A few weeks back, I had the opportunity to speak at the BTC23 Conference in Innsbruck, which happens to be the largest German-speaking Bitcoin conference. It was quite impressive to see over 1000 participants attend the event in person, especially during a bear market.
Here are my key takeaways from the conference:
1️⃣ Despite the challenging market conditions, it’s encouraging to witness the development of various interesting applications. For instance, there’s notable progress in the creation of solutions related to zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) within the #Bitcoin Lightning network.
2️⃣ The question arises, why is the adoption of cryptocurrencies, particularly Bitcoin, is taking such a long time to reach the financial and industrial sectors? Several factors come into play, including the need for better education among decision-makers, insufficient incentives for C-level executives in experimenting, the current level of convenience in using crypto, and regulatory concerns and associated risks.
3️⃣ Understanding the benefits of Bitcoin is a process that evolves over time, depending on when one enters the crypto space. Thus, Bitcoin dissemination is a function of time. The initial touchpoint with Bitcoin will surely be overwhelming for newcomers, but with time, individuals begin to grasp its benefits.
4️⃣ It’s crucial to foster discussions on controversial topics to bring the discussion forward. During the conference, I presented on the digital euro and privacy, a topic that doesn’t necessarily find favor among Bitcoin enthusiasts. However, it’s important not to ignore such discussions but rather engage in them. There’s currently a lot of noise surrounding the digital euro in the crypto community. Fortunately, the presentation received positive feedback, indicating a general willingness to engage, but we should strive for more openness and fact-based discussions.
