The BitBlockBoom Bitcoin Conference in 2022 – Bitcoin Magazine
This is an opinion piece by Tone Vays, analyst and derivatives trader, founder of Unconfiscatable and The Financial Summit.
As the fifth annual BitBlockBoom drew to a close, founder and organizer Gary Leland took the stage and reflected on the challenging path taken over the past two years that led to a record crowd of over 600 Bitcoiners:
“During COVID-19, I personally wanted to go to Bitcoin events, but there weren’t many choices. I assumed there were others who also wanted to get out and have human interaction during COVID-19. That was my main influence to to go all out with BitBlockBoom in 2020 and 2021. I was proven right and now in 2022 we more than doubled the attendees and vendors.My main goal has always been to host the kind of conference I want to attend and a lot of people seem to approve, so the growth has been sweet.”
The incredible presentations and panels by Jack Mallers, Jeff Booth, Jimmy Song, Senator Cynthia Lummis and others are sure to be timeless and relevant for years to come. The biggest takeaway, however, was how excited people were to meet their virtual friends in person. The popularity of Twitter Spaces the last year has really changed the social media landscape, thanks a lot Swan and Bitcoin Magazine’s initiatives that bring many new voices that might otherwise have been anonymous and silent. This was the first event where these dedicated small groups of online voice hosts got a chance to spend time together in person.
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Surfer Jim (@surferjimw) said it best when he said “I now have friends all over the world and events like this really allow me to meet my extended family.” Meet other Twitter personalities like TC (@Meditation_Mann) and ants (@2140data) was a major highlight of his trip. The feeling was mutual when he asked TC, who showed his face for the first time by attending this event. “Meeting Surfer Jim and seeing him orange peel my mother-in-law was amazing.” TC said.
People around the world tend to underestimate the importance of privacy. No community, other than hackers, takes it more seriously than Bitcoiners. Just the fact that so many people were willing to show their faces and introduce themselves for the first time is a strong message to the world that we are ready to take on greater challenges and face scrutiny to stand up for what we believe in .
Although the conference itself was fantastic, there were also many popular side events. This included a meeting at Unchained Capital’s Bitcoin Commons incubator, where NYDIG had a big announcement of their Lightning Accelerator called Wolf’s Clothing. Another side event that drew a large crowd was a chess tournament organized by Mike Jarmuz from Bitcoin Blitz Chess Club. Sharing common ground with a group of like-minded people is an incredible thing to witness as it leads to many steak dinners and poker games when Bitcoiners meet.
Conference attendees were also incredibly supportive of Hodlonaut and his ongoing legal battle that threatens to silence many voices in this room. There were several fundraisers and initiatives throughout the event that highlighted the importance of this cause in the Bitcoin ecosystem.
Gary Leland has announced he is ready to take on a bigger challenge next year as the venue is likely to double in size to host 1,500 people and is expected to sell out again.
This is a guest post by Tone Vays, Founder of Non-confiscatable and The financial summit. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.
