Rooch Network co-founder Haichao Zhu’s robbery attack in Bangkok early this morning sparked concern in the crypto community as it occurred a few days before Ethereum’s highly anticipated Devcon 7 conference in the city.
Zhu reported in a post on X that he was a victim of a knifepoint robbery around 4:30 AM local time while travelling solo after a late-night flight. He mentioned that two attackers confronted him, and stole his phone, but fortunately left him unharmed and without any injuries.
I got robbed, by 2 guys, who have a knife.
No hurts but I lost my phone.If you are also traveling to Bangkok for Devcon or @babylonlabs_io hacker house.
Please be careful not to go out alone at midnight. I had to cause my flight arrives at 3am. (got robbed at 4:30am)…— Haichao (@HaichaoZ) November 5, 2024
In his post, Zhu issued a cautionary note to Devcon attendees, advising them to be vigilant at night: “Bangkok is still a safe and fun place,” he remarked, “but like anywhere, you’ve got to watch out after dark.”
Other community members echoed these safety concerns. One X user, “@__Raiders,” advised, “Friends attending DevCon/DSS in Bangkok, please stay careful and avoid travelling to dark locations alone at midnight.”
Zhu’s experience follows a pattern of incidents targeting crypto event participants. Earlier this year, several assaults were reported at the Ethereum Community Conference (EthCC) in Brussels. Kilt Protocol’s Rishant Kumar faced an attempted attack near the venue, while another attendee reported suffering a knee injury during a robbery attempt where they had a gun pointed at them.
The Devcon 7 event, scheduled for November 12-15 at Bangkok’s Queen Sirikit National Convention Center, is expected to draw thousands of developers and industry leaders, including Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and Ethereum Foundation executive director Aya Miyaguchi.
The conference will include both technical and non-technical sessions, covering Ethereum’s development and broader discussions on technology’s role in society. Notably, the conference organizers are offering discounted tickets for attendees from Thailand and Southeast Asia in a bid to highlight the contributions of regional developers and ensure robust local representation at the event.
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