“This Lamborghini is swimming, bro,” said influencer Crypto Bitlord, as his sports car battled against heavy rain in Dubai on Tuesday. He was among hundreds of crypto traders and enthusiasts who descended upon the United Arab Emirates city this week for two cryptocurrency conferences: Blockchain Life and Token2049.
Attendees had probably expected the dry, arid conditions synonymous with the Gulf desert. Instead, they were met by some of the heaviest rain in Emirati history. Along the border with Oman, 254mm of rain was recorded in less than 24 hours earlier this week – the most since records began in 1949.
Many traders and influencers were left unimpressed by the ordeal. “Dubai is the worst city I’ve ever been to and I’m never willingly coming here again,” wrote one trader.
In a lengthy post, crypto influencer ‘doitbigchicago’ said the emergency door on his plane into Dubai was “shaking”, as the aircraft landed in “3 feet of water”. He said his suitcase was “floating down the runway”.
He added that he attempted to live-stream the conditions in Dubai, until eight police officers were “trying to arrest me for live-streaming in public.”. Middle East Eye couldn’t independently verify the claims.
Another crypto investor and podcaster wrote: “This is the most dogshit thing I’ve ever seen… 0 police, 0 firefighters, 0 taxis – just yoloing the sea with a rental car after flight getting delayed by six hours.”
Some conference attendees who couldn’t get a ride to and from the airport were ready to go to extreme financial lengths. “Willing to pay $500-1000 USD for a ride from DXB to Palm Jumeirah,” wrote Bitcoin trader “Faded”.
Another investor, known as “the Watch King”, also offered $1,000 to anyone who could take him to the airport.
There were significant delays and disruptions at Dubai International Airport – the world’s busiest for international traffic. Clips online showed planes taxiing across a flooded runway. There appeared to be little online sympathy for the crypto aficionados caught up in the chaos.
Some likened the event to Fyre Festival, a fraudulent luxury music event in April 2017. “Looks like all the crypto bros are getting liquidated in Dubai. Quite literally,” joked one bitcoin analyst.
Who ever said Dubai was lacking in liquidity? 🇦🇪🌊 pic.twitter.com/VvgTXiJx97
— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) April 16, 2024
“The collective karma of all of these sh*tfluencers is so bad that when they all congregate in the middle of the desert, it ACTUALLY floods,” said another user.
Some thought the floods were a punishment from a higher power. “You cannot tell me God isn’t real when a bunch of Crypto twitters finest go to Dubai only to be met with a biblical flood,” wrote one X user.
It wasn’t the first time crypto and bitcoin investors had been caught up in adverse weather conditions: Korean Blockchain Week was hit by heavy rains in 2022, while an NFT event in New York City coincided with an earthquake earlier this month.
