NFTs and web3 have undoubtedly changed and shaped my life. The people around me… not so much. You get the feeling, it’s virtually impossible to share the love of NFTs IRL without someone bringing up the “expensive JPEG” or “Right click to save” arguments.
But as the web3 community grows day by day, NFT culture isn’t just on those few Twitter pages or Discord servers anymore. It’s in real life. The challenge is, where on earth are these IRL NFT conferences?
In this article, we will be sharing some of the most anticipated IRL NFT conferences, where they will be, what’s on display, who’s going, and all that good stuff. Don’t forget to bring along your “NFT-skeptical” friends!
NFT | LA (March 28 – 31, L.A.)
NFT - LA is planning a massive IRL event for NFT collectors, investors, and enthusiasts to connect in the “nightlife” scene of L.A. The whole idea of this event is to experience the metaverse in real life while enjoying the L.A. ambiance and hanging out with like-minded NFT-goers.
On the agenda, we have a three-day, activity-packed schedule, including keynote talks from various artists and experts, late-night off-site parties and performances, along with Expo Hall exploration featuring various digital art.
The event will be held at LA Live, featuring notable figures like billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban, NFT artist Nicole Buffett (yes, controversial granddaughter of Warren Buffett), as well as DJ and web3 enthusiast Steve Aoki.
Tickets are currently going for $419 apiece (General Admission), while the VIP Tickets are priced at $3999. NFT - LA is planning to increase the ticket pricing in a few days, so if you’ve made up your mind about going to the event, get your tickets ASAP!
Last but not least, this event is brought to you by The Edge of NFT Podcast, which also organized a similar event in 2021. So, looking to experience the metaverse in L.A., this is the conference for you!
Non-Fungible Conference (April 4 – 5, Lisbon)
Non-Fungible Conference is a European NFT event that brings NFT creators and artists to talk about all things NFT. From workshops to panel discussions, this conference will be bursting with lots of sharing and conversations from experts in different niches.
Regarding the talks, NFC will be focusing on four key areas: Gaming, Art, Collectibles, and the Metaverse. I find these topics great talking points, since they are the future of utility in NFTs.
Other than talks, there will also be an NFT Art Café, where multiple artists will showcase some exclusive artworks. NFC is also setting up an NFT Shopping District, where you can buy IRL “merch” (such as wearables, art, sneakers, etc.) from 30 pop-up shops.
I’d say the best part about this event is their encouragement for attendees to cosplay for this event, as well as a segment of “Jungle Party” organized by metaverse company The Sandbox.
In total, more than 100 speakers worldwide will be attending this IRL NFT conference. Held at Carlos Lopes Pavillion, Lisbon, Portugal, the organizers are hinting at some side parties and cultural experiences at this location. Tickets are selling at €600.00 before tax, or you could mint an access token for 0.27 ETH (this option may not be available anymore).
For those in Europe, why not attend this two-day event to connect with other NFT fans like yourself?
Paris NFT Day (April 12, Paris)
Paris NFT Day is a one-day event to dive into the business world of NFTs and the metaverse. It is an IRL conference where you can learn and experience the metaverse at the tip of your fingers, as well as network with others at the event.
This event will be covering 5 “universes”, namely Art, Luxury, Metaverse, Sport, and Gaming. These 5 themes really encompass the world of NFTs. The program will also be split into three sections, starting off with the “State of NFTs”, “NFTs and Corporations”, and ending off with the “NFT Rabbit Hole”.
On the day itself, there will be over 2000 guests, more than a hundred speakers, and countless other partners; this is a huge event. Companies will also be showcasing their NFT products to the crowd, so it’s a great chance to discover new projects in the space. A VR gallery will also be put up for attendees to enjoy, experiencing the metaverse IRL.
This NFT conference will be held at 16 Place De La Bourse, Paris. Ticket prices are varied, with regular tickets priced at $812, while Gold Passes and Platinum passes go for €715 and €1,390 respectively, giving extra VIP benefits.
If you’re a developer or a student, ticket prices are much cheaper for you! It’s only €200 for a Developer Pass and €30 for a Student Pass, with almost exactly the same benefits as a regular ticket. For those who can’t attend the event IRL, there is also a Virtual Pass available for €570.
In a nutshell, Paris NFT Day is a great opportunity to just do everything NFT in a one-day unique experience.
Permissionless (April 17 – 19, Florida)
Permissionless is a feature-filled IRL NFT event, with many programs on the agenda. In fact, this conference is even larger than the ones mentioned earlier, with an estimate of 5000+ attendees going for this event.
The full experience includes big names sharing their insights on the NFT space and how it relates to specific financial industries, NFT Gallery experiences, as well as yacht parties, and extra activities in Palm Beach.
