Sofia, Bulgaria
Hotel Expo,Tsarigradsko shosse 149
06 December 2014
Warm up eventFriday 5th of Dec
20+ speakers
10+ exhibitors
200 Seats
Hurry up, register!Topics of the conference
Аdvantages and risks of Bitcoin, future development scenarios and advanced points of view from technical, economic and regulatory perspective.
Audience
Еxecutives from the banking, financial and IT sector. The whole regional Bitcoin community – businesses, developers, investors, miners, merchants and users.
Language
The main event /6th Dec/ will be in English only. The warm up event /5th Dec/ will be in Bulgarian only, no English Translation.
Speakers

Mike Hearn
Vinumeris GmbH
Mike is the creator of the decentralized crowdfunding platform Lighthouse and a former Google engineer...
Mike Hearn

Mike Hearn is a Bitcoin developer and is among the people who know all the details about the Bitcoin core protocol. Mike is the creator of the decentralized crowdfunding platform Lighthouse and a former Google engineer. He first used Bitcoin a few months after its initial release in 2009. Mike has a research interest in advanced uses of the Bitcoin protocol, in particular around building out the infrastructure for a completely new financial system. He lives and works in Switzerland.

Marek Palatinus "Slush"
Satoshilabs
Marek, also known as "Slush", is the inventor of the bitcoin mining pool concept and operator of the Slush's mining pool, designer of the lightweight Stratum...
Marek Palatinus "Slush"

Marek, also known as “Slush”, is the inventor of the bitcoin mining pool concept
and operator of the Slush’s mining pool, designer of the lightweight Stratum
protocol and the core programmer of TREZOR. With nearly 15 years experience in
IT, Marek has co-developed several successful internet startups and has worked as
an enterprise architect for one of the largest banks in Central Europe. Since
his introduction to Bitcoin in 2010, he has dedicated his entire time to
developing useful services and tools that can make bitcoin widely adopted.

Alexander Vasylchenko
Mycelium
Alexander received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from University of Leuven, Belgium in 2010, specializing in RF, antenna and communication systems ...
Alexander Vasylchenko

Alexander received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from University of Leuven, Belgium in 2010, specializing in RF, antenna and communication systems. From 2005 till 2011 Alexander was working at leading R&D centers in Europe with involvement in top-notch industrial projects for global technology companies such as Samsung, Panasonic, STM, MED-EL, Phonak etc. When the Mycelium Media concept began to crystallize Dr. Vasylchenko was responsible for establishing the Mycelium R&D headquarters in Vienna, Austria in 2011. Now Alexander’s primary job is to manage all the hardware related projects at Mycelium such as the Bitcoincard, Mycelium Entropy and Mycelium Payment System.

Stephan Tual
Ethereum
Stephan is the chief communications officer for Ethereum since January 2014. His current focus is on smart contracts/smart property ...
Stephan Tual

Stephan is the chief communications officer for Ethereum since January 2014. His current focus is on smart contracts/smart property and the development of decentralized applications deployed on top of a blockchain infrastructure. He is particularly interested in the potential for societal change engendered by users regaining control over both their funds and personal information.
Stephan is the founder and CEO of the world’s first crypto-consultancy, Ursium. He regularly speaks at conferences, community events and meetups, and is the media contact for the Ethereum project.

Rutger van Zuidam
IntoBitcoin
Rutger is an ecommerce entrepreneur and Bitcoin specialist from The Netherlands. He is the founder of Into Bitcoin ...
Rutger van Zuidam

Rutger van Zuidam is an ecommerce entrepreneur and Bitcoin specialist from The Netherlands. He is the founder of Into Bitcoin, which serves as the starting point for business, governmental institutions and NGOs to use and apply Bitcoin, crypto currency and Blockchain technology. He is a co-producer of the recently viral video - BitcoinProperly. He started the first Dutch Bitcoin Café gathering which launched a Bitcoin point-of-sales system for bars and restaurants as well as the official Dutch National Bitcoin Conference. Rutger is a co-founder of the start-up EAZE, the wearable wallet, combining Bitcoin wallets Coinbase and Blockchain.info with Google Glass and smartwatches to provide a frictionless payment solution. His keynote takes beyond the Bitcoin hype and into the Blockchain revolution: The internet of trust.

