Pro-blockchain narratives hinder Bitcoin adoption, says StackinSat founder

Over a decade of evolution later, for self-righteous personal reasons, a handful of crypto community members chose to believe in alignment with Bitcoin (BTC), resulting in a narrative that preached “blockchain is great, Bitcoin is bad.”

Josselin Tonnellier, the founder of Bitcoin exchange StackinSat and organizer of Surfin’ Bitcoin 2022, believes that this notion is one of the main barriers to wider BTC adoption in France.

In an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph reporter Joseph Hall, Tonnellier discussed several important topics, including the introduction of Bitcoin and crypto in France, the origins and goals of the Surfin’ Bitcoin conference, and overcoming challenges during the bear market.

The executive explained that one of the most pressing concerns in France regarding Bitcoin adoption is the pro-blockchain narrative that paints a negative image of Bitcoin. He said that:

“For years it’s been blockchain is great. Bitcoin is bad. So we try to produce content with prominent Bitcoiners, and people want us to be able to explain what Bitcoin really is.”

Regarding the connection between surfing and Bitcoin, the executive said that the goal of the event was to have a very cool place where the ecosystem could come together and make connections. Tonnellier explained:

“We wanted to have a place to gather people in a very nice setting at the end of August, so people can enjoy the beach, feel like we’re on vacation and talk about Bitcoin, and we want to be very relaxed and laid back, so you don’t I see a lot of suits and a bow tie.”

The organizer of the event also highlighted that there had been many Web3 and non-fungible token (NFT) events in the country and not much for Bitcoin. He added that this spurred their team to put the event together.

Related: Cryptocurrencies that copy Bitcoin fail, experts say

Apart from these, Hall also asked Tonnellier about the difficulties they are currently facing in organizing an event during the bear market. The organizer explained that there are several ups and downs, including setting the budget for the event. He said:

“This limits the amount of sponsorship opportunities, and especially in bear markets, it is reduced even more, and as you can imagine, the budget for marketing shrinks considerably.”

Despite the challenges they had to face, Tonnellier expressed that they were able to gather people and continue with the event. He expressed how rewarding it was for their team to see people from outside of France come in to join the event.