The Bitcoin world gathered in the middle of the Atlantic last week for the inaugural Bitcoin Atlantis Conference, a 3 day event headlined by many of the biggest names in Bitcoin on the beautiful island of Madeira.
A burgeoning Bitcoin community, Madeira did not disappoint, offering beautiful vistas, incredible cuisine, and Bitcoin accepted by many merchants and restaurants. Attendees traveled from every corner of the world to meet, mingle, and experience the event first hand.
Riding the highs of the recent Bitcoin price action, the conference on the whole had a strong theme of optimism, freedom, and bottom-up adoption. Bitcoin is a global movement recruiting humanity to solve the world’s most pressing problem, broken money. With multiple stages running speakers and educators, art galleries, kids areas, Bitcoin videogames, and laser-eyed lions, it would be impossible to summarize it all, so here are a few of my personal highlights.
Bitcoin is For Everyone
Michael Saylor promised a presentation that was not a rehash of his greatest hits and he did not disappoint. Entering to a standing ovation, he delivered a sermon about inclusivity, hope, and unstoppable change. Bitcoin is for everyone was a presentation highlighting different segments of society that will all benefit from Bitcoin. It was a personalized message from Saylor’s to provide a window into the source of his conviction. Enemies of Bitcoin are just Bitcoiners that don’t know it yet.
We Are All Satoshi
2023’s Hidden Cost of Money is a tour de force of explaining the downstream problems that result from broken money. Seb Bunney’s message carried a lot of gravity, fitting into the narrative of inclusivity, setting a tone for how Bitcoiners can create relevance for outsiders.
It was a presentation that paired nicely with both Saylor’s, emphasizing the recurring theme of the need to create relevance and include newcomers to Bitcoin, by helping them first understand the innate problems of the fiat money system. Seb’s youth and energy was a powerful contrast to what is generally more of an older crowd of speakers.
The Honest Path Forward
Jeff Booth presented a tearful and heartfelt message of optimism and gratitude. It was an evolution beyond his concept of deflation being the key to abundance. Which embodied the energy of the conference, a tone of emphasizing the movement beyond the technology of Bitcoin. Jeff spent his time talking about the human action that drives real change, in how we think and how we act. The abundance of deflation is the catalyst for a rewiring of humanity where society on the other side of Bitcoin runs on cooperation.
“There is no they, there is only we. And we create the world we want to see.”
Jeff’s presentation represented the emotional climax of the event. The energy in the stadium was contagious.
Bitcoin is Permissionless
One interesting point that was made during an audience Q&A, was related to why Madeira had not followed El Salvador’s path in making Bitcoin legal tender. When asked why this hadn’t happened, Andre’ Loja responded with a thoughtful call to action. To paraphrase, he urged us all to create the tools, provide the education, and let the free market decide what money they want to use. Nobody needs to be given permission to use Bitcoin.
Money emerges organically as the result of having the characteristics of money. We don’t need to be told we are allowed to use Bitcoin, if people decide they want to accept it, they can. This is very much what is happening in Madeira, which as part of Portugal, and the EU does not even have the authority to deem Bitcoin legal tender.
Bitcoin is Community
One of my personal highlights of the conference was a chance to meet Peter McCormack. I was shopping for a Real Bedford souvenir, only to find he was personally manning the counter. We got chatting and it turned out he had even been to the city in Canada where I live. It was a moment symbolic of the general feel of the conference, the speakers were very accessible, mingling freely. There were no outsiders in Atlantis.
Bitcoin Atlantis: Free Madeira
Madeira is not an easy place to get to, but it was certainly worth the trip. The conference was a pulse check on a community surging with conviction, optimism, and most importantly a shared sense of purpose. Hopefully this was the first of many Bitcoin Atlantis events.
Links to the main stage full-day streams here:
