Bitcoin tycoons gather in secret on Caribbean island

  This week, an unnamed Caribbean island became a secret, off-limits gathering place for bitcoin’s elite CEOs and luminaries.

       The “ Satoshi Roundtable ” meeting, held from February 6 to 8 , was reminiscent of the famous Bilderberg meeting, an annual gathering of more than 100 financial experts that takes place in relative secrecy, which has excited conspiracy theorists around the world.

      Organized by the Bitcoin Association and Atlantic Financial’s Bruce Fenton , the inaugural “ Satoshi Roundtable ” conference featured top executives from companies including Blockchain, BitGo, BitPesa, Chain, ChangeTip, Coinapult and MegaBigPower , as well as some of the most notable VCs of the moment, such as Erik Voorhees and Roger Ver .

       The event is a public exclusive, and as such, its official website warns that only 50 members of the ecosystem will be in attendance.

       The website states:

      “Even if you are a great person with many accomplishments and endless passion for Bitcoin, we may not invite you.”

       Speaking to CoinDesk , Fenton discussed the broader goals of the event, stating his efforts to emphasize the “balance of transparency and privacy” by remaining open to pressure, even as specific details of the event were still scarce.

      "Attendees will have the choice of hearing from a public presentation or interactive event. I personally plan to release everything I say and anyone else who can do the same, and I will be committed to protecting the privacy of those who want it," he said.

Event Structure

Fenton also elaborated on the nature of the event, speaking generally about its structure and emphasizing that it tends to be a "party of equals" for some of the speakers.

      “The event is about building connections, engaging, and advancing tech, providing a fun but purposeful environment to delve into technology and address the issues surrounding it,” Fenton said.

       Organizers say there is a registration cost for the “ Satoshi Roundtable ” meetings, but they expect to make only a small portion of the profits from the event.

      "The original goal was to host a successful event, not to profit from it. The funds from the event were used primarily for logistics, including all meals, drinks, snacks and entertainment for each attendee, as well as the cost of other activities and other logistical preparations my team made for the event."

Unknown content

       To publicize the event, Fenton revealed more information online, having Bitcoin Talk advertise the event and the availability of a waiting list for interested participants should any existing attendees be cancelled.

       Later, Fenton described the event as a “private dinner” where attendees were able to have a “more open-ended conversation” about pressing issues facing the bitcoin space.

Fenton went on to talk about some of the challenges faced by people in the Bitcoin ecosystem, and he gave more specific examples in this regard.

      “Many CEOs will not confront managers in public events because they fear retaliation from managers. As another example, some CEOs will not attack publicly known frauds because they do not want to be attacked by the fraudsters or be forced to be associated with them in the newspapers (even if they are critical of them),” he wrote.

Fenton cited the need for an open conversation on this topic as one of the reasons why the event was closed to the public and press.

The rally venue may be set in the Dominican Republic

       The event website states that the event will be held on a "small Caribbean island," and his official GitHub page is more specific about the address. It is a small island called Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. It has been listed as the official location of the rally.

       After searching the photo placed on its official event page, it can be found that the photo shows a hidden location of the meeting, and the hotel in the photo has been identified as Club Med Punta Cana . This photo is also saved on the webpage with the note "address of the satoshi meeting".

Fenton would not confirm or deny the venue's location, stating only that his organization "does not publicly release location information," just as they do not release it to the media or the public.

       It was even less likely that a hotel representative would come to confirm the event address, only stating that the hotel currently requires reservations to be made several months in advance.