Three Key Themes of the 2023 Bitcoin Miami Conference
3 Themes of 2023 Bitcoin Miami Conference
Author: @ramahluwalia
Translator: Biteye core contributor Crush
This article covers the main topics from the Bitcoin Miami Conference, with key topics including:
1. Adoption in emerging markets
2. Sanctions and impediments
- Discussion on Mining Trends and Opportunities: Halving Strategy, HP...
- Binance Research Report: BRC-20 – Principles, Status, and Future
- Kazakhstan: The Rise and Fall of Bitcoin Mining and Real Challenges
3. Ordinals
01. Adoption in Emerging Markets
Argentina has an inflation rate of over 100%, and sovereign countries and central banks such as Ghana, Lebanon, and Venezuela also face high inflation rates. In these inflation-eroded countries, the adoption of Bitcoin as a currency is at an all-time high.
International employees are starting to accept wage payments through applications that allow them to immediately convert their earnings into Bitcoin or USD stablecoins.
According to statements from government officials, “As the frequency of use increases, positively engaged users do become more engaged.”
Additionally, there is controversy regarding coverage of the Salvadoran experiment by the government and The New York Times, with some believing that Nayib Bukele (the President of El Salvador) is linking the story of Bitcoin with politics and hoping to control the spread of information.
This raises a question…
Is the adoption of Bitcoin better suited for a bottom-up approach to help individuals escape inflation, rather than a top-down adoption by governments?
Politics is centralized, while Bitcoin is decentralized. It is difficult to understand if we promote the adoption of Bitcoin through the government.
02. Sanctions and Impediments
Chivo (the Bitcoin wallet of El Salvador) has attracted interest from African countries (such as Nigeria and Zimbabwe), where inflation issues are spiraling out of control.
So, why are there still impediments in adopting Bitcoin? One reason is OFAC (the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control).
In addition, promoting these also requires consideration of user education and providing a more simplified user experience. Although Bitcoin is beneficial for countries that are experiencing out-of-control inflation, there is little venture capital funding focused on these markets.
Bitcoin is becoming increasingly popular in Iran, and Iranians are trading through currency traders in Dubai, but they will suffer huge slippage losses if they transfer large amounts, such as $10 million, out of Iran in this way.
This raises another issue with OFAC sanctions.
The intention of sanctions is to isolate this country from the international currency markets, which is effective when the sovereignty of the country, its people, and its local currency are inseparable.
However, OFAC cannot sanction Iran without harming those who try to escape the regime, but Bitcoin, stablecoins (and compliance infrastructure like TRM Labs) can solve such problems.
I have no opinion here, but this is indeed a topic worth discussing.
Sanctions are a blunt tool that often causes indiscriminate harm to both the country and its people.
Sanctions may also weaken America’s “soft power” and allow the regime to control the public through crisis response.
Look at the price trend of the Russian ruble, and I think you should understand the significance of Bitcoin.
If there was a way to consciously provide the people of sanctioned countries with the choice to turn to Bitcoin or US dollar stablecoins while controlling the behavior of the country, rather than imposing a blanket sanction, it would certainly promote the adoption of Bitcoin.
Although this is a good topic, it is very complicated to implement.
03, Ordinals
As for the Ordinals that have recently been popular in the BTC ecosystem, @DavidFBailey summed it up well in a tweet.
In the circulation of Bitcoin, miners play a critical role. They are pleased with the increase in mining fees, which further enhances the security model.
The BRC-20 token also enhances the status of creators and thus has greater cultural relevance.
Today, more and more investment funds are seeking to trade Bitcoin against the US dollar, and it is increasingly seen as a hedge against negative real interest rates. Bitcoin has become a novel way of expressing views on Federal Reserve policy rates.
Before the emergence of the BRC-20 token, Bitcoin’s narrative logic was very clear. However, after the emergence of the BRC-20 token, such narratives became blurred, which was its downside.
In addition to the above, another main characteristic of Bitcoin is its resistance to censorship.
There are two different views here, namely Bitcoin as an immutable decentralized currency and the concept of bringing creative freedom to individuals. There is a competitive relationship between them.
