Ethereal crypto conference goes virtual in light of coronavirus

Ethereum-focused event Ethereal will be hosted virtually, as a result of the coronavirus. Ethereal is an annual event run by production studio ConsenSys, which funds an editorially independent Decrypt.

In a statement, ConsenSys said, "We’ve decided to postpone the Ethereal Summit New York in-person event to the fall of 2020. In the meantime, we’ve already gone to work reimagining Ethereal NY as the first-ever Ethereal Virtual Summit 2020, which will take place on May 7-8."

As a virtual event, people will be able to watch talks and interact with other attendees from their own homes. The talks will be available in virtual reality, so those with virtual reality headsets will be able to explore the digital venue.

This year's event will feature Taylor Monahan, founder of MyCrypto, and Robert Leshner, founder of Compound—a crypto lending platform.

Despite the setback, ConsenSys is hoping that the virtual event will be available to more people.

"While we’re disappointed we won’t be able to host an in person gathering in May, we’re excited that we’ll be able to offer access to the Ethereal Virtual Summit 2020 to a wider array of individuals who might have been previously unable to attend because of cost or travel."

Many other crypto events have been canceled or delayed including Paris Blockchain Week, which was scheduled for later this month. Many crypto events in Asia, including NiTROn2020 in Seoul, Hong Kong Blockchain Week 2020 and Token2049 were postponed last month.