With more than 200 talks and 150 speakers, the 14th edition of LABITCONF once again made Buenos Aires the meeting point for the region’s Bitcoin community. At the closing, Fundación Bitcoin Iberoamérica, the organization that created the conference in 2013, announced that it is passing the torch: it will seek a successor to lead the conference into its next stage and will double down on its commitment to communities.
After two days at BAFerial (formerly Costa Salguero), the HODL edition of LABITCONF closed with an announcement that opens a new chapter in its history: after 14 editions as the world’s oldest Bitcoin conference, Fundación Bitcoin Iberoamérica (FBI), which has supported the event since its first edition, is beginning the search for a successor to lead LABITCONF into its next stage.
The announcement was made by Diego Gutiérrez Zaldívar, co-founder of the FBI, who read an open letter reviewing the conference’s history and explaining the decision: to hand over leadership to a newly chosen successor, now that LABITCONF has reached the top and has hosted the world’s leading Bitcoin and blockchain speakers.
“In 2015, Rodolfo took over LABITCONF and grew it from 300 people to more than 10,000. We took it to places we never imagined. Rodo is the heart of LABITCONF, and that heart shows in every detail: he never thought of it as a mass-marketing conference, but as something built with love, and that is what makes it unique. Thanks to him, the most renowned figures in Bitcoin came to Latin America,” said Gutiérrez Zaldívar.
He added: “We make LABITCONF by and for the Latin American Bitcoin community. Today it changes leadership and, true to its tradition, we light the torch so that someone else can keep it burning. The leader of that new LABITCONF may be among us.”
A HODL edition
On Friday, October 30 and Saturday, October 31, thousands of people visited LABITCONF’s five stages at the event that closed Buenos Aires City’s Tecweek. More than 200 talks and 150 speakers covered Bitcoin, Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence, from first steps into the ecosystem to technical development, business, and the big debates about the future of money.
The highlight was Saifedean Ammous, author of The Bitcoin Standard, on his first visit to South America, with an opening keynote and a debate with economist Iván Carrino on the future of Argentina’s Central Bank. He was joined on stage by Giovanni Santostasi, creator of the Bitcoin Power Law theory; David Zell, co-founder of the Bitcoin Policy Institute; Giacomo Zucco, president of Plan ₿ Network; and local leaders such as Sebastián Serrano (Ripio), Daniel Rabinovich (Mercado Libre) and Manuel Beaudroit (Belo), among many others.
This edition also set milestones of its own: Latin America’s first monument to Satoshi Nakamoto, unveiled ahead of the conference; the first live hackathon in LABITCONF’s history, with students from more than 40 educational communities; more than 40 talks on Artificial Intelligence; La Bitcoineta’s self-custody workshops; and a closing HODLWEEN party, with attendees and speakers in costume.
Holding on doesn’t mean staying the same
This edition’s motto, HODL, was born to speak about long-term conviction beyond price. At the closing, the Foundation gave it new meaning: over 14 editions it sustained LABITCONF through every market cycle, and today it chooses to renew it at its best moment. HODL means holding on to conviction, and that conviction remains intact; what changes is who will carry it from now on.
Since its first edition in 2013, LABITCONF has brought together the world’s best speakers, become the most important Bitcoin conference in Latin America, and remains the starting point for many projects that are now part of the industry. Now, the FBI will seek a successor to take the baton and shape the conference’s next stage.
Meanwhile, Fundación Bitcoin Iberoamérica continues its work and doubles down on its commitment to spreading Bitcoin adoption among communities, educational institutions and the general public across Latin America and Spain.
A tribute to Rodolfo Andragnes
The closing included a tribute to Rodolfo Andragnes, who led the organization of LABITCONF for 14 editions and, with passion and effort, took it to the top among the world’s Bitcoin conferences.
“I put my heart and energy into it, but I don’t do things alone: every detail of LABITCONF is a shared decision so that it conveys what it needs to convey. I don’t know where it will go now; something will change, but we will keep standing behind it. These have been 13 years of celebration with this community,” said Rodolfo Andragnes, organizer of LABITCONF for 14 editions and founder of the NGO Bitcoin Argentina.
After 14 editions, LABITCONF secures its place in the history of the Bitcoin ecosystem. The torch is still burning and ready to change hands.
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