I can't say I'm surprised. The people with the most money and influence have the most money and influence because they gravitate towards money and influence. Thus, the "big conference" in any particular industry is usually full of these types.

Gotta find the gatherings of people that aren't in it for the money and power. Hit up some smaller scale conferences, or maybe go to a technical conference. Try to hit up your local Bitcoin meetups and build a true decentralized community of likeminded individuals. Maybe visit k00b and the gang at PlebLab.

In general, I try to avoid the "big show" for almost any field of endeavor that I'm in... or at least when I do go I go with my nose pinched.