Serial entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk’s inaugural VeeCon conference took place in Minneapolis, US, 19-22 May, with entry strictly by NFT ticket. The conference was a platform for discussions and performances from emerging leaders in NFTs and popular culture and claimed to be the first NFT ticketed event of its kind for the Web3 community. VeeCon was hosted at the Bank Stadium, with organisers noting 10,000 people had attended, most first-timer visitors.
Saturday’s speakers included musician Pharrell and actresses Eva Longoria and Mila Kunis.
Vaynerchuk’s ‘VeeFriends’ NFT collection is comprised of 10,255 character non-fungible tokens which were available for purchase via the cryptocurrency Ethereum. Token holders have exclusive access to the annual event for three years after the NFT’s purchase.
Each token includes a ‘smart contract’ with metadata that Vaynerchuk’s organisation can use to interact with its buyer. Holders accessed their tickets via a digital wallet on their phones.
“The timing of VeeCon could not be better,” Vaynerchuk said in his opening remarks at the conference. “There’s an incredible chapter of Web3 coming this next year.”
VeeCon has boosted the local economy in Minneapolis, with attendees coming from around the world, including India, Australia, Romania, France and Sweden.
“As a local Minnesotan, I’m really proud that the first-ever VeeCon is taking place in my backyard,” said Maha Abouelenein, a local organiser of the event and CEO of media organisation Digital & Savvy. “I can’t wait to see all the friendships that are created at VeeCon.”
