Tag: Bitcoin Amsterdam

Why I Won’t Forget My Experience At Bitcoin Amsterdam

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This is an opinion editorial by Jessica Hodlr, COO of Plan B Passport and co-host of the “The Bittersweet Podcast.”

Disclaimer: BTC Inc. is the parent company of Bitcoin Magazine and the Bitcoin Conference.

It’s been almost two weeks since Bitcoin Amsterdam and it was an experience that I’ll never forget.

Not only did I get to meet the amazing European Bitcoin community, but I also got to see how people from all over the world will come and congregate to one place — even if it means traveling 14 hours — to celebrate this one thing we all love — freedom money.

The first day we got there was the prequel to the event and wow, it was mind-blowing to see everything being set up and all of the work that everyone had put into making it the biggest Bitcoin event in Europe. The lights, the stage, the crew — all of it felt so surreal and I couldn’t believe that I was in Amsterdam to join all of these people to discuss one of the topics I am most passionate about. You can tell that each person on the Bitcoin Magazine team puts in their all to make it a memorable event for each and every attendee.

Image source: Author

Day One: October 12

Honestly, one of the highlights of this event for me, was the amount of effort that could be seen in the intro video to kick off the day. It brought chills and really reminded everyone about what we are here for — freedom.

The central banks; those hungry for power, have billions of people in imperceptible chains. This is what we are here to protect ourselves against, with the indisputable technology and property that is bitcoin. What a way to start the day. You had incredible speakers, as always, such as Matt Odell, Adam Back, Knut Svanholm and many more. Katie Ananina (@KatieTheRussian) and I had the honor of holding a panel in the Whale Lounge to talk about all things jurisdictional arbitrage and flag theory.

Not only did you have brilliant speakers to listen to, but you had some mouthwatering food trucks to entertain, an exhibit hall that you could’ve spent the whole day in and an art gallery to keep you entertained.

The first day wrapped up with a Whale Night event held at the world famous Supperclub that featured an incredible lineup of entertainment!

Honestly, conferencing is a skill that requires a delicate balance of rest and activity and Amsterdam was no different. Not only did you have everything that was going on at the conference but then you had all of Amsterdam to explore! You had canal boat rides, delectable cuisine, coffeeshops (wink wink) and much more.

Day Two: October 13

Again, the second day was filled with some fire content. And I mean this literally as there were some “like,” fiery words spoken. Just as we’re about to go on, we began hearing quite the commotion coming from the stage. “Bitcoin’s Media Problem” was the panel that was on in front of us and it was quite the topic. Not only did it create an entertaining piece of content from the conference but it produced some of the most fire memes that I’ve ever seen on Twitter. And it was quite ironic I might add that the journalist who was commenting on the amount of women at this conference, saying how we weren’t represented and giving the generic “we need more women in [blank],” was being followed by a keynote lead by two women. Is it so hard to just let people be involved in what interests them? But, I digress.

It’s absolutely astounding the types of wonderful people that we get to connect with at these conferences. As mentioned in our talk, we are able to come together as a tribe of freedom oriented, sovereign individuals to build the lives that we desire for ourselves and it’s a beautiful moment. Life is lonely if you’re the one that’s constantly talking to yourself about how you want life and the world to be better (I know because I did it before I found Bitcoin Twitter) and it can’t be said enough that it takes each and every one of us to make this thing we call freedom a reality.

We wrapped up day two with the newsdesk, commenting on the remaining talks with none other than Daniel Prince (@PrinceySOV). We had a couple of hours full of laughter, entertainment and banter which was another highlight of this weekend.

Image source: @PrinceySOV

Day Three: October 14

There was no other way of wrapping up this action-filled event than with Sound Money Fest. A day full of music, laughter and good food — there’s no better way to end the weekend. We finished off our Amsterdam trip with a couple of train rides to our next adventure but that’s a story saved for my Twitter.

I hope this gives you a little insight as to what it’s like to attend a Bitcoin conference and the extraordinary connections that can take place. We’ve got Bitcoin 2023 coming up in Miami this coming May and I’ve got some big expectations and hope to see you there!

xoxo,

Jessica Hodlr

This is a guest post by Jessica Hodlr. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.

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November 1, 2022
Bitcoin’s Utility Is Easy To See When Traveling Around The World

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This is a transcribed excerpt of the “Bitcoin Magazine Podcast,” hosted by P and Q. In this episode, they are joined by Joe Hall to talk about Bitcoin Amsterdam and his experience seeing bitcoin being used in Africa.

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Listen To The Episode Here:

Q: Could we discuss what were those things that you were like, “No, Bitcoin doesn’t work because of this,” and then it took you having that experience in Africa to then see and shed those biases?

Joe Hall: That’s a really interesting way of putting that question. So how did I undo my biases? I think part of it is getting burned. We’ve all been a little bit burned or rugged by shitcoins. Like many other Bitcoiners, I shitcoined first. There are still some tokens in some wallet somewhere that I can’t sell because there’s no liquidity because it’s just been completely rugged to zero. That’s the personal experience.

I’m a journalist, so I’m all about primary sources. Seeing my driver, for example, which was the example I gave [at Bitcoin Amsterdam], he’s the first guy to really show me that Bitcoin works and it’s used in this way. We all talk about censorship-resistant money and money that can’t be debased, money that can’t be stolen. As long as you’ve got your seed phrase, you’re set.

