Bitcoin 2022 Recap, GA Day One. Morning: Mow, Saylor, Wood, Diop, & Ammous

Welcome to the Bitcoin 2022 conference’s best day recap. Audiovisually, the Bitcoin Magazine staff stepped up its game. The livestream transmission was much more professional and tv-like than the Industry Day one. The stand-out performance was Coin Stories’ Natalie Brunell hosting the news desk, that woman knows what she’s doing. Over at the Nakamoto Stage, Bitcoin Rapid Fire’s John Valis hosted the morning festivities.

A quick reminder, there was action in other stages happening simultaneously. This recap is about what happened in the main one, the Nakamoto Stage. It’s not meant to be a comprehensive report of the whole event.

BTC price chart for 04/09/2022 on Bitstamp | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com

Bitcoin 2022 * National Adoption

• Samson Mow Announcement with Samson Mow

Even though this wasn’t as big as El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law, maybe the world is underestimating what Samson Mow did. Recently, he left Blockstream to focus on bitcoin national adoption. About a month later, Mow already has three things to show. 

1. The special economic zone of Prospera, an island in Honduras, will make bitcoin legal tender. 
2. Residents of the autonomous region of Madeira, Portugal, will not have to pay capital gain taxes on their bitcoin movements. That makes it defacto legal tender. 
3. Mow and Mexican senator Indira Kempis will have a coffee with Mexico’s president to discuss making bitcoin legal tender in the country. Baby steps.

Bitcoin 2022 * The US

• “The Future Is Bright” with Michael Saylor and Cathie Wood

This fireside chat’s message was simple, the US already embraced bitcoin. According to Saylor’s interpretation, the “one-page memo from the White House” clearly says it. The support is bipartisan and “the momentum is clearly behind bitcoin,” according to Wood. They both think that the SEC head, Gary Gensler, is working in favor of bitcoin behind the scenes. 

Of course, since it was the conference’s topic of choice, Saylor spoke about stablecoins over the Lightning Network. “Cutting yourself from Lightning is like cutting yourself from the Internet,” he added. His calls to action were “educate the world on Bitcoin” and “You DO NOT sell your Bitcoin.”

Bitcoin 2022 * Africa

• “Fodé Diop Keynote” with Fodé Diop

Senegalese programmer and Bitcoin Developers Academy founder titled his presentation “Africa’s Bitcoin Beach Moment.” He introduced another one of the conference’s topics of choice, the monetary imperialism imposed by the CFA franc used in 14 countries across Africa. Even though they are free countries, all of those people have no control over their financial policies. Of course, “Bitcoin is the answer!,” said Diop.

Near the end, he dialed it down and said that maybe bitcoin “is not the ultimate answer” but it will do for now. What’s up with that, Fodé? Of course it is. All you need is bitcoin. 

Fodé Diop also announced the upcoming “Africa Bitcoin Conference” in Ghana. This one is bitcoin-only, don’t confuse it with the Blockchain Africa Conference.  

Bitcoin 2022 * The Fiat Trap

• “Is Fiat Money Worth It?” with Saifedean Ammous

The author of “The Bitcoin Standard” did his part. He combated the ESG narrative that bitcoin enemies use by focusing on the cost of Fiat. According to Ammous, it “lies elsewhere, not in electricity usage.” He highlighted four aspects, but there are many more.

1. Inflation – It’s a regressive tax and it punishes the poor. The rich can protect themselves by buying hedges that benefit from inflation.
2. Fiat Governments – Central planning doesn’t solve anything. In fact, it makes everything worse.
3. Economic Distortions – The government’s economic measures send false signals that distort the whole field. Therefore, people can’t plan.  
4. Conflict – Never-ending wars are a product of fiat currency. It “raises the stakes of war enormously,” because through inflation the government has access to the money of the whole population to finance them.

To close it off he says, “bitcoin is a far more advanced form of money.”

Featured Image: Ammous on stage, screenshot from this video
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Bitcoinist @ Bitcoin 2022 Miami

Bitcoinist will be at Bitcoin 2022 Miami in Miami Beach, FL from April 6th through 10th reporting live from the show floor and related events. Check out exclusive coverage from the world’s largest BTC conference here.