🇬🇧 DevConnect Buenos Aires Daily Playbook: What to Expect Hour-by-Hour

!Detailed calendar and planning materials for DevConnect Buenos Aires

DevConnect's deliberately decentralized design creates extraordinary opportunities alongside genuine risks. Without a clear plan, FOMO becomes overwhelming as you hear about three fascinating sessions happening simultaneously, all in different neighborhoods, while you're stuck in traffic between venues. This hour-by-hour playbook provides structured guidance for navigating the week, complete with daily checklists, cultural expectations, budget templates, and measurement frameworks that transform an exhausting series of events into a productive business development sprint.

Day Zero: Sunday November 16 - The Soft Landing

Your DevConnect experience actually begins before the official opening, during those crucial first hours in Buenos Aires when jetlag clouds judgment and small decisions compound. Most international flights arrive at Ezeiza airport in the morning, giving you a full day to handle logistics before Monday's intensity begins.

Start by securing Argentine pesos through Western Union or similar services offering rates far better than airport exchanges or credit card transactions. While most DevConnect venues accept cards and even cryptocurrency payments, you'll need cash for cafes, transportation, and those impromptu asados where someone's collecting for the group meal. Purchase an eSIM from Airalo, Holafly, or similar providers if you haven't already, ensuring reliable connectivity from the moment you clear customs.

Head directly to the Hilton Puerto Madero for badge pickup if early registration is available. The official DevConnect team typically opens registration Sunday afternoon to reduce Monday morning congestion. Bring a Kindle, podcast queue, or work that doesn't require deep concentration, as lines can stretch long. Use this waiting time productively for networking—everyone around you is attending DevConnect, making casual conversations natural icebreakers.

Sunday evening features informal mate meetup gatherings around Puerto Madero, where locals welcome international visitors with Argentina's beloved caffeinated beverage shared through a communal metal straw. Wear your English-language pin or badge prominently to signal openness to conversation. Resist the temptation to schedule formal business meetings on Day Zero. Your brain needs recovery time, and relationship-building happens more naturally in relaxed settings than across conference tables.

Before sleeping, verify your wallet access for any side events requiring POAP tokens or NFT-based tickets. Discovering authentication issues at the venue entrance becomes significantly more stressful than confirming everything works from your hotel room. Publish a quick social media post confirming your arrival with a link to your Calendly scheduling page, capitalizing on the excitement of starting your DevConnect journey.

Day One: Monday November 17 - Scaling and Restaking Takeover

Monday morning's opening ceremonies draw the week's largest crowds, featuring keynotes from Ethereum Foundation leadership and prominent ecosystem builders. Arrive at least thirty minutes early to secure seats near power outlets, as your devices will drain quickly during long sessions. The opening sets the week's tone while providing crucial context about themes threading through subsequent days.

The Scaling Summit dominates Monday afternoon, bringing together teams behind major layer-two solutions including Polygon, Optimism, Base, and Scroll. These sessions go deep into technical performance improvements, but pay equal attention to hallway conversations where partnerships actually form. Teams presenting here actively seek development partners in cost-effective markets, making this ideal timing for Argentine developers and international companies exploring nearshoring to introduce themselves.

!Lunch meeting at Puerto Madero restaurant overlooking the waterfront

Lunch appointments typically happen at upscale Puerto Madero restaurants like Cabaña Las Lilas or Sottovoce, where international visitors feel comfortable while enjoying world-class Argentine beef. Book reservations in advance, as these venues fill completely during DevConnect week. Budget ninety minutes minimum for business lunches in Argentine culture, where rushing through meals signals disrespect rather than efficiency.

Monday afternoon features hack demonstrations focused on restaking implementations at various Palermo venues. Bring your hardware wallet if you plan to interact with protocols or claim test tokens, but maintain security consciousness about when and where you connect devices. The neighborhood's creative energy and density of quality cafes make it perfect for extended conversations that begin in formal sessions and continue over coffee afterward.

The ETHLatam Community Night serves as Monday's unofficial closing event, drawing the established local crypto community alongside international visitors. This gathering provides essential context about Argentina's blockchain ecosystem, introducing you to builders who survived multiple economic cycles while continuing to ship products. Arrive with genuine curiosity about local experiences rather than just pitching your projects.

