Bitcoin Medellín: making room for the local audience
By Janusz Nowakowski
Rainier Nanquil did not set out to organise a Bitcoin conference. A friend in London told him one was happening in Medellín, where he had spent several years, and suggested he volunteer.
The founders were John McGraw and his wife Liz, who ran basketball tournaments in the United States. Rainier wanted to contribute to a city and a community that had given him a great deal.
We spoke after the first Bitcoin Medellín in January 2025, while preparations were under way for the January 2026 edition. He was pleased that speakers wanted to return. He was more interested in how the event could bring more Colombians into the conversation.
A small event has something to offer
The first edition had given people time to get to know one another. Rainier described that as an advantage, including when trying to persuade speakers to come back.
“It’s small, it’s close knit, you can get to know the speakers, you can get to know the other attendees.”
Previous speakers were also introducing the organisers to others. A conference that had started without a track record now had people willing to recommend it.
Medellín itself helped. Rainier saw visitors interested in both the event and the city. That could attract an international audience, but it left an important piece of work: making the event useful to the people who lived there.
Who gets to take part
Rainier described more Spanish-speaking participants and more Colombian involvement as priorities for the next edition. Paystand was one of the partners helping with that effort.
He mentioned Alexandra from its executive team, who was organising activities including a women’s brunch and working with Colombian media and other local contacts. For him, this was part of giving the community a role in presenting its own city.
It was a more concrete idea of inclusion than simply inviting everybody. The language, the programme and the people helping put it together would determine who felt able to join.
Begin before Bitcoin
I asked where he saw the opportunity in Latin America. His answer started with education: what money is, how national currencies work and why people might be interested in Bitcoin in the first place.
Rainier had been living as a digital nomad since 2018. Seeing differences in access to assets and financial services had shaped his conviction that more people should have a way to save and take part in the economy. He thought Bitcoin could help provide that access.
The practical work he described was teaching people how it worked and giving them tools they could use. A conference could create an introduction; local educators and businesses would have to carry it further.
Why he volunteered
When I asked why he had taken on the work, Rainier returned to the suggestion from his friend in London. He had lived in Medellín for years. Helping with a conference was something he could do with that experience.
“I would love to give back to the community,” he said. “Both the Colombian community that has helped me live here and grow and enjoy over the last five years, but also the Bitcoin community.”
Correction, 10 October 2026: an earlier CloudIndustry edition gave the interviewee the wrong surname. This conversation was with Rainier Nanquil.
Edited on 10 October 2026. This interview describes the products, plans and views at the time of the conversation.