On the agenda, Permissionless has included Expo and Talks, a Warehouse District Takeover, Bar crawls, plus an After Party on the final day of the event. Huge partners and sponsors like Coinbase and Ledger are supporting this conference, so it’s going to be huge.
Hundreds of speakers, including the founder of Terra blockchain Kwon Do, and co-founder of Polygon Sandeep Nailwal, will be sharing at this event. Permissionless will take place at Palm Beach County Convention Center, Florida.
Their ticketing style is pretty unique. Every 15 days since the 1st of November, Permissionless tickets have been slowly increasing in value. Starting at $418, the new batch of 250 tickets is now selling at $1168. Note to self: Ticket prices go up again on the 15th of March, it’s buy time soon! There is a limited pool of 200 student tickets going for $99 each, what a steal!
If you’re looking for the ultimate web3 IRL experience, Permissionless is one you should not miss!
Veecon (May 19 – 22, Minnesota)
Veecon, launched by one of the most influential figures in NFTs Gary Vaynerchuk, will be a multi-day NFT conference with artists and influencers inside and outside the NFT space. The only way to get access to this event: A VeeFriends NFT.
Veecon will be hosted annually for three years, starting this 2022. On top of the speeches by authoritative figures in the space, educational talks, Q&A sessions, there is still the other side of entertainment and fun at the conference.
Invited to the Veecon are a host of personalities with different backgrounds, from NFT analysts to artists, celebrities to icons, and even influencers unrelated to NFTs! In all, this event will be like a huge re-connect of the Vee fam… as well as the possibility of meeting Gary himself?
NFT tickets will be airdropped to VeeFriend NFT holders, so those not in the fam will have to buy tickets off the secondary OpenSea market. Veecon will be held at the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. If you’re more of a party-goer and yearn for that touch of pop culture, Veecon is the place to be.
NFT.NYC (June 20-23, NYC)
And finally, we come to the Superbowl of NFTs. NFT.NYC is one of the first major NFT conferences, hosting annual NFT get-togethers since 2019. Known as the event that took over New York’s Time Square in 2021, it will be exciting to see what they have in store for NFT.NYC 2022.
Unlike other NFT conferences, NFT.NYC doesn’t have an agenda displayed publicly. Their name speaks for itself. Nevertheless, there are already more than 700 registered speakers for NFT.NYC, with an estimated total of 1000+ speakers on the day itself.
This year’s sponsors are Polygon and MoonPay, giants in the blockchain and crypto-FIAT purchasing industries. While we can only speculate, past conferences included speeches from the biggest names in the NFT space, live NFT auctions, exclusive collections seen first in NFT.NYC, as well as a bombastic activity (like taking over Times Square).
Tickets are going for $599 apiece for General Admission, and $1499 for VIP passes. The latest date to get them is 8 May, before a higher pricing tier kicks in for the latecomers. NFT.NYC will be held at various locations in Times Square, New York City.
NFT.NYC should be the largest NFT conference of 2022, so why not join the community and be part of a marvelous NFT event IRL?
And The List Goes On…
Well, that’s not all. There are many other NFT conferences in Q2 of 2022, but to talk about all of them will probably quadruple the length of this article! Anyway, here are some other NFT and web3 events you should take note of.
NFTs:
- In Real Life NFT (March 30, London)
Bringing an NFT Gallery to London showcasing a compilation of artworks by various digital artists. Brought to you by Ethereal Collective.
- NFTcon Into The Metaverse (April 4 – 5, Miami)
NFTcon is a huge NFT, metaverse, and expo gallery which showcases different elements of web3. Tickets start from $599 (ending 15 March).
- FOMOLAND NFT Conference (April 21, Switzerland)
FOMOLand plans to build a massive NFT networking and conference in Switzerland, targeting topics like the metaverse and NFTs. More details are to be released soon.
Blockchain:
- World Blockchain Summit (March 23 -24, Dubai)
A general meeting for investors, entrepreneurs, governments, and blockchain experts, covering crypto, blockchain, metaverse, NFTs, among other topics.
- Bitcoin 2022 (April 6-9, Miami)
The biggest Bitcoin event in the world, where the biggest Bitcoin advocates meet and talk about all things Bitcoin.
- Consensus 2022 (June 9 -12, Texas)
Organized by CoinDesk, Consensus 2022 is one of the largest blockchain and crypto events for the year. Prices for tickets start at $999.
Wrap Up
In summary, NFT culture is all around us. There currently isn’t one “NFT events calendar” to point out all the upcoming IRL events, but we hope that this article serves as a good starting point for you to pick out some to attend.
Do let us know if these IRL NFT conferences are worth going to, perhaps, shall we construct another calendar for Q3?
