Event

P2P Financial Systems panel: Crypto core values and transparency are critical for DeFi

Cointelegraph’s editor-in-chief Kristina Cornèr moderated a panel discussion on DeFi’s future among market dynamics, cyberattacks and regulatory uncertainty.

As one of the main growing subsectors in the crypto industry, decentralized finance (DeFi) has faced a challenging year amid market dynamics, cyberattacks and regulatory uncertainty. Its future demands more transparency and clarity in the regulatory landscape, according to a panel discussion at the International Workshop P2P Financial Systems 2022 on Dec. 1 organized by the Centre for Blockchain Technologies at the University College London. 

Moderated by Cointelegraph’s editor-in-chief Kristina Cornèr with CEO of APWine Gaspard Pedruzzi, co-founder of Mero Daniel Perez, CEO of Flare Hugo Philion and Niall Roche, chief technology officer-in-residence at the University College London School of Management as panelists, the discussion focused on the DeFi future among a disruptive landscape worldwide.

Perez emphasized the need for transparency for DeFi’s long-term success, as well as the role of central bank digital currencies in promoting crypto’s core values to society and restoring trust in the industry following recent events such as the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

“The point of using DeFi infrastructure is transparency […] Why not the OPEC nations should be able to be transparent too. […] If there is a formal, transparent and traceable solution, and it’s good to bring more confidence in the industry, like the stablecoins, I’m not going to say it shouldn’t be there,” commented Perez.

Related: After FTX: Defi can go mainstream if it overcomes its flaws

Regulation is a key point for DeFi. As Roche explained, innovation has been stifled due to the uncertainty of whether a project now complying with regulatory requirements today will be able to do so in the near future. Roche also noted:

“We need clear rules […]. People don’t know the limits. We need ways to ensure that it’s very clear with the lines and that there are rules there that you can test, verify that you’re on the right side of the line. Otherwise, we’d just be in this situation where regulation is not clear and innovation is delayed because people will try it, and they’ll get shut down.”

Educating people about finances and technologies driving innovation is another challenge for DeFi development since most people are learning about cryptocurrencies from friends or television. The panelists also emphasized that communication with society has been focused on making a profit from cryptocurrencies and not on promoting core values such as privacy and decentralization. Flare’s Philion stated:

“The primary product market right now is to get rich. There isn’t really a use case that ensures you can get rich. But that’s kind of the message we’re telling to people. […] I don’t think the primary thing we should be marketing to people is a way to get rich.”

The FTX collapse not enough to break crypto community’s spirit: IBW 2022

Istanbul Blockchain Week was held in Turkey, and Cointelegraph attended to experience the impact of the FTX collapse firsthand — the result was unexpected.

Istanbul Blockchain Week opened its doors on Nov. 14 to bring the crypto and blockchain ecosystem together in İstanbul, Turkey. Cointelegraph attended the event with a Cointelegraph Turkey booth and an İstanbul-based editor to experience the impact of the FTX collapse firsthand — the result was unexpected.

As an international hub housing more than 15 million people, İstanbul was shaken by a bombing attack in Taksim, the city center, on Nov. 13 evening. Yet, the following day, Istanbul Blockchain Week (IBW) opened its doors to more than 2,000 international attendees and over 100 speakers after consulting with local security authorities.

On top of a year-long bear market and the FTX collapse, IBW 2022 attendees also had to deal with the emotional stress of what occurred last night. Both events were ever-present topics on the main stage and in the event hall.

Erhan Korhaliller, the organizer of the event and the founder of EAK Digital, mentioned both topics during his opening speech. Excluding the people who barely managed to land in İstanbul hours before their stage time, the majority of speakers started by giving condolences to the victims of the terrorist attack.

However, Istanbul Blockchain Week 2022 managed to find a balance to keep a respectful tone to the worries of İstanbulites while maintaining the entertainment aspect of the show. Nothing stood out as too flashy, but the atmosphere was always vibrant and colorful. The next four days saw key names from the crypto industry taking the stage one after another in front of a fully focused and attentive audience.

