Last weekend, I was one of the almost 30,000 crypto-passionate people who descended onto Miami beach in anticipation of Bitcoin 2022, the largest, most influential cryptocurrency conference in the world. Touting influential speakers from a variety of different fields as well as innovative companies selling groundbreaking blockchain products and services, the conference took over Miami beach as almost everyone walking around the streets and beaches had a bright orange wristband signaling them as a “bitcoiner.” During my amazing experience at the conference, there were many interesting undercurrents such as the growing divides within the cryptocurrency space as well as clear religious undertones towards the worshiping of Bitcoin and its faceless yet omnipresent creator Satoshi Nakamoto.
The Miami Beach convention center is a huge venue at 1.4 million square feet and the conference used every inch of it, creating four themed stages, a large main stage, an expo hall, an outdoor stage, a variety of different lounges areas, and most visibly an 11 foot, 3000-pound mechanical bull made to look like a technical/futuristic version of the Wall Street mascot. The four themed stages covered the most central areas of Bitcoin: industry and finance, open-source development, mining, and use of Bitcoin, while the main stage played host to every big name in the field’s keynote and panel. The expo hall hosted over 200 exhibitors ranging from established companies like Cash App and eToro to brand new projects that hadn’t even launched a product yet. The lounges and food areas were constantly packed with people networking with professionals in the space, debating their different ideas for the uses of crypto, and selling their company if they were there as part of an exhibitor. Each morning, as people walked towards the main entrance of the center, they were greeted by the giant mechanical bull that was the mascot of the conference and as they gathered around it to take pictures, making sure to use captions such as #bullish to show they believe the price of Bitcoin will continue to rise, the entire event seemed like a blockchain Disneyland. There were stages for anyone’s interest, places to meet and eat with others, fun attractions such as an NFT museum that was in the expo hall, and most importantly, it was filled with only those that agreed with your crypto passionate views. This is something that I felt almost immediately as everyone who was passionate about the blockchain space is used to being surrounded by those who doubt the technology, idea, and future of blockchain. While this unheard-of blockchain-accepting environment is a source of excitement for many people who are constantly surrounded by crypto doubters, it also became a source of issue as the conference played host to what are known in the blockchain space as “Bitcoin Maximalists”.
Bitcoin maximalists (called Bitcoin maxis for short) have the extreme view that Bitcoin is the only digital asset the world will ever need, and every other cryptocurrency is inferior. Many of the conference attendees and speakers were Bitcoin maxis, creating an environment where enthusiasm for cryptocurrency was met with excitement, but often only in the context of Bitcoin. Although there were some speakers who also supported major blockchain platforms like Ethereum and Solana, they were more sparse and did not talk about these other platforms while presenting. Even more, in the expo hall, I talked to someone who was running an exhibition booth and learned that the conference organizers suggested they only talk about Bitcoin and not bring up any other blockchain technology in relation to their company. One quote that truly encapsulated this sentiment was from Bitcoin maxi Peter Thiel (co-founder of Paypal) who said in his widely attended keynote that “to be pro blockchain means you are anti-Bitcoin,” essentially saying that to support Bitcoin you cannot support any other blockchain technology. While this maxi viewpoint is not shared by all in the cryptocurrency space, it was the dominant perspective at the conference, creating a palpable tension for those that support the innovativeness of blockchain technology as a whole and support its advancement in all forms. This dominant maxi viewpoint also created an environment that at many times felt religious towards the worship of Bitcoin.
In many places, the words of Satoshi Nakamoto’s Bitcoin whitepaper (the original document outlining the idea of Bitcoin) were projected onto screens and printed on walls as though they were a bible to live by. While talking to other people I heard many different variations of the similar sentiment of Bitcoin being their savior. Many people told me they had “no purpose” before finding Bitcoin and that Bitcoin allowed them to “find their people.” I heard the conference itself compared to a version of Mecca for Bitcoiners from around the world who made the pilgrimage to Miami beach to show their support and belief in Bitcoin. Lastly, there were interesting comments about the backlash Bitcoin receives in politics and culture, with many famous speakers talking about how the government is trying to “silence” Bitcoin and that Bitcoiners must fight back against this.
Bitcoin 2022 was a well-organized event and I applaud everyone who worked to put it on as well as the speakers and companies who engaged with the tens of thousands of crypto passionate guests. While it was a surprisingly welcomed change of pace to be around only those that shared my blockchain passionate views, part of me missed my constantly nagging crypto-doubting suitemates who force me to question parts of blockchain technology. Despite what Bitcoin maxis might tell you, there still is more work to do in the blockchain space to bring the amazing technology to the masses by making it more applicable to everyday life and solving its many problems. I absolutely love the technology and ideas behind blockchain, but I recognize that there is still work to do on some of its problems which can be more easily fixed when we accept and analyze them. I look forward to next year’s conference where I’m sure there will be even more guests but hopefully a healthier mix of ideas from people passionate about all the different areas in blockchain.