As usual, let's start with an explanation. Devcon is a large-scale event for developers from the Etherium ecosystem that takes place every year. The event originally took place in November 2014 in Berlin, after which community representatives have also organised events in London, Shanghai, Cancun, Prague and Osaka.


The last event was held in October 2019 in Osaka, Japan. Then the global pandemic made its adjustments and Devcon has not been held since then. Fortunately, the situation has now changed little by little, with the organisers scheduling the event in Colombia. Alas, this was the cause of the problems experienced by some members of the community.

The last Devcon was held in Osaka, Japan

Where not to show your connection to cryptocurrencies

Devcon VI itself will be held from October 11 to 14, 2022, although the so-called event week will run from the 7th to the 16th. As such, some members of the blockchain community have already started showing up in Bogotá – and some of them have run into risks.

The topic of staying safe in the Colombian capital was raised by Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of blockchain project Polygon. According to Decrypt, he posted a tweet in which he talked about not being prepared to attend the new Devcon for security reasons. The post was later deleted, although a screenshot is still available.

For security reasons I have decided not to attend Devcon 2022 in Bogota, Colombia. Alas, I will not be meeting many friends from the Etherium community. Good luck everyone, I hope you all have a good time.

Deleted tweet by Sandeep Nailwal of Polygon

As we noted, the tweet was eventually deleted, but Sandeep left another tweet cited in the same thread. Here’s the entry the developer mentioned.

I heard that someone from Solana’s English-speaking development team was mugged at Bogota airport. They were also wearing Solana blockchain project merch, lol. I think the developers of Etherium should value their security, so I won’t be bringing anything related to cryptocurrencies with me at all. I’m buying a new laptop and phone tomorrow. I don’t need the risks.

Sandeep added to this tweet with a wish for developers to be more careful – and this has prompted reactions from others. As Ethereum developer Terence Tsao pointed out, he doesn’t think the security problem in Bogotá is as bad as they say it is.

Another developer Raul Jordan shared the following quote.

I think all these mugged people are not guided by common sense.

Devcon conference website

Raul noted that he does know of a few cases of developers being robbed in Bogotá. However, all of them made themselves “a serious target” because they “trusted strangers, wore flashy clothes along with oversized backpacks and shorts, and made phone calls in public places”. And that’s a mistake, because this way the developers draw extra attention to themselves and make it clear that not only are they not local, but they’re probably wealthy due to their association with crypto.

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Marius Van Der Weyden, another developer of Etherium, commented on the situation. He recommended travelling light, and reducing the risks of theft or robbery by buying a cheap phone.

At the same time, the already mentioned Raul Jordan believes that people need to educate themselves about security in the country they are going to visit.

It is worth noting that a separate tab on the event website was dedicated to security. It recommends that participants in the event follow a strategy that corresponds to the local expression “don’t give a papaya”, that is, don’t make yourself an obvious target for intruders.

Recommendations for security in Bogotá from the organisers of Devcon

To do this, avoid flashing expensive watches and hardware wallets, avoid showing your smartphone or laptop if possible, and leave your cards, passport and cash at the hotel. In addition, visitors should take a higher class at Uber and avoid walking around later in the day.

The incident was also mentioned by renowned cryptocurrency enthusiast Udi Wertheimer, who used his characteristic mocking-joking manner. Here’s his line.

Thousands of wealthy ETH holders are flying to Bogotá for the Devcon event. They feature nerdy t-shirts with unicorns on them, and keep their private keys on laptops, smartphones and USB sticks. This is probably the silliest thing the Ethereum Foundation has ever done. And it speaks volumes.

In the end, representatives of the cryptocurrency community agreed that it is possible to attend the event, but it should be done cautiously. In particular, experienced people advised not to wear clothes with symbols of a particular cryptocurrency and not to carry a laptop. iPhone in hand or back pocket of trousers is not a good idea, as well as cash in trousers. Again, a taxi, which is quite cheap in Bogotá, will save you from possible problems.


We think the organizers did the right thing, because they warned about the need to be vigilant in Colombia. That said, the idea of wearing cryptocurrency merch in public in any country is not a good idea, because such clothes attract the attention of abusers. And if the latter are aware of the event or the cryptocurrency topic in general, it could end up losing a lot of digital assets.


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