Unveiling the Secrets of the Bitcoin Atlantis Conference: Insider’s Perspective
Dive into the core of crypto assets innovation with a firsthand account from the Bitcoin Atlantis conference, an event set to transform your perspectives on financial freedom. Gain insights from leading voices in the field and discover the significance of connecting with the wider community.
Discover my key insights from the conference in this article
Find details of following takeaways that could transform your perspective and approach:
- Inflation erodes purchasing power, so investments must outperform inflation to maintain/grow wealth. Bitcoin is a finite currency not subject to inflation.
- Buy and hold Bitcoin for the medium-long term (4–6 years) rather than trying to trade it speculatively.
- Treat Bitcoin as an asset rather than thinking of it as a currency.
- Bitcoin’s value is derived from its programmatic scarcity and lack of centralised control, making it a unique non-inflationary asset class.
Impression
The extraordinary array of speakers, including Michael Saylor, Lyn Alden, Jack Dorsey, Adam Back, Jack Mallers, Jeff Booth, and Giacomo Zucco, to name a few, are shaping and contributing tremendously to the blockchain landscape. The conference was a deep dive into the heart of Bitcoin’s transformative potential in the setting of a football stadium on the picturesque island of Madeira. The setting was great, though some of the smaller stages and workshop areas were a bit noisy due to the arrangement, and therefore the sound quality lacked a bit. The main stages were exceptional, contributing significantly to the conference’s overall success and ensuring it surpassed our expectations. The attendees as well as the speakers were aces, the organisers did a great job, and the climate on this Atlantic island was just perfect. I will do it again! 👍
The kickoff speech on the main stage was given by Jack Mallers, who took the effort to digest the white paper from Satoshi. Jack’s introduction to Bitcoin dives deep into its foundation. You can watch his talk here: He does a great job of diving into the intricate details and explains major points such as:
- Bitcoin’s timekeeping through proof of work
- The use of proof of work as a trustless piece of data
- Proof of work, costliness, and energy to mine and preserve the ledger
- Information as the asset, censorship resistance, and
- critique of other cryptocurrencies which do not respect those basics.
The keynote by Michael Saylor, “Economies In Transition, How Bitcoin Will Shape Our Future” was a further highlight of the first day. As the title suggests, he ventured into the realms of the economy and took a different viewpoint. It is important to understand that Saylor has a lot of experience with Bitcoin, not only as a major holder of such assets but also as a consultant, which he gained on several occasions when consulting for governments and companies. He explored Bitcoin’s role in the digital transformation of capital and energy, the impact of Bitcoin on corporations and investment companies, as well as the role of Bitcoin for nonprofits and governments. You can find his talk here (updated link on 9.Mar.24).
Two of my most favourite talks, which I highly enjoyed
Giacomo Zucco talked about “Madeira’s Bitcoin Strategy: Sidestepping Global Mistakes,” where he elaborated on different approaches to tackle implementations. Giacomo is quite a highlight on his own; I probably could listen to him talking all day long. His voice and vocabulary, as well as his style and humour, are outstanding. I did not find his talk on YouTube yet, but if you keep your eyes peeled, you might find his talk uploaded soon. Look out for “Giacomo Zucco Atlantis.”
Jeff Booth’s talk “The Honest Path Forward: A Journey to Hope and Abundance”, was also a favourite of mine! He is a great mind and has a holistic view on those topics. His book, The Price of Tomorrow, is really a great read, whether you are interested in Bitcoin or not. His explanation of money, economic markets, and alike are really very insightful. Check out his keynote here, where he elaborates on: the construction of personal reality and perception, the natural state of free-market economics, the control system of politics and its relationship to economic theft, exploitation, and the impact on global wealth distribution, among many others.
One more standout sessions was the panel with Lyn Alden who contributed with her expertise. I value her insights that encourages engagement with her work. Her insightful YouTube presentations and especially her book Broken Money are highly recommended. As a highly regarded voice in the realm of finance and macroeconomics, Lyn’s unique ability to distill complex concepts into actionable insights is truly remarkable. I deerly cherished her presents at the conference. Although I was not able to find a specific youtube video of the panel itself, you can delve into the live stream of Day3 here where you will find the panel discussion.
Important to understand
Saylor, and others, emphasised in their talks that high inflation rates severely weaken the purchasing power of our money. Governments print excessive money to avoid banks from collapsing, to cover pandemic losses/expenses, and/or to accumulate debt for other reasons. This grand-scale behaviour further fuels rising inflation rates because more money is brought into economic circulation, thus devaluing (inflating) our money. He noted no government wants 0% inflation, rather they aim for inflation rates around 2.5% which still incrementally devalues savings and lowers purchasing power. The effects are stark — for instance, if one has $10,000 sitting on a bank account earning 3% interest while inflation is 10%, the numerical balance grows to $10,300 but that amount can actually purchase 7% less than the original $10,000 could, since prices have risen 10%. To preserve purchasing power, one must find investments yielding returns equal to or outpacing the inflation rate. Otherwise, goods and services become costlier each year despite increasing monetary wealth on paper.
My conclusion
With Bitcoin, we have an amazing chance to be part of something extraordinary that was never here before. This digital asset, or call it a currency if you wish, is something very unique and a well-thought-through system that does not hinge on ordinary economic systems we have grown so used to. It offers an opportunity to exchange value between peers and hold assets in the digital realm, something that can avoid censorship and the cruelty of dictators and their systems. One thing that struck a chord was the fact that you only have to remember a wallet address to access your funds and do not need to travel with gold or cash but rather with only the cryptographic key of your wallet — mere numbers and characters — to keep authority over your assets in a borderless way.
Saylor mentioned that the current surge in attention and legislation aimed at recognising Bitcoin as an asset lays the foundation for its acceptance by leading countries. I am confident that other nations will soon follow suit with similar legislation.
The community of this niche is amazing. The people are open, friendly, and stand in their lives with both feet on the ground. It was great to connect and learn how other people cope and how individuals and companies use Bitcoin to their advantage.
One astonishing thing that I realised was that no one was talking about trading or gaining quick money. They all talked about Bitcoin as an asset and an alternative to inflationary currencies.
I am truly grateful for the wealth of insights and lessons that I was able to harness, and I wanted to share the most prominent ones to keep the scope of the article confined.
My suggestions to you: read the books mentioned above, join a Bitcoin group close to you and meet up with people, or join a nearby conference.
A final word
Many discussions and talks focussed on money, the economy, and politics. In general, one can say that the “Bitcoiners” (or hodlers, as they are called within this group) know more about the economy, money, and its influences than anyone else I have spoken to outside of this bubble. The speakers posed this question to the audience: What is money, anyway? This question was answered by many people online already, and ultimately, everyone seem to come to the same conclusion: The value of money depends on people’s trust in governments, because any link to gold, for example, has long been severed.
Consider this: If every customer withdrew their money from a single bank simultaneously, that bank would instantly become bankrupt, as it lacks the cash reserves to satisfy all withdrawals at once. And that is true for every bank! This reveals how the current monetary system is propped up by faith rather than asset backing.
Stay Informed, Stay Empowered!
As always, yours truly,
Uwe
Check out my links: https://linktr.ee/uweallg
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