Prominent Bitcoiners and contemporary adopters highlight the need to focus on the fundamental value proposition of Bitcoin to continue its push to mainstream acceptance.
“We’re contorting ourselves to pass through the keyhole of tyranny.” Edward Snowden’s words to the audience at the packed Genesis Stage hall at Bitcoin Amsterdam stressed the preeminent cryptocurrency’s ever-increasing importance in a world beset by creeping government surveillance, devaluing fiat currencies and restrictive policies.
The renowned whistleblower’s address summed up a recurring theme during the conference, driving home the role of decentralized protocols like Bitcoin and Nostr in giving individuals some control over their wealth and privacy.
Cointelegraph spoke to prominent Bitcoin developers, investors, builders and supporters attending the two-day conference at the picturesque Westerpark neighborhood in Amsterdam. Amid the ongoing cryptocurrency bear market, the event attracted a couple of thousand attendees searching for the latest news and insights in the Bitcoin industry.
While many prominent figures highlighted the value proposition of Bitcoin as a store of value against the diminishing purchasing power of fiat currencies, Snowden was critical of the continual focus on the value of BTC over its importance as a decentralized tool:
“We are all part of a bigger game, and Bitcoin is one of the strongest levers in that. The systems that we are influencing, that we are exerting leverage on, [such as] payments and finance, will shape what the world of tomorrow looks like.“
Snowden’s address arguably attracted the biggest gathering of visitors during the conference, as he revisited Bitcoin’s role in his journey rebelling against the United States government and its wanton surveillance of citizens.
In 2013, Snowden used Bitcoin to pay for the servers that hosted classified information sent to journalists that would reveal the National Security Agency’s overreach into the lives of American citizens. As Snowden elaborated, Bitcoin’s growing prominence has led to increasing opposition from governments, lawmakers and legacy financial institutions.
Snowden added that the potential influence of Bitcoin ETFs on the value of the cryptocurrency represents “subordination, a kind of subjugation, a process of taming” that is being played out by institutions that regulate traditional financial spheres.
Snowden also shared his belief that Bitcoin has “a privacy problem,” highlighting the emergence of obfuscation tools like CoinJoin and mixers as important but equally indicative of the pressure facing the decentralized protocol.
Source: cointelegraph.com
