Pacific Bitcoin Conference Recap
A bright orange future...
I attended the Pacific Bitcoin Conference in Santa Monica last week Thursday and Friday. I wanted to share some of the highlights of the event and some of the main things I learned. First of all, the venue was terrific, located in a hangar next to the Santa Monica Airport - it was small, intimate and easy to meet people there. They had a variety of food trucks with some excellent options. My favorite was the TLT truck! The Bitcoin Coffee stand was amazing as well. The occasional airplane taking off added to the ambiance, but really didn’t distract too much from the main stage. One of the highlights for me was meeting and shaking hands with Lyn Alden, Greg Foss, Lawrence Lepard, James Lavish and Robert Breedlove, who are some of my favorite thought leaders in the Bitcoin space.
It was great meeting a diverse group of like-minded individuals from all over the country and world who share a common set of core beliefs. I made a few new friends there and I’m looking forward to seeing them again at the next conference. All the panel discussions were good and I spent the first day moving between the main stage and the “Swan Dome.” Both days included segments on technology and culture in the 1980’s, 1990’s and 2000’s. The first day started with an excellent global macro discussion with Foss, Lavish, Ross and Lepard in the Swan Dome. Other topics throughout the day included Bitcoin is Freedom, future of Bitcoin technology, how all the financial models have been destroyed in the current financial crisis, a “tribute” to Keynesian economics (if it weren’t so bad we wouldn’t have Bitcoin), Bitcoin’s role in a hawkish world, Bitcoin tax strategy, why Bitcoin and not shitcoins and also an interview with YouTube star, entrepreneur and Bitcoin advocate Michelle Phan. They even had a panel discussion on memes featuring Lyn Alden who is a master of those in the Bitcoin space! As they say, a picture is worth 1,000 words. Adding humor also makes them more memorable and sharable. She thinks the Matrix Bitcoin memes are some of the most memorable ones, simply because everyone who has seen the movie or heard about it can pretty quickly relate to the context. Memes are indeed a powerful way to convey important messages.
The second day I mostly watched the discussion panels on the main stage. It was a full day and lots of great content across a number of topics including government regulation, debt markets, fossil fuels, Bitcoin Lightning, Bitcoin mining, the coming monetary reset, and a new movie coming out called God Bless Bitcoin that helps explain Bitcoin in simple terms, making a moral case for the impact this technology can and will have on the world. The two best discussions were saved for last when Preston Pysh interviewed Lyn Alden and the final segment where Cory Klippsten interviewed Michael Saylor.
Some key learnings from the event:
Despite the FTX debacle ongoing (I will have an extended discussion on this on my podcast this week here) and resultant Bitcoin price action (down 20%), the vibe at the conference was calm confidence and an unwavering vision for the future
The Bitcoin community is loaded with very smart, high conviction people
Self custody of your Bitcoin is the way, multi-signature is best; exchanges are a very bad place to hold your Bitcoin as everyone is learning each time an exchange fails
Stay humble and stack sats - Bitcoin is a savings technology designed to protect your net worth, not a get rich quick scheme; lower your time preference
There are some interesting ideas in the crypto space, but they were executed poorly on shitcoins (unregistered security offerings, too much leverage and in some cases outright theft from investors and customers); ideas such as raising capital digitally, connecting creators and fans directly, and digital lending all done ethically and the “right way” should be re-evaluated for execution using Lightning and the Bitcoin network
Price is not the same as value
The Bitcoin Lightning network can provide reasonably secure, high volume, low cost and anonymous payments on top of the Bitcoin base layer - there are many exciting applications for this technology that are now being developed, although it is still very early and the technology is still evolving
Bitcoin and US dollar stablecoins are important to support the fight for freedom against authoritarian regimes globally; Bitcoin is freedom money
The 60/40 portfolio is dead; bonds are return-free risk and as Ray Dalio has said, we are at the end of the long term sovereign debt cycle; hard assets are an important part of everyone’s portfolio and that includes Bitcoin
The regulators and other high ranking government officials in the US have spoken and Bitcoin is a commodity, all the other shitcoins are unregistered securities and will be regulated, likely heavily now in the wake of the FTX debacle
Bitcoin’s characteristics, including absolute scarcity are unmatched by any commodity
Bitcoin can help solve the stranded energy (i.e. flared gas) problem and support development of more sources of energy; fossil fuels are an important part of our energy future and we should be expanding their development not turning away from them; energy is the source of human prosperity, not the enemy of it
We shouldn’t apologize for use of energy that allows human flourishing and that includes Bitcoin mining
Bitcoin has a bright orange future
Not financial or legal advice, for entertainment only, do your own homework. I hope you find this post useful as you chart your personal financial course and Build a Financial Fortress in 2022. To see all my books on investing and leadership, click here.
Always remember: freedom, health and positivity!
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