Cointelegraph Turkey had a splash at IBW 2022 thanks to a big booth overseen by the Kriptomeda team.

IBW 2022 used the event area of the Hilton Bomonti hotel rather cleverly to provide break zones during crowded networking activities. Guests were presented with coffee, tea and water to refreshen during heated conversations.

The main stage, which was too big for a 2,000-person event, was divided into three parts, illuminated only with the light of kiosks that present cool-looking nonfungible tokens (NFTs); the NFT Gallery was neighboring the stage. The other side of the gallery was reserved for IstanHack, where the developers from neighboring countries competed to build a Web3 project.

The event agenda left no corner of the expanded cryptoverse unchecked: market makers, exchanges, decentralized finance (DeFi) providers, blockchain gaming and metaverse big guns filled the event area and the main stage to provide a comprehensive picture of what’s going on in the crypto world.

Related: Turkey’s financial authority investigates FTX’s collapse

One thing that stood out during the whole show was the positivity and the “keep building” philosophy. It wouldn’t take a journalist to understand that the ecosystem truly believes in the bear market building.

During the event, Cointelegraph saw ambitious projects with young and talented teams joining the competition right after the biggest collapse in crypto history, global exchanges using the local aspect of the event to announce their expansion into the Turkish market, and industry veterans sharing wisdom and strategy to endure the negativity of the mainstream media.

The Cointelegraph ground team shot several video interviews with speakers at the Cointelegraph Turkey booth, most of which were published on Cointelegraph Turkey’s YouTube channel. Between a panel moderation and lots of booth-surfing, Cointelegraph editor Erhan Kahraman also managed to sit down with renowned cryptographer and Elixxir CEO David Chaum as well as blockchain security expert HashEx CEO Dmitry Mishunin. Both interviews will be published in Cointelegraph.

The first announcement of IBW 2022 dates back to early 2022, so it’s safe to assume that its details and agenda needed to be marginally updated due to the recent meltdown. However, the main message was unmistakable: Crypto is here to stay, and the crypto revolution is bigger than FTX.

NFT space bridges passions for tennis legend Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova sat down with Cointelegraph at Binance Blockchain Week Paris to discuss her growing interest in NFTs and passion for bringing more women into Web3.

Tennis legend Maria Sharapova appeared at the Binance Blockchain Week Paris 2022 to share her interest in nonfungible tokens (NFTs).

During an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph, Sharapova mentioned that she is exposing herself “to this new world of crypto and Web3,” noting that the sector will help her better engage with her fans. Sharapova was also one of the strategic investors behind MoonPay’s Series A financing round, yet she mentioned that she aims to bridge her personal experiences to the digital world moving forward.

Maria Sharapova (right) with Cointelegraph senior reporter Rachel Wolfson (left) at Binance Blockchain Week Paris 2022. Source: Rachel Wolfson

Cointelegraph: What are you doing here today at Binance Blockchain Week Paris?

Maria Sharapova: I’m crypto curious and would like to figure out how to bridge the incredible physical experiences that I’ve been able to have with my fans over so many years. I’m now finding ways to include experiences in the digital world, so that’s what I’m most excited about. Also, as a female entrepreneur, I believe it’s important to pave the way for other women to enter Web3. Money is a topic that I feel we don’t speak enough about as women.

CT: Do you have plans to launch an NFT project?

MS: I’ve been looking at this space for several months now, as I’m someone who is more in favor of opportunities for the long haul. When I saw the opportunity to bridge physical with digital experiences, I knew I wanted it to be a long-term experience for myself. Storytelling is very important, and it’s a huge component of Web3. I think stories will be told better for both parties when thinking about a project long term.

Recent: The Caribbean is pioneering CBDCs with mixed results amid banking difficulties

CT: Do you think NFTs can help create better fan engagement?

