"There are at least three Bitcoin events that I know of in NYC today. I do not think any of them are public events but the fact that there are three in a single day is interesting to me. This morning, NYC's Economic Development Corporation is hosting a Bitcoin breakfast with some of the leading banks and financial services companies in NYC to discuss Bitcoin. My partner Albert will be attending that. Also in lower manhattan, Ben Lawsky , New York State's Superintendant of Financial Services, will be holding hearings about Bitcoin. I have been asked to testify and will do so, at 11:30 along with Barry Silbert , Jeremy Liew , and maybe a couple others, in a panel of investors. Then at 6pm this evening, in the USV event space, Wells Fargo is hosting a discussion about Bitcoin. My partner Albert will be part of the expert panel. I plan to attend the first part and then duck out to see the Knicks play the Celtics in the battle for the cellar in the east. This is a public event, but it has been sold out for weeks and if you are not already attending, unfortunately you can't. It certainly feels like there is a whirlwind of attention and discussion and debate about Bitcoin in the air in New York City. Last week Marc Andreessen penned a piece in the New York Times titled " Why Bitcoin Matters ." Later in the week, JP Morgan's CEO dismissed Bitcoin on CNBC . And over the weekend, well known NYC Bitcoin entrepreneur Charlie Shrem, shown in this AVC post from this summer , was arrested for knowingly transacting in Bitcoin with drug dealers (or something close to that, the complaint is here ). So there is a lot going on at the intersection of the Bitcoin world and the world of finance and money and regulators right now. I am happy that USV is engaged and involved in these discussions. They are important and necessary."
Content from Fred Wilson's blog, avc.com, used under Creative Commons License. Fred Wilson is a VC and principal of Union Square Ventures. Originally posted on January 28, 2014.
