Everyone who attends the North American Bitcoin Conference, which is being held in Miami from Jan. 17-19, will be entered into a draw.
A Bitcoin conference is offering a rather novel prize to attendees: a free trip to space.
The prize is being offered by Space Perspective and Astranaut — and instead of blasting off on a rocket, the lucky winner will be lifted by "a balloon large enough to encapsulate the Statue of Liberty."
Everyone who attends the North American Bitcoin Conference, which is being held in Miami from Jan. 17-19, will be entered into a draw.
The project began performing test flights back in June 2021, and is scheduled to start ferrying tourists to the edge of space by late 2024. More than 500 seats have been reserved so far.
In an announcement, Space Perspective pointed to NASA scientists who have said these journeys transformed the way they think about the planet. Karen Nyberg, who traveled on the Space Shuttle Discovery back in 2008, said:
"Every single part of the Earth reacts with every other part. It's one thing. Every little animal is important in that ecosystem. [Seeing the planet from above] makes you realize that, and makes you want to be a little more proactive in keeping it that way. If I could get every Earthling to do one circle of the Earth, I think things would run a little differently."
Astranaut's founder and CEO Shannon Graham agreed, adding:
"There is no more profound experience in the world than to see the blue line of your planet from an outside perspective. Space travel is the act of young species reaching beyond its home planet into the bright future."
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A Busy Conference
The North American Bitcoin Conference is now in its eighth year — with billionaire investor Mark Cuban and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez among the confirmed speakers.
They'll be joined by executives from Blockchain.com, Tezos, Tether, the Blockchain Association, WAX and Voyager.
The winner of the trip to space is set to be unveiled on the final day of the conference — and attendees are set to have a 1 in 4,000 chance of being selected.
Crypto conferences are beginning to return to normal after mostly being based online during the coronavirus pandemic — despite the rise of the Omicron variant.
Last year's Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami ended up being described as a "hotspot" for COVID. A significant number of the 12,000 people in attendance, many of whom were unmasked, ended up testing positive for the virus.