Document Monday's insights immediately, creating a Twitter thread highlighting three key takeaways alongside a LinkedIn carousel exploring local use cases for technologies discussed. This content positions you as an active participant while giving remote stakeholders visibility into your activities.

Day Two: Tuesday - Real-World Assets Deep Dive

Tuesday's RWA Forum at Palacio Piccaluga adopts a more formal atmosphere than Monday's sessions, with business casual dress codes and structured presentations followed by networking. Argentine professionals take appearance seriously in business contexts, so leave the crypto conference t-shirt at your hotel. Morning sessions explore agricultural tokenization, energy contracts, and invoice financing with presentations from teams managing real deployments rather than hypothetical case studies.

Schedule lunch meetings at Recoleta cafes with financial models printed and ready to discuss. Buenos Aires café culture encourages extended work sessions, and spaces like La Biela or Croque Madame provide elegant environments suitable for substantive business discussions. Bring backup battery packs, as outlet availability can be limited.

Afternoon workshops migrate to banking headquarters and fintech offices for hands-on tokenization labs. These sessions often require formal identification for building access, so carry your passport or Argentine DNI if you have one. The intimate settings allow direct interaction with technical teams and compliance officers, creating opportunities to understand regulatory nuances that don't surface in public forums.

Tuesday evening's Stablecoin and RWA reception draws traditional finance professionals venturing into blockchain alongside crypto natives exploring real-world applications. The cross-pollination generates fascinating conversations as each group challenges the other's assumptions. Position yourself as a bridge, helping translate between these communities who often speak past each other despite pursuing complementary goals.

Publish a detailed blog post titled "Day 2: Tokenizing Argentina's Real Economy" while impressions remain fresh. Include specific examples from presentations, avoiding generic summaries that could apply to any RWA discussion. This specificity demonstrates genuine engagement while creating content that ranks for searches combining Argentina, DevConnect, and real-world assets.

Day Three: Wednesday - Governance and Policy

Wednesday shifts focus to the organizational and regulatory challenges facing decentralized protocols. Morning sessions at Universidad de San Andrés explore DAO governance structures, legal wrappers, and mechanisms for maintaining decentralization principles while satisfying regulatory requirements. Academic settings encourage more theoretical discussions than other venues, making this ideal for exploring edge cases and long-term implications rather than immediate practical applications.

Afternoon briefings with AFIP tax officials and CNV securities regulators provide rare direct access to government perspectives on cryptocurrency regulation. Arrive with specific, documented questions rather than vague inquiries about "the regulatory landscape." Does your platform require VASP registration? How should you classify DAO contributors for tax purposes? What trust structures satisfy requirements for tokenized real estate? Concrete scenarios generate actionable guidance that generic questions never produce.

Evening dinners in Retiro or near Congreso often include legislators and policy advisors willing to discuss cryptocurrency regulation in informal settings where official positions give way to honest assessments about political realities. These conversations reveal implementation timelines and enforcement priorities that formal announcements obscure. Listen more than pitch, building relationships that persist beyond DevConnect week.

Create a comprehensive FAQ document in English covering tax treatment, VASP requirements, and common compliance scenarios discussed throughout Wednesday. This resource serves triple duty: it clarifies your own understanding by forcing clear articulation, provides value to others navigating similar questions, and establishes your expertise on a topic most teams find intimidating. Optimize for search terms international companies type when researching "Argentina crypto regulation English" or similar queries.

Day Four: Thursday - Security and Onchain AI

Thursday morning's Security Lounge at AreaTres draws global auditing firms, protocol security teams, and researchers sharing recent vulnerability discoveries alongside defensive best practices. Bring architecture diagrams if you're seeking security partnerships or audit services, as visual representations communicate far more effectively than verbal descriptions when discussing complex systems. The technical depth can be intense, so don't hesitate to ask clarifying questions rather than pretending to follow presentations that lose you.

The shift to onchain AI and autonomous agents begins midday with showcases of inference marketplaces, compliance copilots, and service-matching bots. Argentine universities including UBA and ITBA present research on training models with Rioplatense Spanish, addressing the reality that standard Spanish language models miss critical colloquialisms and cultural context when serving local markets. For teams building consumer applications in Latin America, this linguistic precision determines whether AI features feel helpful or frustratingly obtuse.

