According to a press release issued by the ACCESS Newswire website last month, the University of Austin (UATX) will host the Satoshi Papers Symposium, an event described as.
“… an academic conference celebrating the launch of the TBF’s (the Texas Bitcoin Foundation‘s) first book, ‘The Satoshi Papers: Reflections on Political Economy after Bitcoin.’”
Event partners include TBF, Bitcoin Policy Institute (BPI), Unchained and Strive Asset Management, and is scheduled to take place at the UATX campus on April 16, 2025, the release stated, continuing,
“The Satoshi Papers, published by BPI and edited by TBF executive director and BPI fellow Natalie Smolenski, draws inspiration from the 18th-century American debate between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists about the role of government in preserving the liberties of individuals and communities.”
Smolenski is a known thought-leader among the bitcoin community, especially regarding the role government plays in a nation’s money supply.
In 2022, she authored, with Dan Held, BPI’s seminal 44-page work, “Why the U.S, Should Reject Central Bank Digital Currencies” (CBDCs), and she is scheduled to take the stage at least twice during the April symposium.
One of her presentations, according to the event website and a social post of Smolenski’s from Saturday, is described as being on an anthropological theory of money.
Her second topic is slated to argue that the ability to transact peer-to-peer, as in with bitcoin and without bank or government oversight, is a fundamental human right.
Contributions from the other nine listed speakers include some nuanced titles, such as Sarah Kreps’,
“Easy Money, Easy Wars? The Evolution of War Finance, Forever Wars, and the Prospects of a Bitcoin Peace.”
The Satoshi Papers website, which launched its call for abstracts in 2022, offered possible topics which authors from anywhere in the world were invited to initiate discussions on.
Among several forward-looking bitcoin-related ideas, one topic proposed for discussion was listed as, “… bitcoin’s implications for American political economy specifically.”
Another prompt proposed for possible discussion by the website:
“What role might bitcoin play in the evolution of relationships between US States and between States and the Federal Government?”
This question became increasingly relevant in the wake of President Donald Trump’s executive order establishing the U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
Similarly, the UATX’s home state of Texas, recently advanced a Bitcoin Reserve Bill, underscoring the topic’s importance to residents and university students and officials.
The UATX event website quotes Smolenski saying,
“The Satoshi Papers brings together economists, historians, anthropologists, and other social scientists to think together about how a decentralized digital protocol can inspire the re-formation of existing political and economic institutions.”
Responding exclusively for Bitcoin News readers, Smolenski further elaborated in an email,
“The Satoshi Papers represents the first time a group of interdisciplinary social scientists have come together to think through the relationship between money and state in a post-Bitcoin world.
“The University of Austin has welcomed this conversation and is generously hosting the Satoshi Papers Symposium to invite a dialogue with faculty, students, and the wider community about this important topic.
“Of particular urgency is the need to re-center the individual as the heart of civic and political life.”
Aside from Smolenski, the press release noted that other BPI fellows, Avik Roy, Josh Hendrickson and Craig Warmke will discuss arguments presented in the Satoshi papers book, along with invited nonfellows listed on the website.
Also from the release:
“Faculty from the University of Austin will discuss the arguments the authors present in the book.”
“At the University of Austin,” said Chad Thevenot, SVP of Advancement at the University of Austin, “we are committed to the fearless pursuit of truth and rigorous debate about the ideas shaping our world, …
“The Satoshi Papers Symposium is a perfect example of that commitment, bringing together scholars and students to explore the economic and political implications of Bitcoin. We are honored that UATX will be a convening platform for this critical conversation.”
Notably, one of the symposium event partners, financial services firm Strive, was co-founded in 2022 by former U.S. presidential Republican hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy, further highlighting by association the now well-known, since Trump’s EO, political weight of the topics being discussed during the upcoming Satoshi Papers Symposium.
The university website page stated that, “The Symposium uniquely encourages student participation.
“Thanks to a generous donation from Strive Asset Management, a financial services firm co-founded by Vivek Ramaswamy, all students in the UATX inaugural class will receive copies of The Satoshi Papers and invitations to join the discussion during the Symposium.”
Matt Cole, CEO of Strive, said, “Strive believes Bitcoin should be a core allocation in the portfolios of everyday Americans. …”
Also according to the UATX event page,
“Unchained will host a public reception, book sale and signing of The Satoshi Papers at the Bitcoin Commons on the evening of April 16.”
Via email to BN, Smolenski added,
“Public registrations are open for the book sale & signing after the Symposium (and while) UATX events are usually closed to the public,
“I’ve asked them to make an exception for the Symposium, but they have not yet made a decision about that.”
Details of possible public registration for April 16th’s Satoshi Papers Symposium in Austin may or may not be yet pending.
