CryptoFriday: A Community Story
For the past two weeks, I've been writing about events, Web3 event culture, and how it's been shaped by changes in the ecosystem over the years.
For the past two weeks, I’ve been writing about events, Web3 event culture, and how it’s been shaped by changes in the ecosystem over the years.
This week, though, I want to talk about a community event that’s been running regularly for perhaps the longest time in the ecosystem, without being tied to any exchange, project, or network. I’ve mentioned it in my last couple of pieces.
Honestly, I thought writing about this event, which I’ve been part of for years, would be easy and wouldn’t need as much prep as my other articles. But, well, it didn’t turn out that way.
It all started back in the summer of 2018, I think, with a tweet from Sharkcrypto and Volkan Korkmaz, who were well-followed on Twitter for their crypto musings. They tweeted something like, “We’re in Kadıköy today, if anyone wants to meet up and chat, you’re welcome to join us.”
I say “I think” because I did a bit of digging but couldn’t find that tweet, which I read when it was posted and which led me to one of the first CryptoFridays and introduced me to Altcointurk, even if it wasn’t that very week. :)
Anyway, it’s 2018, summer, and the first meetups at Feriha Café in Kadıköy had 5-10 people, just gathering to chat about the market and ecosystem. My only interest at the time was trying to figure out what to do since the value of my bitcoins had dropped by around 80%.
In the following weeks, more people started showing up, and the crowd grew. It turned into a place where small groups discussed technical or fundamental analysis. They’d project charts onto a lace tablecloth borrowed from the tavern next door, talking about what each candlestick meant or what formations were. The crowd got so big that it couldn’t fit into the cozy little café, or even the street outside.
that lace tablecloth :) Though I couldn’t attend as often after a few months, due to a busy work life, I kept following these CryptoFridays on social media. By early 2019, with support from a blockchain project keen on prioritizing and supporting education, the events moved to their own venue, marking the beginning of the “Altcointurk Base” era.
From then until now, with nearly 300 CryptoFridays, countless community meetups, trading competitions, and events on various themes have been held at Altcointurk. Every week, people gather at AltcointurkBase, from university students to software developers, investors to traders, entrepreneurs launching or working on their projects, and professionals from all walks of life, like doctors, engineers, merchants, and lawyers, all eager to learn about the market or ecosystem.
#CryptoFriday early days Even during the pandemic, when it had to go virtual, and at different times in Ankara, Izmir, and Bursa, CryptoFriday events have continued without interruption.
Like everywhere else in the ecosystem, market conditions and Bitcoin prices influence everything here too. Some weeks, CryptoFridays are quieter and less crowded, while other times, the crowd spills out of AltcointurkBase onto the street.
It’s a completely open-door event, no invitations or guest lists. Anyone interested can come. Projects host their communities.
People gather for workshops, presentations, gifts, games, and more, not just to discuss crypto and the Web3 ecosystem. Every topic is on the table, books, music, or whatever shared interests or hobbies people have. People meet here and discover new common interests and become close friends. Entrepreneurs present their projects. It’s an open-door event, no invitations or guest lists. Anyone interested can come. Projects host their communities.
From long-time attendees to first-timers, from those who come occasionally over the years to many well-known X influencers in Turkey today, different profiles meet here at different times.
Over the years, the consistency and trust built around these in-person meetups have made CryptoFridays and AltcointurkBase a gathering point not just for amateurs but also for professionals in the sector.
Garanti BBVA Crypto #CryptoFriday Depending on market cycles, seasons, weather, and other factors, attendance numbers rise and fall. But since 2018, it’s happened every Friday. It’s a big effort, a big dedication, and it’s created a reliable hub.
We’ve seen bull and bear markets, the Luna incident, the collapse of the FTX exchange, and Bitcoin hitting all-time highs at different times. It’s a small but steady event that has kept its finger on the pulse of a vast ecosystem for years.
If you’d like to join, if you’re curious about the atmosphere, the talks, the community, I’d say join us one Friday evening at #CryptoFriday. Our doors are open to everyone.