North American Bitcoin Conference Concludes — Here Are 4 Key Takeaways

Recently, the 2021 North American Bitcoin Conference (TNABC: The North American Bitcoin Conference) concluded in Miami, USA. Following the collective surge in the crypto market since 2020, Bitcoin has gained significantly broader global attention, and this year's North American Bitcoin Conference has attracted even more external interest.

Let's review the highlights of the 2021 North American Bitcoin Conference together.

1. Over 20,000 Attendees, Record-Breaking Scale

As one of the largest conferences in crypto assets history, according to Cointelegraph, the North American Bitcoin Conference was launched in 2012 with just over 100 attendees. At the time, both in scale and attendance, it resembled more of an offline gathering for tech geeks and crypto enthusiasts. By 2021 — nine years later — the conference, postponed from last year due to the global pandemic in 2020 and amplified by the year's frenzied market conditions, drew over 12,000 people to Miami for the world's largest crypto assets enthusiasts' gathering. Among the attendees were numerous government officials and industry leaders, including Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, former Acting Comptroller of the OCC Brian Brooks, US Senator Cynthia Lummis, and MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor.

After years of nurturing the North American Bitcoin Conference, Miami has today become a true crypto assets capital. This isn't merely about the Bitcoin ATMs found on nearly every corner — Miami Mayor Francis Suarez's open and friendly stance toward Bitcoin and crypto assets has been a key factor in making the conference a "permanent fixture" in the city. Suarez even announced earlier this year that Miami would accept cryptocurrency for tax payments, allow employees to receive salaries in crypto assets, and explore further plans to include crypto assets on the city's balance sheet.

With favorable timing, location, and conditions, this year's North American Bitcoin Conference turned Miami into a beacon in the crypto world — bringing a ray of light to recent sluggish market conditions while offering participants across the crypto market a stage for free expression, where wealth and desperation, investment and speculation, and seriousness and levity all intertwined.

A Libertarian Vision

Since its inception, Bitcoin has carried the essence of "freedom," and many steadfast Bitcoin believers maintain an unwavering commitment to the concept of liberty. On the opening day of this year's North American Bitcoin Conference, cryptography expert Nick Szabo began with the history of currency to express concerns about centralized finance and appreciation for Bitcoin. Szabo stated, "Our fiat currency experiment since 1971 (the collapse of the Bretton Woods system) has generated ever-increasing global debt — both public and private — creating on one hand an escalating risk of inflation, and on the other, an escalating risk of debt collapse. Bitcoin solves this problem. It is a form of hard money that can be verified at any time, with a publicly auditable money supply. Its fixed cap of 21 million is a genius design that will powerfully resist inflation and compete with fiat-denominated securities worth tens of trillions of dollars."

In fact, Szabo's argument holds merit. Historically, the evolution of currency has been closely tied to societal changes. Bitcoin addresses many fundamental flaws present in the two key vehicles of human monetary history — precious metals and fiat currency — such as high production costs, distribution costs, trust-based verification methods, and centralized storage methods.

Former US Congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul went even further, stating, "If you don't like the US dollar, you should have an absolute right to use whatever currency you want." "The Federal Reserve is running out of philosophical momentum and legitimacy. They don't know what they're doing, and that is what has caused this chaos." Ron Paul advocated for monetary freedom, stating, "Monetary issues matter, but freedom matters too. And if we have freedom, we can solve our problems." Clearly, at a gathering of Bitcoin enthusiasts, he found like-minded friends more easily.

MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor put it bluntly during a fireside chat: "I believe Bitcoin is the safest, most reliable, most certain thing in the entire economic universe. Bitcoin will win because of its community spirit. For the first time in history, we can grant property rights to 7 billion people."

El Salvador — The Trailblazer

While numerous industry luminaries attended the Bitcoin conference, the most prominent figure was undoubtedly El Salvador President Nayib Bukele. On the second day of the conference, Nayib Bukele announced that he would submit a bill to the country's legislature the following week to make Bitcoin a legal means of payment. Subsequently, the President of El Salvador also retweeted TRON CEO Justin Sun's post about "crypto investors and entrepreneurs moving to El Salvador," outlining four benefits for crypto entrepreneurs relocating there: a pleasant climate, world-class surfing beaches, and oceanfront real estate; one of the few countries in the world without property taxes; no capital gains tax on Bitcoin returns, since Bitcoin will become legal tender; and instant permanent residency for crypto entrepreneurs.

Screenshot of El Salvador President Nayib Bukele's tweet, sourced from the internet

Soon, this morning (June 9), media reported that El Salvador President Nayib Bukele had submitted a bill to the country's legislature proposing to make Bitcoin legal tender. The proposal stated: "The purpose of this law is to regulate Bitcoin as unrestricted legal tender, granting it free power and making it unrestricted in any transaction, with any ownership held by public or private entities, natural persons, or legal entities." Later that afternoon (Beijing time, June 9), the El Salvador government officially passed the bill by an "absolute majority" vote, making Bitcoin legal tender in the country — making El Salvador the first nation in the world to grant Bitcoin legal status. Following this news, the Bitcoin price rose slightly in the short term. According to OKX market data, Bitcoin was last quoted at $33,994, with a daily gain of 7.23%.

Bitcoin price, sourced from OKX

Voices of Diversity

Compared to previous North American Bitcoin Conferences, this year's various offbeat moments made for another entertaining highlight of the event.

For instance, globally renowned crypto market opinion leader Max Keiser, when he took the stage alongside MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor for a joint discussion, suddenly shouted: "WE'RE NOT SELLING, FUCK ELON!" In a subsequent interview, he even ripped up a US dollar bill and angrily smashed a stool — actions that left everyone stunned.

Another incident involved an enthusiastic Dogecoin supporter who jumped onto the stage, interrupted a panel discussion, stripped off his jacket to reveal a Doge logo, and shouted "DOGECOIN TO THE MOON!" to express his support for Dogecoin.

Reactions to these unexpected moments at the crypto market enthusiasts' gathering were mixed. Some cheered, while others dismissed them. For example, an Ethereum community supporter commented, "If Devcon (Ethereum's annual developer conference) had someone like Max Keiser, I'd walk out immediately." However, other attendees argued that such scenes at this year's conference were a fitting manifestation of Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and other crypto assets breaking into the mainstream. In the world of crypto assets or blockchain, the goal is simply to get more people involved, support community building, and freely express their views — and we should grant greater tolerance for this.

Even Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, whom we mentioned above, was not immune to criticism from detractors. On the opening day of the conference, an organizer introduced Suarez as "possibly the most irresponsible politician in America — a mayor who pursues freedom at all costs." In response, Suarez confidently反驳道: "I want to announce to everyone who dislikes me and doubts me: Bitcoin is a movement that will change humanity's future." The crowd erupted in whistles and cheers.

Though this long-awaited North American Bitcoin Conference — delayed by two years — did not delve deeply into topics regarding Bitcoin or the future development of the crypto industry, it undoubtedly provided investors who had weathered three grueling bear market years with a channel for emotional release. Future industry gatherings will surely surpass this year's grandeur in scale, but what deserves to be remembered are all the participants who have contributed to advancing the crypto industry through exploration.

(All statements in this article are quoted and do not represent the views of OKX.)

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