The famous white beach of Boracay Island is set to play host to Bitcoin and venture capital leaders worldwide as the first-ever “Bitcoin Island Retreat” experience takes place in one of the most Bitcoin-friendly communities in the Philippines.
The inaugural event will be held at the Henann Regency Resort and Spa between March 27 and 29 this year. It will feature a lineup of dynamic, globally-recognized speakers across multiple industries and crypto-business sectors.
“We are extremely excited to be putting on the first Bitcoin Island Retreat in Boracay. Bitcoin adoption in the Philippines has been blooming by leaps and bounds, ranking second globally. We want Boracay to be the epicenter of this advancement in the country,” said Ethan Rose, CEO of Pouch.ph, which is the lead organizer of the Bitcoin Island Retreat.
In a press release, Rose announced the list of speakers invited to the event, which currently includes Jack Lee, founder and managing partner of HCM Capital; Louis Liu, Founder, CEO, and Chief Investment Officer of Mimesis Capital; Augie Ilag, former Sequoia Capital crypto investor; and Mike “Muzz” Jarmuz, General Partner of Lightning Ventures.
Also speaking during the event is a Filipino venture capitalist named Roy S. Miclat, who currently serves as the President and CEO of 1Cooperative Insurance System of the Philippines (1CISP), the first duly licensed insurance cooperative operating nationwide. 1CISP offers a mutual aid system where members share their premium to establish joint assets, with the funds paid out to members during unexpected contingencies.
Together with Traxion, a tech company, 1CISP pioneered the creation of ‘DigiCoop,’ a digital platform for automating a cooperative’s end-to-end financial transactions, including purchasing inclusive insurance products and claims management. Last year, 1CISP also obtained the authority to become a life and non-life insurance cooperative after it acquired R & B Insurance Corporation to provide non-life services.
Bringing crypto, Web3 use cases to solve challenges in global markets
Elijah Tan, the former fiat exchange lead at Binance who now serves as Vice President of Operations at Coins.ph — the largest crypto exchange and digital wallet in the Philippines — will also be in attendance to discuss how bringing crypto and Web3 use cases can help solve challenges in the global markets.
Albert Buu, founder and CEO of Vietnam-based Bitcoin-only startup Neutronpay, has also been invited to share his thoughts about the growth of Bitcoin and lightning in Southeast Asia.
Other speakers invited to speak during event are some of the world’s most renowned Bitcoin educators and entrepreneurs. They are as follows:
- Lyman Manzanares — founder of Lightning Coop
- Max Webster — founder of Hivemind Ventures
- Jiro Reyes — founder and CEO of Bitskwela.com
- Gillian Kok — entrepreneur and holistic therapist
- Chris Tan — entrepreneur and creator
- Stephan Livera — podcaster and head of education at Swan Bitcoin
- Mary Imasuen — Bitcoin podcast host
- Joey Miyamoto — Bitcoin and Lightning researcher
- Hodling Carla — founder of Hodling Apparel
- Rafael Padilla — legal director of Farcove Consulting
- Bill Hill — community lead of Bitcoin Island
Bitcoin builders and enthusiasts are expected to flock to the event, which runs for three days, to network, pitch ideas, and share their company’s respective announcements. Aside from being able to interact with the trailblazers in the blockchain technology space, attendees will also get to experience living completely off of Bitcoin.
For the event, Pouch.ph has enabled more than 250 locations, such as restaurants, hotels, and even sari-sari stores, to accept Lightning payments and receive instant, final settlement in Philippine pesos with no extra fees.
“Bitcoin Lightning payment is changing the game for tourists and even local communities in this beautiful island. This is a great opportunity to learn more about Bitcoin and experience how the Lightning Network can improve our lives,” said Rose.
Bitskwela, another key partner of the event, will be hosting a parallel education track where hands-on sessions will touch on topics such as how to get a business to sign up for Bitcoin payments, how to gain complete control of your Bitcoin, and how to give a technical demo, among many other topics.
Apart from the speaking conferences, the Bitcoin Island Retreat event will also hold official after-parties and networking events in venues that accept Bitcoin. Attendees stand a chance of landing a Bitcoin booty if they can find the 12-word seed phrase to a private key owned by Dread Pirate Nakamoto. The words are placed around the island and the Bitcoin bounty will go to whoever finds them first.