A number of kickboxers will go head-to-head in London’s iconic O2 venue on Saturday (5th April), fighting for a prize of £5,000 in bitcoin.

Some 18 fighters from across Europe are taking part in the Bitcoin Fight Night, which is being held in the indigO2, within The O2 venue.

A rather familiar face will also be taking to the ring – broadcaster and bitcoin enthusiast Max Keiser. He’s competing in a celebrity bout against a professionally trained fighter who is a big supporter of Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JP Morgan Chase.

Organiser Patrick Carroll explained:

“We originally came up with the idea of a Bitcoin Fight Night while attending a bitcoin meet up group run by CoinScrum in central London.”

He said over 700 tickets for the event have been sold so far, but he expects over 1,000 people to show up on the day.

“We are very much looking forward to seeing everyone this Saturday and expect it to be the biggest UK-based bitcoin gathering to date,” Carroll concluded.

Free meetup

A free bitcoin meetup is taking place at the indigO2 before the fight night, featuring a panel debate titled ‘How Bitcoin Can Fight Back Against the Hackers’.

The panel discussing the issues faced by digital currency will be chaired by bitcoin fan and co-founder of feathercoin Chris Ellis and will comprise of:

Ben Dyson – bitcoin sceptic and founder of Positive Money Greg Davies – head of behavioural finance at Barclays PLC Gautam Dhillon – founder of the Treasury Outsourcing Company and former employee of Lloyds Bank & JP Morgan Chase Michele Seven – freedom advocate Kristov Atlas – philosopher, computer scientist researching bitcoin security and author of Anonymous Bitcoin. Josh Walker ­­– bitcoin and maths enthusiast

The panel discussion will begin at around 15:00 (BST), with the fight night starting at 19:00 followed by a VIP after-party at 22:30.

Tickets are priced from £29.75 – £45.75, but those who attend the CoinScrum event are entitled to half-price tickets (£15) and entrance to the VIP party if they RSVP before the event.

Sponsorship

The event is being sponsored by Firestartr.co, which provides seed-stage capital and aids startups in their early stages.

Firestartr.co is increasing its activity in the digital currency space and recently led the Bitstamp audit, which required the creation of the largest single bitcoin wallet and transaction in history.

Cécile Baird, head of operations and portfolio at Firestartr.co, said: “In order for bitcoin to grow stronger, it’s weaknesses needs to be tackled. The CoinScrum panel event will confront the tough issues that need to be solved.”

“Thanks to the location and support we can reach out to a wider audience beyond the bitcoin community and include sports fans too,” she added.

Kickboxing image via Pius Lee / Shutterstock.com