Petr Kindlmann
CryptoNote/Nxt
Petr is an independent researcher focusing on cryptocurrencies and anonymous technologies. He has been involved in the Nxt and CryptoNote communities ...
Petr Kindlmann

Petr Kindlmann is an independent researcher, in the crypto world. He focuses on existing cryptocurrencies 2.0 and anonymous technologies. Petr has been involved in the Nxt community as a writer since 2013. Later he started with contributing reviews to Coins Source news website. As a founder of Nxt Academy he is helping with several university projects in order to educate mainstream population about the cryptocurrencies. He is involved in the CryptoNote project as a PR specialist.

Tim Mitja Zagar
Cashila
Co-founder and CEO of OpenHours LLC, one of the most popular websites in Slovenia. Co-founder of bitcoin payment gateway Cashila.com ...
Tim Mitja Zagar

Before got inspired by Bitcoin and blockchain technologies, he co-founded and served as CEO of OpenHours LLC, which is one of the most popular sites in Slovenia with 500.000 monthly users in country with 2 million people. Service has substantial market share in some other European countries such as Denmark, Sweden and Norway.
In November 2013 he co-founded Cashila (cashila.com), Bitcoin Payment Gateway, to connect Bitcoin with old Banking world.

Luka Klancir
crobitcoin.com
Luka Klancir is a young entrepreneur with passion towards the Bitcoin technology, founder of Croatian Bitcoin Portal ...
Luka Klancir

Luka Klancir is a young entrepreneur with passion towards the Bitcoin technology. Most recent ventures are focused on bringing digital currencies to the region of South-eastern Europe through co-founding of the Croatian Bitcoin Portal which is now one of the central points for information and community in the region. Also included in many activities and projects regarding the startup ecosystem in Croatia, especially around cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin tech. Recently got a Bachelor of Informatics degree in the field of Information Systems.

Pavel Chorbadzhiyski
Bitcoin.bg
Pavel is the chairman of the Bulgarian Bitcoin Association and the owner of Bitcoin Bulgaria - the company behind the first bitcoin ATM in Bulgaria ...
Pavel Chorbadzhiyski

Pavel is the chairman of the Bulgarian Bitcoin Association and the owner of Bitcoin Bulgaria (bitcoin.bg) – the company behind the first bitcoin ATM in Bulgaria. He is a lifetime member of the Bitcoin Foundation in Washington. Pavel is a Sponsor of Open Transaction (monetas.net) and a member of the the Multilingual Internet Names Consortium (mind.org). He has 10 years experience in several Bulgarian banks and has specialized in banks abroad. Pavel Graduated from the UNWE with a major in international economics relations.

Blagovest Belev
Tavex Gold&Exchange
Blagovest is in the management board of the biggest gold bullion dealer and currency exchange operator in Bulgaria - Tavex Gold&Exchange ...
Blagovest Belev

Blagovest is in the management board of the biggest gold bullion dealer and currency exchange operator in Bulgaria - Tavex Gold&Exchange since the establishment in 2009. His background and interests include monetary history, Austrian economics and the problems in the current financial system. Blagovest is vice chair and one of the founders of the Bulgarian Bitcoin Association and is the founder of CoinWisdom – a company created to spread the use and popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies. Blagovest has a BA in Economics and Business Administration from the American University in Bulgaria.