Afternoon security drills sometimes require participants to disconnect devices entirely, simulating incident response under adverse conditions. Follow instructions carefully, and use these exercises as opportunities to identify gaps in your own protocols. The controlled environment makes mistakes educational rather than catastrophic.

Thursday evening's zkDay mixer attracts zero-knowledge proof enthusiasts for discussions ranging from accessible introductions to cutting-edge research. The community's enthusiasm for the technology creates welcoming environments for newcomers despite the domain's mathematical complexity. Even if ZK protocols don't directly apply to your current work, understanding the trajectory helps anticipate what becomes practical in coming years.

Collect testimonials from local researchers and developers you meet Thursday, either as video recordings or written quotes with permission to publish. These authentic voices add credibility to content about Argentina's technical talent far more effectively than your own claims.

Day Five: Friday - Talent and Guilds

Friday morning's talent fair at HIT Cowork or similar venues brings together bootcamp graduates, experienced developers seeking new opportunities, and companies hiring across technical roles. Prepare QR codes linking to application forms, job descriptions, and company information to streamline information collection from interested candidates. The informal fair setting enables quick conversations that surface mutual fit far more efficiently than resume reviews.

Afternoon workshops with bootcamp programs including ETH Kipu, Henry, and Platzi allow portfolio reviews and mock interviews. Participating as an interviewer or mentor builds goodwill while giving you early access to emerging talent before they engage with the broader market. The investment of a few hours provides weeks of hiring pipeline while supporting the local education ecosystem.

Friday evening combines cultural immersion with networking through tango classes followed by traditional parrillada dinners. These extended social events build emotional connections that pure business networking rarely achieves. Shared experiences of learning basic tango steps, laughing at mutual clumsiness, and bonding over exceptional steak and Malbec create relationship foundations that support future collaboration.

Publish a jobs post highlighting opportunities within your organization, tagging it with #DevConnectJobs to maximize visibility among attendees actively seeking positions. Include salary ranges, required skills, and application processes. Transparency about compensation differentiates serious offers from vague "opportunities to join our amazing team" that candidates dismiss as time-wasters.

Day Six: Saturday - Public Goods and Impact

Saturday's schedule deliberately slows the week's pace, recognizing that five days of intense networking leave even the most extroverted attendees exhausted. Morning ReFi tours visit agricultural cooperatives, urban gardens, and sustainability initiatives demonstrating how blockchain funding reaches grassroots organizations. These excursions provide breaks from conference venues while showing concrete applications of public goods funding in communities that need it most.

Afternoon pitch sessions feature nonprofits, social enterprises, and community organizations presenting to foundations like Gitcoin, clr.fund, and impact-focused DAOs. Observing these presentations reveals what resonates with funders, helping you understand how to position mission-driven projects for maximum support. The transparency of quadratic funding mechanisms and onchain impact tracking demonstrates accountability that traditional charity structures struggle to match.

Saturday evening's benefit dinner supporting local STEM education programs combines networking with genuine social impact. Attendance signals values alignment beyond pure profit motives, attracting partners who prioritize sustainability and community development alongside financial returns. The conversations tend toward reflection about cryptocurrency's broader potential rather than specific protocol details, offering perspective after the week's technical intensity.

Create a DevConnect Impact Tracker documenting public goods projects you encountered, funding they've received, and metrics they're using to demonstrate results. This resource helps international donors discover worthwhile initiatives while giving local organizations visibility beyond DevConnect week.

Day Seven: Sunday November 23 - Wrap-Up and Reflection

Sunday morning provides essential time for consolidation before returning to normal work rhythms. Use coworking spaces at the Hilton hub or your preferred Palermo cafe to send thank-you messages while conversations remain fresh. Personalize each message with specific details from your interactions rather than generic templates, demonstrating genuine attention to individuals rather than mass outreach.

Record a comprehensive video recap from Puerto Madero's waterfront or a Palermo rooftop, summarizing the week's highlights, key relationships formed, and concrete next steps. This content serves multiple audiences: remote stakeholders wanting detailed debriefs, social media followers interested in DevConnect experiences, and future prospects discovering your thought leadership months later.

