The biggest party in Bitcoin gets presidential at the Music City Center in Nashville.

July 25-27, 2024

Nashville, Tennessee became the new home to 2024s edition of The Bitcoin Conference. The renown Music City Center hosted history with a one-of-a-kind monumental line up of speakers and announcements that drew a massive crowd of Bitcoiners, celebrities and people who had not yet discovered what Bitcoin is, yet. This year featured a large list of politicians, including presidential candidates Donald Trump and Robert F Kennedy Jr, sparking the interests of folks outside the Bitcoin community. 

The new venue was a change of pace from the South Beach atmosphere we have been accustomed to the previous three years. Music and freedom became the sub themes of the event as logos and banners paid homage to the heart of Nashville and the ethos the area is known for.  The setup was very similar to previous years with the main Nakamoto stage being the center of the action with several smaller stages available for more specific types of speakers. Each stage was very easy to find and most of the smaller stages were mixed in with the expo hall which made it easier to find and made for a more efficient experience. 

Politicians took the spotlight this year as each day featured a handful of notable members from high ranks of the United States government. A new face this year was soon to be Senate leader of the banking committee Tim Scott. He was accompanied by longtime Bitcoin advocate and regular to the conference Senator Cynthia Lummis from Wyoming. They discussed the hardships created by the banking industry and its government officials have made it for Bitcoin companies as well as individuals. They have been spearheading education among politicians to make changes in these to help lead innovation and help our country lead that innovation. We also saw appearances from Senator Bill Haggerty and Vivek Ramaswamy, who just ended his presidential campaign but could play a role in a future presidential cabinet. The main draw of the event were the keynote speeches from Robert F. Kennedy and Donald Trump.

The event kicked off as it usually does with Industry Day. This event is only open to individuals with an Industry Pass. This is the time when members of various Bitcoin industries announce new products as well as discuss future endeavors. It is also a great forum to discuss current states of the industries and predict future events and obstacles. Companies use this day to network and share ideas to help strengthen their respective industries.

The first day open for the general public had a great stretch of heavy hitters popular in the Bitcoin community as well as a mixture of politicians and those well respected in the world of finance. Discussions were had about the risks of ETF’s, the changes and effects of the mining industry as well as a few product announcements from custodial companies Ledger and Casa. Actor Russel Brand went into depth on the importance of preserving freedom of speech for all individuals.

The Nakamoto stage seating reached capacity in the early afternoon as Michael Saylor took the stage. The Bitcoiner legend and longtime CEO of MicroStrategy gave a talk on the ways individuals, businesses, and nation states could plan to use Bitcoin as a reserve asset to increase their respective values. He gave the specific details and projections on how to do it and the returns they could expect in the next 20 years. He projects an increase in these types of groups to use Bitcoin as a tool to increase their value such as he began to do in 2020. Since then, his company’s value has increased exponentially and is one of the most traded stocks on the market. 

Friday hit its peak beginning with a prerecorded speech from Edward Snowden. He reminded us of the dangers of an increased surveillance state and how it is already starting to become a detriment to one of Bitcoin’s key properties, privacy. He also gave a stern warning about using caution about the excitement of certain politicians using Bitcoin as a talking point during election season. As more and more big names in the upcoming presidential election are using Bitcoin as an issue, it is very easy to get sucked in to the madness as Bitcoin has previously been something the higher ups have brushed off. His message to the audience was that it is ok to be excited about it but not to join a cult because of it. He reminded us that positions are known to lie and use issues like this for votes and never follow through once they are elected. His speech was immediately followed by a presidential candidate using Bitcoin as a major issue for his election campaign. 

Robert F Kennedy Jr. made his first appearance in the Bitcoin community a year ago at the 2023 conference. At the time his campaign was in its infancy, but promises were made to protect the rights of self-custody and fight against monetary censorship. A year later RFK seemed as if he learned a lot more about the importance of the technology and the issues that were being faced at the helms of the SEC and the government. He doubled down on his previous promises and announced that if he was elected, he would make Bitcoin a part of the strategic reserve plan. This plan would ensure the Bitcoin the government already owns would be saved as well as more Bitcoin would be purchased to create a digital Fort Knox. He also promised to release Ross Ulbricht the first day he was sworn into office. RFKs speech was full of standing ovations as he eloquently said the right things at the delight of the Bitcoin voters. 

GA Day two was a very unique and historic day. Although there were dozens of speakers throughout the day, the main thing on everyone’s agenda was the keynote speech by Donald Trump. In order to attend it at the Nakamoto stage you had to get in line very early as entry was delayed due to security checks by the Secret Service. These checks were very thorough and intensive and slowed a lot of things down. There were also a lot of people who showed up just for the speech, many of whom were outsiders of the Bitcoiner community. The positive from this is a great opportunity to orange pill a lot of people.

The speech was delayed about an hour but that didn’t deter the excitement of the jam-packed room. Before the speech David Bailey, Bitcoin Magazine, gave Donald a full Bitcoin which was donated by an anonymous donor. The former president came out to “God Bless the USA” to a great ovation from the crowd. He greeted everyone as fellow Bitcoiners, which almost blew the roof off of The Music City Center. His speech was the same as one of his campaign rallies but with a Bitcoin twist. He said a lot of great things about the industry, but it sounded as if he was new to the space. In a way it was a reminder of the learning curve any Bitcoiner goes through as they research and learn more and more about this great technology. Gradually, Then Suddenly. 

The first promise Trump made was to fire Gary Gensler day one. This was probably going to happen whether or not he entered the Bitcoin community. Another promise he doubled down on was freeing Ross Ulbricht. He continued getting the crowd fired up when he told everyone “Never Sell Your Bitcoin”, as he was explaining how he would move the United States government’s Bitcoin to a strategic reserve to help bring down the national debt. Many exciting promises were made that will go a long way in aligning the government’s ideas with Bitcoiners ideas of freedom, self-sovereignty and privacy. If these plans are executed, they will do great things for individual Bitcoins and help solve many of the issues we are facing head on as a nation. Only time and a wild and crazy election season will tell how far they will go.

