expected remittances volume during the following years, according to a report by the World Bank That makes Mexico a ripe environment for fintech startups, and, as such, a great place for the third Latin American Bitcoin Conference. The speaker lineup This 2015 laBITconf features renowned speaker Andreas Antonpolous , a technologist, serial entrepreneur and thought leader in the Bitcoin space since its early days. He is the author of “ Mastering Bitcoin ,” a book intended to help newcomers and developers “unlock digital currencies.” Erik Voorhees, early adopter and serial entrepreneur, also will be speaking at laBITconf. He is the CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange Shapeshift.io , is the […]