!Sunset reflection over Buenos Aires skyline with notebook and coffee

Sunday evening's casual asados offer final opportunities to deepen relationships before departures begin Monday. The relaxed atmosphere encourages candid conversations about challenges, lessons learned, and honest assessments about potential collaborations. Prepare thoroughly for your journey home, as Monday morning will arrive faster than expected.

Create a master recap document combining photos, key insights, contact information, and follow-up tasks. Send a newsletter to your list featuring highlights and compelling calls-to-action toward your products, services, or community. The immediate post-event period represents peak attention, making this ideal timing for conversion-focused communication.

Daily Success Metrics

Structure each day around clear objectives tracked through simple frameworks. By 8 AM, attend your first session with goals of capturing three actionable insights and making at least one meaningful introduction. Mid-morning focus on scheduled meetings with investors, potential partners, or service providers, targeting two substantial conversations daily.

Early afternoon demands content creation, publishing at least one update across social media or blog platforms. This discipline ensures consistent visibility while forcing reflection that crystallizes learnings. Late afternoon handles operational necessities including CRM updates and expense documentation. Evening networking targets three new relationships established beyond superficial business card exchanges.

Before sleeping, conduct daily retrospectives reviewing what worked, what needs adjustment, and priorities for tomorrow. This reflection prevents momentum from evaporating into exhaustion, maintaining strategic focus despite the week's overwhelming stimulation.

Content and Public Relations

Morning email blasts share your daily agenda, inviting overlap with others attending the same sessions or visiting the same neighborhoods. Midday updates celebrate quick wins, whether successful meetings, valuable introductions, or interesting insights discovered. Evening recaps provide substance, linking back to your comprehensive DevConnect guide and other resources that demonstrate expertise.

Segment follow-up emails by audience profiles. Developers receive different content than investors or potential customers, with customized messaging addressing their specific interests rather than generic updates relevant to no one in particular.

Financial Tracking and Data Management

Log daily foreign exchange rates across official, MEP, and parallel markets alongside all receipts and transaction records. This documentation proves essential for accurate expense reports and tax compliance while creating data about real costs for future planning. Track marketing and hiring expenditures separately, enabling ROI analysis by category rather than just aggregate spending.

Record details from all interviews including candidate names, skills assessed, salary expectations, and follow-up commitments. These notes prevent the blur of conversations from erasing critical details about promising prospects. Document experiment results for onchain interactions, including transaction hashes, protocols tested, and technical issues encountered for future reference.

Post-Conference Integration Timeline

Within twenty-four hours of DevConnect concluding, send presentation decks and thank-you messages to everyone you met. Prompt follow-through distinguishes serious professionals from those treating the event as pure networking theater. Forty-eight hours afterward, publish your comprehensive bilingual recap capturing the week's essence for both Spanish and English-speaking audiences.

Seventy-two hours out, schedule specific follow-up meetings and calls with concrete agendas rather than vague "let's stay in touch" intentions that rarely materialize. Within one week, create infographics visualizing your DevConnect metrics including meetings held, partnerships initiated, candidates interviewed, and content published. One month later, publish results-oriented content titled "DevConnect Buenos Aires Outcomes" detailing what actually happened after the conversations ended.

Team Coordination Across Time Zones

Conduct brief evening standups either in-person if your team is together in Buenos Aires or virtually if members are dispersed across venues. Rotate content captain responsibilities daily, ensuring fresh perspectives and preventing burnout. Schedule explicit hours for deep work without meetings or networking obligations, protecting time for strategic thinking amid tactical intensity.

Set gentle reminders about hydration, rest, and meal breaks. The combination of excitement, FOMO, and stimulation creates temptation to push through exhaustion, but diminished cognitive function undermines the entire trip's value. Taking care of basic needs isn't weakness, it's essential infrastructure for performance.

Packing, Climate, and Health Considerations

Buenos Aires spring weather in late November averages around 26 degrees Celsius with occasional sudden rainstorms that drench unprepared visitors. Pack lightweight layers including a waterable jacket, avoiding the extremes of heavy winter coats or pure summer attire. Bring universal adapters for Type C and Type I outlets, sunscreen for unexpectedly intense UV exposure, and electrolyte supplements to maintain hydration during long days.

Carry translated medical notes explaining any prescription medications to prevent customs complications or pharmacy confusion. Bring branded stickers and small promotional items to distribute, as Argentines appreciate tangible mementos and physical marketing materials more than purely digital interactions.