Todor Breshkov
LAUNCHub
Todor Breshkov is one of the Managing Partners of LAUNCHub, a seed fund supporting the most promising entrepreneurs ...
Todor Breshkov

Todor Breshkov is one of the Managing Partners of LAUNCHub, a seed fund supporting the most promising entrepreneurs and digital startups in South and Eastern Europe.
Todor’s expertise varies within the areas of Management, Finance, Business Development, VC and entrepreneurship. Todor’s background is in Investment banking achieved as Managing Partner of one of the largest brokerage and corporate finance boutiques in Bulgaria – FFBH and also Member of the Board of Directors of the Bulgarian Stock Exchange – Sofia (2003 – 2009). Todor was a Member of the Supervisory Board (2003 – 2011) of First Investment Bank, EUR 3 BLN in assets. He is also Partner in the largest real estate fund in Bulgaria.
In his free time, Todor likes all types of outdoor activities, especially with family and friends.

Adrian Iliev
Advocati.org
Adriani Iliev – legal adviser and specialist in information legislation and legal processes in digital environment...
Adrian Iliev

Adriani Iliev – legal adviser and specialist in information legislation and legal processes in digital environment. Works in the field of social law, contracting, associating and ideal goals. Founder of the site for legal information Advocati.org and co-organizer of specialized seminars as ‘Law, Internet and Business’, ‘Digital Security’, ‘Technical Termination of the Underhanded’ and others. Co-author of the site for Free (as in ‘freedom’) technologies SwitchFree.eu and author of numerous publications about legal problems, policy processes and Information Society development.

Yasen Yankov
BitLendingClub
Yasen is a software engineer, entrepreneur and the CTO of BitLendingClub.com - a bitcoin lending platform ...
Yasen Yankov

Yasen is a software engineer, entrepreneur and all-around technology guru. Yasen has over 8 years of software development experience in top tier companies, holds a BS in Computer Systems and Technology from the Technical University Sofia and is solely responsible for managing the development of BitLendingClub. Yasen manages all the aspects of the technical implementation of the platform and serves as the CTO of BitLendingClub.

Peter Ganev
Institute for Market Economics
Petar Ganev is a senior economist at the Institute for Market Economics (IME) in Sofia. He is interested in the fields of economic growth, the business cycle...
Peter Ganev

Petar Ganev is a senior economist at the Institute for Market Economics (IME) in Sofia. He is interested in the fields of economic growth, the business cycle, fiscal policy and the role of government in the economy and the free market. He is also an expert in the history of the Austrian School of Economics. Ganev is a board member of the Bulgarian Macroeconomic Association and author of numerous articles in Bulgarian media. He is also responsible for the educational initiatives of IME.

Georgi Ganev
Center for Liberal Strategies
Georgi Ganev is an economist and a program director for economic research at the Center for Liberal Strategies in Sofia and an assistant professor in Sofia University...
Georgi Ganev

Georgi Ganev is an economist and a program director for economic research at the Center for Liberal Strategies in Sofia, Bulgaria. Since 2003 he is an assistant professor at Sofia University in the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration. He is in the board of Macroeconomics Association since 2003 and has been the chairman of the board in the period 2005 – 2009.
His interests are in the field of macroeconomics and monetary theory and policy, political economy, economies in transition and economic growth.

Vladislav Dramaliev
CoinFixer.com
Vladislav Dramaliev is a serial Bitcoin entrepreneur, founder of CoinFixer.com and co-founder of Curex.bg.
Vladislav Dramaliev

Vladislav Dramaliev is a serial Bitcoin entrepreneur. Alumni of the American University in Bulgaria, his background is in European Union policy and international relations. His interests are related to technology, cryptocurrencies and climate change politics. Vladislav is a founding member of the Bulgarian Bitcoin Association and the founder of CoinFixer.com and co-founder of Curex.bg, both providing brokerage and exchange services in Bulgaria.

