NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — People from all over — including celebrities, politicians, and business executives — have descended upon Music City for the 2024 Bitcoin Conference.
The three-day event is expected to attract over 20,000 attendees, many of whom are eager to hear former President Donald Trump speak on Saturday.
Among the attendees are Aaron and LaTovia Cheatham from Arizona. The Cheathams traveled to connect with others who share their passion for Bitcoin.
“We invested a high chunk of our life savings into it. Within a few months, we doubled everything we had. I even sold my favorite car,” said Cheatham, reflecting on their significant investment in Bitcoin last year.
The couple hopes their investment will secure their family’s future.
“We’ve just secured the future for our children and their children. And we’re going to hold it as long as we can,” Cheatham said.
Brandon Green, the executive director of the conference, emphasized the event's educational purpose.
“There are an estimated over 50 million Americans that own Bitcoin as of today. Bitcoin is the best and first decentralized, permissionless global monetary system. It’s entirely digital and entirely online,” Green said.
Attendees will also have the opportunity to hear from Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former President Donald Trump, both of whom advocate for Bitcoin.
“One side of the aisle wants to regulate and move a lot of the industry overseas. These candidates are seeing an opportunity to really learn more about Bitcoin, meet the industry, and find ways to keep business in the United States,” Green said.
Security measures at the event have been heightened following an attempted assassination on Trump.
“Our security protocols have increased tremendously,” Green said.
The Cheathams look forward to making new connections at the conference and are optimistic about Bitcoin’s future.
“You can’t believe in what it’s going to do and not invest everything in it. It doesn’t make sense,” Cheatham said.
We will cover Trump's speech tomorrow. Tickets for the conference are still available, starting at $200, with VIP packages costing up to $21,000.
More information is here.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at aaron.cantrell@newschannel5.com
For people of my generation, in our younger days we spent part of our weekends watching music shows like American Bandstand and Soul Train. That was before the age of music videos. Several years before Soul Train was syndicated out of Chicago, another syndicated R&B show was taped in Nashville at NewsChannel 5. Night Train aired in the 60s and included what may have been the first TV appearance for legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix. Forrest Sanders has another great look back at station history.
-Lelan Statom
