This is an opinion editorial by Jessica Hodlr, COO of Plan B Passport and co-host of the “The Bittersweet Podcast.”
Disclaimer: BTC Inc. is the parent company of Bitcoin Magazine and the Bitcoin Conference.
It’s been almost two weeks since Bitcoin Amsterdam and it was an experience that I’ll never forget.
Not only did I get to meet the amazing European Bitcoin community, but I also got to see how people from all over the world will come and congregate to one place — even if it means traveling 14 hours — to celebrate this one thing we all love — freedom money.
The first day we got there was the prequel to the event and wow, it was mind-blowing to see everything being set up and all of the work that everyone had put into making it the biggest Bitcoin event in Europe. The lights, the stage, the crew — all of it felt so surreal and I couldn’t believe that I was in Amsterdam to join all of these people to discuss one of the topics I am most passionate about. You can tell that each person on the Bitcoin Magazine team puts in their all to make it a memorable event for each and every attendee.
Day One: October 12
Honestly, one of the highlights of this event for me, was the amount of effort that could be seen in the intro video to kick off the day. It brought chills and really reminded everyone about what we are here for — freedom.
The central banks; those hungry for power, have billions of people in imperceptible chains. This is what we are here to protect ourselves against, with the indisputable technology and property that is bitcoin. What a way to start the day. You had incredible speakers, as always, such as Matt Odell, Adam Back, Knut Svanholm and many more. Katie Ananina (@KatieTheRussian) and I had the honor of holding a panel in the Whale Lounge to talk about all things jurisdictional arbitrage and flag theory.
Not only did you have brilliant speakers to listen to, but you had some mouthwatering food trucks to entertain, an exhibit hall that you could’ve spent the whole day in and an art gallery to keep you entertained.
The first day wrapped up with a Whale Night event held at the world famous Supperclub that featured an incredible lineup of entertainment!
Honestly, conferencing is a skill that requires a delicate balance of rest and activity and Amsterdam was no different. Not only did you have everything that was going on at the conference but then you had all of Amsterdam to explore! You had canal boat rides, delectable cuisine, coffeeshops (wink wink) and much more.
Day Two: October 13
Again, the second day was filled with some fire content. And I mean this literally as there were some “like,” fiery words spoken. Just as we’re about to go on, we began hearing quite the commotion coming from the stage. “Bitcoin’s Media Problem” was the panel that was on in front of us and it was quite the topic. Not only did it create an entertaining piece of content from the conference but it produced some of the most fire memes that I’ve ever seen on Twitter. And it was quite ironic I might add that the journalist who was commenting on the amount of women at this conference, saying how we weren’t represented and giving the generic “we need more women in [blank],” was being followed by a keynote lead by two women. Is it so hard to just let people be involved in what interests them? But, I digress.
It’s absolutely astounding the types of wonderful people that we get to connect with at these conferences. As mentioned in our talk, we are able to come together as a tribe of freedom oriented, sovereign individuals to build the lives that we desire for ourselves and it’s a beautiful moment. Life is lonely if you’re the one that’s constantly talking to yourself about how you want life and the world to be better (I know because I did it before I found Bitcoin Twitter) and it can’t be said enough that it takes each and every one of us to make this thing we call freedom a reality.
We wrapped up day two with the newsdesk, commenting on the remaining talks with none other than Daniel Prince (@PrinceySOV). We had a couple of hours full of laughter, entertainment and banter which was another highlight of this weekend.
Image source: @PrinceySOV
Day Three: October 14
There was no other way of wrapping up this action-filled event than with Sound Money Fest. A day full of music, laughter and good food — there’s no better way to end the weekend. We finished off our Amsterdam trip with a couple of train rides to our next adventure but that’s a story saved for my Twitter.
I hope this gives you a little insight as to what it’s like to attend a Bitcoin conference and the extraordinary connections that can take place. We’ve got Bitcoin 2023 coming up in Miami this coming May and I’ve got some big expectations and hope to see you there!
xoxo,
Jessica Hodlr
This is a guest post by Jessica Hodlr. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.