A maxi’s nirvana

Gm degens. Crypto brings together a bizarre mix of people. There’s something about the magic of Bitcoin that captivates freedom fighters, (self-proclaimed) finance experts, and geeks alike—oddly enough, the traditional political spectrum becomes pretty moot when DeFi enters the chat.

But it’s a rare occurrence to see the vast crypto community come together IRL, discarding the anonymity of Bored Ape Twitter profile pics. Bitcoin Amsterdam, a conference dedicated to the “mission of hyperbitcoinization,” was such a rare occurrence.

We went so you didn’t have to. Let’s talk about it.

—Angelina

Three Big Learnings From Bitcoin Amsterdam

Last week, thousands of devout Bitcoiners convened in the historic Dutch city of Amsterdam to celebrate Europe’s first official Bitcoin Conference—where the beer was paid for in Sats and the question have you heard of this alt? marked every other conversation.

There’s a lot to be learned from a gathering of this magnitude—Europe is the world’s largest crypto economy, Bitcoin Amsterdam was the first ever European Bitcoin Conference, and the event marked a significant return to in-person programming following the pandemic years.

Here were our biggest takeaways from seeing the action live and in person.

Fun fact before we dive in: There’s some irony in the setting. The Bank of Amsterdam was established in 1609 as the world’s first true central bank, and a major central banking conference was taking place at the same time as Bitcoin Amsterdam at a different venue across town.

Lesson 1: There are two types of Bitcoiners…

Those in camp Matt Odell and everyone else. In a panel discussion about international crypto regulation, the Bitcoin influencer eloquently summed up the general sentiment of the room: “[Regulators] can go f*ck themselves.”

If we want more depth (or less profanity), we can characterize the two types of Bitcoiners as follows:

1. Those with a visceral antipathy towards the established financial system, identifiable by snarky-bordering-cynical remarks about politicians, central bankers, and the media (team Odell).

2. Those who believe that the “all incumbents are bad” narrative isn’t productive in bringing crypto forward and think educating and cooperating with regulators is the best way to build a prosperous crypto economy.

Reflective of the crypto community as a whole, Bitcoin Amsterdam was mostly populated by the first group—the more irreverent the speaker, the louder the audience cheers. But whether animosity toward regulators is a fruitful strategy in the long run is up for debate.

Lesson 2: CBDCs are coming and they’re pretty scary

Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) were a major theme of the event. Given that 90% of the world’s central banks are currently pursuing CBDC projects, this comes as no surprise.

Why they can be problematic: Unlike cryptocurrencies that aim to decentralize and democratize the financial system, CBDCs give central banks more oversight and control over where, why, how, when, and by whom digital money is used. In the extreme case of China’s digital yuan, this enables a form of surveillance capitalism straight out of 1984. Even for non-authoritarian states, programmable money is a slippery slope.

But: CBDCs themselves are simply tools—tools which could also foster financial inclusion, reduce financial crime and corruption, and break up global credit card monopolies.

For now, we’re filing CBDCs under “keep a close eye on.” And who knows? CBDCs could become Bitcoin’s biggest advertiser—that is, should retail investors flee to private cryptos in search of financial privacy.

Lesson 3: Flower-powered BTC mining is a thing

The Dutch are serious about their tulips. For centuries, tulip cultivation has been a renowned aspect of the Netherlands’ economy—surely you’ve heard some economics professor use the Dutch Tulip Mania as a case study. It was, after all, one of the most famous burst bubbles of all time.

Turns out? Bitcoin mining + tulips = 🤝

Maybe not in the way you think. Bitcoin mining generates a lot of excess heat that usually goes to waste. With energy prices spiking in Europe, one Dutch tulip farmer had an idea: Why not use that excess energy to heat his greenhouses? That’s how Bitcoin Bloem, which supplied flowers for the conference, was born.

It works like this: The miner mines BTC directly in a tulip greenhouse and pays the electricity bill. The farmer gets free heat to grow his flowers, swapping polluting gas heaters for mining rigs. Kinda gives “Dutch oven” a new meaning, right?

Big picture: Initiatives like Bitcoin Bloem could help change the pervasive narrative that crypto mining is inherently bad for the environment. We can’t wait for Bitcoin bananas.

Bottom line?

While Bitcoin Amsterdam’s 3,000 attendees pale in comparison to Bitcoin Miami’s 25,000 patrons earlier this year, we have high hopes—the strong sense of community and enthusiasm at Bitcoin Amsterdam suggest that crypto events in Europe are just getting started. Where should we head next?

And that’s what you need on radar in crypto this week. Would you pay $400+ for a Bitcoin Conference ticket ($3,000 for a “whale pass”) or is the event too BTC-maxi for you? Shoot us a reply. See you here on Tuesday!