Thousands Of Cryptocurrency Fans Gather For Bitcoin 2021 Conference In Wynwood

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - The first day of the Bitcoin 2021 conference kicked off in Wynwood on Friday.

The conference is expected to draw 50,000 people over the weekend inside the Mana Convention Center.

"We minted our own utility token back in 2018," said Sonia Coopwood who is attending the conference.

Coopwood works in the renewable energy field and wants her "green" currency to thrive.

"We have several meetings set up with our investors, we have investors from all over the world and just try to have a productive conference," says Coopwood.

Bitcoin is a form of digital currency - there's no coin or dollar bill you can physically hold. Instead of a real wallet, bitcoin sits in a digital wallet and is accessed only through technology.

"The average bitcoin transaction takes less than 60 seconds," said Derek Muhney with Coinsource.

If you want to turn physical money into cryptocurrency you can, through ATMs.

Coinsource has hundreds of bitcoin ATMs across the nation.

"You insert your cash and you ask which wallet you'd like to send it to," says Muhney. "QR codes, any kind of wallet app in the app store you'd like to use, whatever you feel comfortable with as a customer you can use that."

Keynote speakers at Bitcoin 2021 include cryptocurrency leaders and even Miami Mayor Francis Suarez who spoke on the first day.

"There's a transformational importance for my city of leaning into bitcoin, to making Miami a technological leader in the world," says Suarez.