Supporting Remote Team Members

Stream key presentations to colleagues unable to attend in person, maintaining their engagement and ensuring knowledge transfer. Update Slack, Notion, or your preferred collaboration platform with detailed notes every few hours, preventing remote team members from feeling disconnected from important developments. Ask remote team members to monitor social media and publish summaries of content others are sharing, freeing on-site personnel to focus on networking rather than content production.

Designate a virtual concierge responsible for scheduling follow-up meetings and managing calendar logistics while you focus on relationship-building. This division of labor maximizes everyone's comparative advantages rather than asking the same people to excel at both networking and operations simultaneously.

Neighborhood Characteristics and Optimal Use

Puerto Madero's corporate waterfront aesthetic suits hub meetings and formal business lunches, with modern infrastructure and international restaurant options creating comfortable environments for visitors unfamiliar with Buenos Aires. Palermo Soho and Hollywood's creative energy, vibrant nightlife, and density of coworking spaces make them ideal for hack sessions, content creation, and extended dinners that blur professional and social interaction.

Recoleta's elegant architecture, world-class museums, and traditional cafes provide refined settings for governance forums and VIP accommodations. San Telmo's historic character serves cultural tours and POAP scavenger hunts exploring Buenos Aires heritage. Microcentro's banking district and rapid weekday pace suit RWA discussions and fintech partnerships. Belgrano and Colegiales' residential calm work well for extended stays and podcast recordings requiring quiet environments.

Post-Event Integration and Momentum

Week one after DevConnect demands CRM cleanup and personalized video messages thanking key contacts. Week two focuses on case studies and media outreach, converting DevConnect experiences into publishable narratives. Week three hosts webinars and Q&A sessions sharing learnings with broader audiences unable to attend in person. Week four announces concrete outcomes including pilot programs, successful hires, and funding commitments.

Quarterly reviews assess OKRs linked to Argentine market development, evaluating whether DevConnect participation generated projected returns or requires strategy adjustments. This analytical discipline prevents conference attendance from becoming expensive tourism disguised as business development.

Media Planning and Influencer Coordination

Prepare comprehensive media kits including founder biographies, compelling statistics, and b-roll footage suitable for various content formats. Invite content creators on walking tours through Palermo and Recoleta, providing authentic local experiences while generating organic coverage. Host Instagram Lives, Lens Protocol posts, and TikTok content with bilingual components maximizing reach across Spanish and English-speaking audiences.

Measure reach and engagement metrics rigorously, iterating based on what resonates rather than assumptions about effective content. The feedback loop between creation and analysis improves results throughout the week rather than discovering after returning home that your content strategy missed the mark.

Contingency Planning for Common Failures

Identify backup venues including coworking spaces and hotel conference rooms with available capacity and audio-visual equipment for sessions requiring emergency relocation. Maintain connectivity redundancy through pocket routers or Starlink access via partners if your primary connection fails during critical calls. Create WhatsApp and Signal message templates for last-minute announcements when schedule changes occur too quickly for email distribution.

Document embassy contacts and ensure travel insurance covers Argentina specifically, including medical evacuation if necessary. Establish procedures for lost or damaged hardware wallets, ideally using multisig arrangements where single device compromise doesn't create catastrophic losses.

Budget Framework and Realistic Expectations

Accommodation in quality Palermo or Recoleta hotels or Airbnbs typically costs between $120 and $250 per night depending on amenities and exact location. Transportation including Cabify, Uber, and SUBE subway cards runs approximately 8,000 to 12,000 Argentine pesos daily. Food and hospitality expenses range from $60 to $90 per day depending on whether you're hosting clients at upscale restaurants or eating more casually.

Marketing expenses including promotional items, translator services if needed, and videographer fees typically run $500 to $1,500 total. Build twenty percent buffer for unexpected expenses, as something always costs more or breaks in ways requiring immediate replacement.

DevConnect operates as a marathon requiring sustained energy, strategic focus, and disciplined execution across seven demanding days. This playbook equips your team with clear frameworks for deciding where to be, which objectives to pursue each day, and how to document results justifying the substantial investment. Come prepared, stay flexible, and you'll leave with relationships, insights, and business pipeline that extends far beyond November 2025.