This guy called Giam, he used to be our driver at Bloomberg. He would drive us to work every day. We used to have quite long chats about Bitcoin and crypto, and he effectively orange-pilled me. The big thing for him was that the government can’t steal the money from him, whereas they can easily steal the money that’s under your mattress or they can debase your currency as they’ve done with the West African Franc or the CFA in the past. Alex Gladstein did this amazing piece about the West African Franc, which is like this horrible colonial hangover currency.

The French sort of concocted when they gave back power to their colonies in West Africa. Basically, the notes are printed and designed in Élysée in France, which literally means that some white guy sat in some university in France and he’s drawing palm trees and coconuts thinking, “Oh yeah, this is what we should put on the note in West Africa.” It’s like the most fucked up, racist thing you can imagine and this is still what is on the paper. It’s just hilarious when you think about the fact that they are printed in Paris and shipped over to West Africa.

This is just one example of how messed up this whole currency situation is. It’s one of the things that really riles me up about money in general, fiat-backed currencies. In the West, we have it bad, but in a lot of emerging markets around the world, the situation is deplorable and we must do more to help people realize what is money and why bitcoin is a money in which we can opt out of the current horrible, controlling system.

The thing about Bitcoin and crypto is it’s evidence based. Do you know Paco in India, the bitcoin runner? He’s the guy that’s traveling around the world using only bitcoin. He’s currently on his 22nd country and he’s trying to hit 40 countries in 500 days. He’s awesome. I catch up with him regularly just to see what his stories are like and we have quite similar interests. He was saying today that the Bitcoin community in Africa is massive. It’s one where people realize that bitcoin is a natural currency. You can buy a beer with it, you can pay a taxi with it, you can do all these sorts of real things. You’re not gonna buy your beer with dogecoin, are you? Yes, people do it for the stunt, but it’s not like you’re gonna see a “doge accepted here” sticker around the world. People are just gonna laugh at you.

The fact that it does have this first mover advantage and the fact that it does have this critical mass adoption, that there’s no real going back from that. Despite cardano’s best marketing efforts, particularly in Africa where there’s a huge cardano community. It’s awful. They’re like buying up universities and being like, “Oh, we’re gonna put your ID on the blockchain.” The guy’s an excellent marketer. Charles Hoskinson knows how to build a business. But you got to ask, “Why can’t we do this all with Bitcoin?”

P: And the answer is, you can and should.

Hall: Exactly

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October 21, 2022
Bitcoin Is The Ultimate Freedom, Says Former EU MP Nigel Farage

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Any new idea automatically faces the opposition of the establishment, said former Member of the European Parliament, Nigel Farage, on a panel at Bitcoin Amsterdam on Thursday.

That argument served as the introduction to Farage’s point throughout the conversation, as he drew parallels between Bitcoin and his experience pushing the then-unpopular idea of Brexit, the exit of the U.K. from the European Union.

“I led a political insurgency, I took on the establishment,” Farage recounted. “What I think is happening with Bitcoin is we’re seeing a similar type of insurgency, an economic insurgency that is being driven and led by people who are worried about the sheer size and scale of big government.”

The subject was ignited by fellow panelist and “What Bitcoin Did” podcast host Peter McCormack’s initial question. “What are you doing at a Bitcoin conference?”

Farage concluded that because of the links between his past experience and the Bitcoin movement today, it was “a perfect and natural place to be.”

The politician expanded on his argument, detailing more of his views of the establishment and why it can be difficult to challenge it. Those who are part of and maintain the establishment, he argued, “own and set the status quo, they are very comfortable… and they don’t want anything to come along and disrupt.”

“And I think Bitcoin is seeing that.”

The parallels between Farage’s past leading the Brexit movement and the present reality of the burgeoning technology kept being expanded upon as he began to discuss liberties and freedom. Farage commented on the EU Commission and its relationship with lawmakers, claiming that the fact that bureaucrats are the ones steering the ship doesn’t paint a pretty picture for the EU in his mind.

“I believe in freedom, I believe in liberty, and I believe the nation-state represents the best way to do it at the moment,” Farage said. “I’m absolutely proud of campaigning for Brexit, achieving Brexit, and I believe it is the first brick out of the globalist EU world.”

Similarly, Farage believes that bitcoin can help individuals take back control of their finances and ultimately their lives.

“Governments cannot come near [Bitcoin],” he reasoned. “They cannot tell me what I can and cannot do with bitcoin and, in that sense, it is the ultimate freedom, it is the ultimate liberty.”

Another reason Farage believes in Bitcoin is because “the technology has been proved to work, and it’s getting better.”

In order for Bitcoin to reach its full potential, Farage argued, citizens should encourage lawmakers to properly understand the technology and its implications so they can craft appropriate legislation.

“If we work cleverly, with lawmakers…there’s a good chance in America, the U.K. and perhaps South America too, that we can actually get a sensible level of regulation.”

The challenge, Farage explained, keeps being education as he recounted when he was young and saw lawmakers voting on pieces of legislation on subjects they weren’t well informed about.

“The level of knowledge of those who will be regulating [Bitcoin] is very, very low. Lawmakers need some real education, and that’s not an easy thing to do,” he said.

The lack of proper understanding is probably what leads so many world leaders to consider CBDCs, which he said is one of his main fears. “[They] will take away our economic freedom.”

But don’t feel discouraged, Farage said, referring to Mahatma Gandhi’s famous saying that “first they laugh at you, then they fight you, and then you win.”

“You know you’re winning when they really start getting nasty,” he said.

Disclaimer: Bitcoin Magazine is owned and operated by BTC Inc, the organizer of Bitcoin Amsterdam.

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October 13, 2022