Georgi Matev
Rashev & Partners
Georgi Matev is an Attorney at Law at Rashev & Partners and is interested in the field of crypto currency, blockchain technology ...
Georgi Matev

Georgi Matev is an Attorney at Law at Rashev & Partners and is interested in the field of crypto currency, blockchain infrastructure, the legal aspects and regulation framework on a worldwide basis. He is a consultant for incorporation and structuring of a crypto currencies and blockchain business worldwide. His law practice is generally focused in the civil law, especially ICT law and corporate law. He is a member of the Board of directors of the Bulgarian Bitcoin Association. Georgi holds master degree in Law from NBU, Sofia.

Jana Mihaylova
BSR.bg
Jana is the owner of accounting services company BSR.bg. She is an expert in the creation of annual bookkeeping statements ...
Jana Mihaylova

Jana is the owner of accounting services company BSR.bg. She is an expert in the creation of annual bookkeeping statements and has a lot of experience in accounting, tax and labor laws.

Ivo Vasilev
reloyalty.com
Ivo is refounder & CEO of reloyalty.com, a mobile payment company that uses Bitcoin as reward system in network of local merchants ...
Ivo Vasilev

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Registration
The registration requires an ID. Please come at least 15 minutes prior to 14:00. The process might slow down in case all participants come in the last moment -
Financial history and the need for bitcoin - Pavel Chorbadzhiyski, bitcoin.bg
Pavel is the chairman of the Bulgarian Bitcoin Association and the owner of Bitcoin Bulgaria (bitcoin.bg) - the company behind the first bitcoin ATM in Bulgaria. -
Panel - The different uses of the bitcoin payment system
Panelists:
Yasen Yankov, BitLendingClub
Todor Breshkov, LAUNCHub
Vladislav Dramaliev, CoinFixer.com
Ivo Vasilve, reloyalty.com
Moderator - Svetlin Jelev, Kaldata.com -
Coffee break - 30 min.
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Cryptocurrency in legal context - Adrian Iliev, advocati.org
Adriani Iliev – legal adviser and specialist in information legislation and legal processes in digital environment. Works in the field of social law, contracting, associating and ideal goals. -
Regulatory panel - how a Bitcoin business should operate in Bulgaria
The focus of the discussion will be the Bulgarian laws and regulations related to Bitcoin business activites, income, transactions, AML rules etc.
Panelists:
Svetlin Krastanov, PwC Bulgaria
Georgi Matev, Rashev&Partners
Jana Mihaylova, BSR.bg
Moderator - Elena Ivanova, lawyer -
Coffee break - 20 min.
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Economics panel - how the growing use of bitcoin will influence the global economy
Discussion focus - advantages and risks of mass adoption of one digital cryptocurrency for the global economy, Bitcoin as an investment, comparison between the current monetary system and Bitcoin.
Panelists:
Peter Ganev, Institute for Market Economics
Georgi Ganev, Center for Liberal Strategies
Moderator - Blagovest Belev, Tavex Gold&Exchange
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Registration
The registration requires an ID. Please come at least 15 minutes prior to 10:00. The process might slow down in case all participants come in the last moment -
From Bitcoin hype to Blockchain revolution: an internet of trust - Rutger van Zuidam, IntoBitcoin.com
Rutger van Zuidam is an ecommerce entrepreneur and Bitcoin specialist from The Netherlands. He is the founder of Into Bitcoin, which serves as the starting point for business, governmental institutions and NGOs to use and apply Bitcoin, crypto currency and Blockchain technology.
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Advantages of the CryptoNote algorithm for creating cryptocurrencies - Petr Kindlmann, CryptoNote/Nxt/CoinsSource
CryptoNote is one of the most promising algorithms for cryptocurrency creation. Its foremost quality is built in anonymity and blockchain analysis resistance. The most well known currency based on CryptoNote is Monero.
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Coffee break + exhibition - 30min.
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The future of mobile Bitcoin wallets - Alexander Vasylchenko, Mycelium