There was a lot more to Saturday’s lineup than Donald Trump. The day started off with many great topics being discussed by important individuals in the global Bitcoin community. Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert gave their annual energetic and off the wall update on how the circular Bitcoin economy is changing the lives of thousands of people in El Salvador. Vivek Ramaswamy teamed up with Senator Marsha Blackburn to discuss Bitcoin’s role and preservation of America’s democracy. MMA fighter Cris Cyborg gave a great synopsis on the trend of athletes getting paid in Bitcoin and how it has drastically changed their life. Although some of these speeches were overshadowed by Trump’s keynote, none of their importance was lost on the OG Bitcoin community.

“God Bless Bitcoin” made its debut at the conference. The film focuses on the problems of the money system and Bitcoin’s altruistic properties being a simple solution for these issues. The producers and filmmakers Brian and Kelly Estes passionately emphasize and view bitcoin adoption from a lens through faith and religion. Bitcoin and its fundamental global impact truly inspire the audience by putting together stories that align tech with faith and ethics. They spoke about the utility of Bitcoin and how it promotes a safe and secure way to have monetary peace and comfort on a world level for all people, and did an excellent job at making it informative, educational, and easy to understand, for all audiences.

The film used Old Testament verses as well as quotes and scriptures from the 5 major religions to reflect directly to bitcoin’s core principles of justice, fairness, purity, and truth. Bitcoin plays a huge role in the rescue regions suffering from economic instability. Here, the film highlights faith-driven organizations and religious communities’ views on bitcoin to support humanitarian efforts as well as creating a system of exchange more balanced for all. Personal stories and experience from people in countries like Belarus Venezuela Nigeria Ukraine and El Salvador show how Bitcoin offers financial stability and opportunities where most systems fail. Religious themes of compassion and charity display how bitcoin aligns with tremendous efforts to provide aid and support to the underprivileged in these countries.

The film interviews a long list of very influential names in the world of finance, entertainment and those familiar in the Bitcoin community. Narrated by Natalie Brunell, the film does a great job of having these big names explain the problem we have of a broken money system. They use big names such as Mark Cuban, Tony Hawk, Michael Saylor, John Salley, Cathie Wood and many more to explain the problem in a very simple manner. They use prime examples of real-world problems we have been seeing recently and throughout history. The solution: Bitcoin. The film then turns to real world examples of how Bitcoin is solving these problems throughout the world. The United States is just beginning to feel the impacts of inflation firsthand but has only brushed the surface of the problem compared to many other areas around the world. Human Rights activist Lyudmyla Kozlovska has seen the worst of it and fights every day to free individuals around the world from economic tyranny.

Lyudmyla Kozlovska, president of Open Dialogue Foundation and human rights activist is very passionate about helping others and fighting for freedom, financial freedom, and stays extremely active in helping these communities in need around the world. From Ukraine she has seen firsthand the abuses of AML laws being used in a terroristic fashion against individuals trying to free themselves from government corruption, inflation and war. Her goal is to educate people how to use Bitcoin to free themselves from these situations and has successfully been doin so since 2021. She is also opening dialogue with governments on how to prevent the tyranny that has been taking place. 

This documentary delves deep into the history, impact, and potential of Bitcoin for anybody who is interested in the future of money. This dialogue between Bitcoin and religion not only enriches my understanding of both fields, but it also showcases the Bitcoin technology itself on a spiritual landscape. I feel more educated and more bullish on Bitcoin than ever before after watching. Regardless if you are a non-bitcoiner or a skeptic, this is a must watch film! It leaves viewers walking away with a sense of hope. If i had submit a rating i would give it 21 million thumbs up. The film can be watched in its entirety for free at https://www.godblessbitcoin.com/ .

The conference brought back the app it introduced last year to help keep guests organized and informed of updates in real time. The official app was very useful to follow the schedule and bookmark speakers to help plan your day. It also had a networking feature to help meet and contact new friends and associates at the conference. Each person had a personal QR code on their badge that was linked to the app. You could use this to keep in touch with people you met and also schedule meetings with vendors and individuals. The app was very useful with the ongoing changes in safety policies due to the big names and their security. Information was pushed out to everyone to help things run as smoothly as they could go.

With two very high profile speakers that required protection from a very scrutinized Secret Service, it made for many challenges in an event this large. With guests having to be screened and their possessions checked it was a very tedious and time consuming process to get everyone in and out of the ballrooms. This made for long wait times and frustrated attendees as some guests missed some of the anticipated speakers and events. The conference did all they could do to efficiently keep everyone safe in a timely manner. This led to many on the fly decisions on what individuals could bring and not bring into certain areas of the Music City Center. There is probably no way to run this type of event under these circumstances to make every single person happy.

A new addition to the event was Satoshi Summer Camp. The camp played as a daycare type setting for conference attendees with children. It also served as an education way for children to start their Bitcoin journey. With Bitcoin educational games and toys children had an opportunity to start learning the basics of freedom money. It also gave the parents a carefree way to enjoy the conference knowing their kids were not only safe but getting the same quality of education they were during the event.  

A big announcement was teased during the early events and finally announced on the final day about next year’s location. Just like last year the organizers of the event’s main goal is to increase adoption of Bitcoin as much as it can. One way they can accomplish this is by expanding the geographic radius of their conference. Next year’s event will be moving west to Las Vegas. The conference will be held at the Venetian May 27-29, 2025, with tickets and hotel packages on sale at https://b.tc/conference/2025.