A few things I learned in Miami
I went to the Bitcoin Conference in Miami this weekend, and it was a mixed bag of good, bad and weird. Here are some takeaways in case you didn't make it down.
I expected weird. Bitcoin culture has always been the Venn diagram of liberty, technology and passion - and I think this week there was a little too much passion, and not enough of what people actually care about - liberty and the tech.
Here is my breakdown:
It’s still early
Although the conference was 12,000+ people - it reminded me of the early Internet conferences I attended. The speakers were mostly shit, the moderators were sub-par and the venue was intimate (in a good and bad way). The event was not managed well, and it was clear that the subject matter was not well coordinated. In fact, most of the conversations were high-level and repetitive. All of these symptoms point to the fact that we are still very early in the maturity of a true Bitcoin community.
Bitcoiners can be Assholes
It was clear from the first day that there was a chip on the shoulder of the organizers and moderators. The environment was not inclusive, and as usual some of the loudest voices for Bitcoin came across like assholes. The crowd at times seemed to latch on to the tone as well, booing some of the speakers who dared mention another crypto. The bottom line is if Bitcoin wants to truly go mainstream, it needs a new crop of leadership. The current clan of representatives are holding it back, and the conference made this very clear.
Jack and Michael Show
The two voices of Bitcoin that resonated and showed maturity and intelligence were Jack Dorsey (Twitter / Square) and Michael Saylor (Microstrategy). Everyone should take notes from these two seasoned and proven entrepreneurs on how to build mass adoption. After two days of passive aggressive amateur speakers, these two single handily saved the day. At some point, maybe the “OG” Bitcoiners needs to step down and shut the fuck up, and let the adults take us from here.
Avoidance is a Problem
I didn’t attend every panel, but when looking at the entire agenda, you couldn’t help but notice some of the most important discussions were never addressed. In my opinion the most important topics should have focused on the following:
The current threat of China dominance in mining, and potential future changes in regulation
The negative effects on the environment and how we plan to fix this into the future.
The future of Layer 2 and innovation around lightning and other possibilities. (They did have one good panel on this, but it would seem like something that deserved a much larger discussion in multiple tracks.)
The future of ETF Approval and how the U.S. regulation could impact Bitcoin.
Again, I am sure some of these were mentioned in a few panels, but I think the primary purpose of a conference is to put the most challenging and exciting aspects of Bitcoin as main topics. Instead, I felt like I was in some weird Megachurch that the preachers were just asking the same questions 10 different ways.
Cult to Religion
Ultimately, Bitcoin comes across like a cult. Partially because there is a handful of guys that control the messaging, and are maximalists. If Bitcoin is going to attract billions of people to join the revolution, they need to evolve into a religion. It’s ok to have “believers” and “faith” as part of the Bitcoin culture, but dial down the Koolaid drinking a bit so we can be taken serious for once.
Where do we go from here?
I don’t mean to be all negative. I realize I sound toxic as well, and that is probably the most frustrating result from going to the conference. I was expecting to engage, learn and be inspired - but I was just embarrassed. And what is worse, is they think they did an awesome job.
So, here is what I think they need to do to improve for next year:
Get out of the small gene pool of Maximalists.
Don’t ignore Bitcoin’s weaknesses, attack them head on with insightful and intelligent conversation so we can educate the world.
Lose the Lambo. It’s hard to take Bitcoin serious as a revolution to bring power back to countries like El Salvador, when there is a Lambo parked outside the convention. It’s tone deaf.
Include other Countries that actually use Bitcoin the way it was intended - to protect assets from corrupt governments. We need to tell the story of liberty and freedom through people who live it every day.
Stop shitting on “shit” coins. Grow the fuck up.