Alexander is a PhD in Electrical Engineering. His primary job is to manage all the hardware related projects at Mycelium such as the Bitcoincard, Mycelium Entropy and Mycelium Payment System. -
Online security - a necessary step for the mass adoption of Bitcoin - Marek Palatinus, Satoshi Labs
Marek is one of the creators of the first hardware tool for storing bitcoins safely - TREZOR. He is also the inventor of the bitcoin mining pool concept and operator of the Slush's mining pool. -
Lunch + exhibition
A buffet type lunch is included in the ticket price -
The Decentralization Singularity - Stephan Tual, Ethereum
Ethereum is a platform for creating decentralized applications using the blockchain technology.
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Worldwide merchant adoption trends - Wouter Vonk, BitPay
BitPay is the biggest bitcoin merchant processor adding more than 3000 businesses to accept bitcoin per day. -
Coffee break + exhibition - 30min.
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Challenges in the Bitcoin core protocol - Mike Hearn, bitcoin developer
Mike Hearn is a bitcoin developer and is among the people who know all the details about the bitcoin core protocol. Mike is the creator of the decentralized crowdfunding platform Lighthouse and a former Google engineer. -
Bitcoin adoption panel - regional participants
Panelists:
Horea Vuscan, BTCXchange.ro
Tim Mitja Zagar, Cashila.com
Tim Gosselin, bitcoin developer
Luka Klancir, crobitcoin.com -
Final words + gifts
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Cocktail for all visitors and speakers
The cocktail includes wine and appetizers and is free for all attendants of the conference
Schedule
CoinWisdom Sofia brings together bitcoin related businesses, developers, merchants and users from the whole SEE region as well as people from the banking, financial and IT sector interested in the digital payment system. The conference emphasizes on communication between the speakers and the audience - half of the stage time of every panel is scheduled to be Q&A. There will have plenty of networking time, so that people can meet and exchange ideas, projects and much more. Furthermore, most major bitcoin businesses and websites from the region will exhibit themselves in the hallway.The main event /Saturday, 6th of Dec/ will be held in English. The day starts at 10:00 and will end at 21:00 and features international speakers from all over the world. The regional business exhibit will be hosted in the hallway of the venue. Topics are a bit more advanced but half of the time is still devoted to Q&A so that visitors could ask their questions. The day includes lunch and will end with a cocktail party which are both suitable for further discussion between all visitors and speakers.
The warm up event /Friday, 5th of Dec/ will be in Bulgarian language without English translation. The topics include a general bitcoin introduction, history and future of mining, legal issues and details on the local regulations and ecosystem. The panels start at 14:00 and will end at 19:30. The warm up event is NOT suitable for international visitors as it will be in Bulgarian language only. All international visitors are welcomed to join us on the main event /Saturday 6th of Dec/.
Registration
- International speakers
in English - Local speakers in Bulgarian
- Bitcoin business exhibit
- Evening event
- Lunch
Warm up event
Fri 05/Dec
Bulgarian only
- No
- Yes
- No
- No
- No
Main event
Sat 06/Dec
English only
- Yes
- No
- Yes
- Yes
- Yes
Two days
- Yes
- Yes
- Yes
- Yes
- Yes
Video
To all international visitors,
the conference venue is in a newly developed business hub near the entrance of the city and the airport, here is a list of recommended hotels in this region.
Expo Hotel Sofia - the conference venue
"Tsarigradsko shosse blvd. 149,
Sofia 1784, Bulgaria
http://www.hotelexposofia.com/
Metropolitan Hotel
Tsarigradsko shosse blvd. 64,
Sofia 1784, Bulgaria
http://www.metropolitanhotelsofia.com/
Novotel Sofia Hotel
Tsarigradsko shosse blvd. 115,
Sofia 1784, Bulgaria
http://www.novotel.com/gb/hotel-8468-novotel-sofia/index.shtml
Holiday Inn Sofia
Alexander Malinov blvd. 111,
Sofia 1766, Bulgaria
http://www.hisofiahotel.com