The decision to hold an official bitcoin networking event at a Miami strip club last month has lifted the lid on the sleazy underbelly of crypto culture.
After two long days of speeches from the crypto-currency community's biggest names, the 5000 attendees of the North American Bitcoin Conference were invited to end the event at a "networking party" at notorious strip club E11even — a club known for its relaxed rules regarding the "touching" of dancers.
While there was no nudity until after 11pm, waitresses served drinks in lingerie and according to Bloomberg, some female conference attendees said they felt "uncomfortable" at the after-party, with many avoiding the event altogether.
But while the event raised eyebrows, many so-called bitcoin "bros" were unrepentant.
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Advertise with NZME."We're a bunch of dudes with a lot of money in our 20s. We like naked girls," New York cryptocurrency trader Jeff Scott told Bloomberg.
"If you don't like it, that's fine, but you're not going to expect us to change."
The scandal snowballed after tech start-up co-founder Hadjar Homaei, who attended both the conference and the after-party, posted photos of scantily-clad dancers from the event on Twitter.
THE decision to hold an official bitcoin networking event at a Miami strip club last month has lifted the lid on the sleazy underbelly of crypto culture.
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Advertise with NZME.After two long days of speeches from the crypto-currency community's biggest names, the 5000 attendees of the North American Bitcoin Conference were invited to end the event at a "networking party" at notorious strip club E11even — a club known for its relaxed rules regarding the "touching" of dancers.
While there was no nudity until after 11pm, waitresses served drinks in lingerie and according to Bloomberg, some female conference attendees said they felt "uncomfortable" at the after-party, with many avoiding the event altogether.
But while the event raised eyebrows, many so-called bitcoin "bros" were unrepentant.
"We're a bunch of dudes with a lot of money in our 20s. We like naked girls," New York cryptocurrency trader Jeff Scott told Bloomberg.
"If you don't like it, that's fine, but you're not going to expect us to change."
The scandal snowballed after tech start-up co-founder Hadjar Homaei, who attended both the conference and the after-party, posted photos of scantily-clad dancers from the event on Twitter.
"I met with some wonderful gentlemen the next day who were as appalled by what they had seen & had left the club immediately, including some folk from @Dashpay. But I still wonder, wasn't anyone among the organisers with the backbone and judgment to say this was a terrible idea?!" she added.
Ms Homaei's comments sparked a fierce debate online, with some applauding her decision to call out the event, while others accused her of hypocrisy and attention-seeking.
BarryBlockchain tweeted: "You knew it was a strip club and yet you continued to go in, only to be offended. You were so offended yet you stayed until after 11pm? Did you go there to be outraged?"
But many female Twitter users argued women had the right to attend professional events without feeling intimidated.
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Advertise with NZME.Sabrina Fiester posted: "So these events are only to allow men in tech to network? Women just need to go home, to the detriment of their careers?" while Rachel Breeze tweeted: "In an industry which struggles with diversity it is important to pick a venue which doesn't make people feel uncomfortable if they attend, & thereby (unintentionally) exclude them. Check out @betterdiversity for the next event and maybe introduce a code of conduct?"
The crypto community is notoriously male-dominated, and while women are slowly joining the ranks, Google Analytics data estimates less than 4 per cent of bitcoin users are female.
A company called Keynote organised the conference, and while CEO Moe Levin initially defended the controversial after-party decision, he later back-pedalled as the backlash grew.
He later admitted to Bloomberg that holding the event at E11even was a "misstep".
"We always aim to be as inclusive as possible and create a safe environment," he said.
The accusations of a sleazy bitcoin "bro" culture follows the recent exposé of Silicon Valley's similarly seedy underbelly.
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Advertise with NZME.Last month, excerpts from Emily Chang's new book Brotopia were published in Vanity Fair, which described the tech industry's secretive but notorious parties and drug and alcohol-fuelled orgies.
In the book, Ms Chang documents the "toxic" culture complete with exclusive sex parties, chauvinistic attitudes and breathtaking hedonism and excess.