MS: Absolutely. NFTs are about finding ways to communicate with the right communities interested in what I’m doing within a different type of space. For example, I was seen on a television screen every week playing tennis for so many years, yet I no longer have that platform on a daily basis because I retired a couple of years ago. The Web3 experience has given me access to my fans in entirely new ways. I feel like I’m more engaged with them, as opposed to them just being engaged by watching me compete.

CT: As a female entrepreneur and former athlete, do you have plans to get more women involved in Web3?

MS: I want to allow women to have a space where they experiment with Web3. For example, I was 17 when I won my first grand slam and social media was in no way part of that experience. It took years for me to get comfortable with social media over time. I think Web3 is also an area where one has to get out there in order to learn and grow from it. As I mentioned earlier, the conversation about money, finance, crypto and blockchain is a taboo conversation. People may feel that unless they know about these topics, they shouldn’t speak up. But I think this should be the other way around — you learn a lot more if you ask questions and get involved.

CT: Why did you decide to invest in MoonPay?

MS: I want to diversify my portfolio. In the beginning, my investments were around consumer goods. For example, I invested in the sunscreen brand Supergoop early on. I am now exposing myself to an entirely new category.

CT: What do you think are the biggest challenges associated with Web3 and how can we overcome these?

MS: I’d love to see the quality of Web3 experiences come through a bit more and improve, specifically in the digital space.

Recent: Are decentralized digital identities the future or just a niche use case?

CT: Any additional comments?

MS: I’m really interested in the NFT space because it bridges my passion for fashion, interior design and creating spaces that are unique to individuals and communities. I’ve become more interested in this space because it has more of a design perspective. It’s also an entirely new revenue stream that both artists and women are discovering.

Ripples of Bitcoin adoption at Biarritz’s Surfin Bitcoin Conference in France

Thanks to grassroots and big bitcoin displays of Bitcoin advocacy, could the tide be changing on France’s anti-Bitcoin sentiment?

A sublime sunset enveloped Biarritz Casino on Aug. 27, bringing France’s largest Bitcoin (BTC) conference to a close. Located in southwest France and organized by French Bitcoin exchange Stackin Sat, Surfin Bitcoin assembled a host of Bitcoin OG’s, newbies and no coiners, those yet to buy or earn crypto, in a setting that would rival any Hollywood film set.

Bitcoiners networked in the hope of learning more about the Lightning Network, landing jobs at one of the many French Bitcoin companies present — from Galoy Money to Découvre Bitcoin — or simply rubbing shoulders with fellow Bitcoin believers. In a touch of bear market irony, as the Bitcoin chips are currently way down, the event venue took place at the illustrious Biarritz Casino. 

From Bitcoin core maintainers to European royalty to naturally CEOs from the largest French crypto companies, the vibe was distinctly French, albeit with a fizzy international influence.

Cointelegraph and Ledger CEO Pascal Gauthier (right) in front of the Biarritz Casino and Biarritz’ Grande Plage.

Bitcoin maximalism was on full display. Panelists and moderators had carte blanche to slamdunk on shitcoiners as hotly anticipated debates compared crypto venture capitalists to gamblers and boasted the merits and queried the limitations of Bitcoin’s layer-2 Lightning Network. Representatives from Aave and various crypto decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) expressed their admiration for Bitcoin but held true to their vision of a multi-coin future.

While there were several official commercial announcements during the event, speakers spontaneously stumbled across certain revelations. During a panel on mining, Pierre Rochard of Riot Mining announced his intention to rename mining to “timestamping” to avoid confusion regarding the act of retrieving scarce resources from a physical space. Timestamping would make education easier, he explained, and it’s also Satoshi Nakamoto’s way of explaining mining in the white paper.

Similarly, on the Lightning Network panel, Blockstream’s Christian Decker, also known as Dr. Bitcoin, described the Lightning Network as an “ant network.” In essence, he explained, the LN behaves like an ant colony. Much like a group of ants, the LN seeks out productive areas of activity and congregates in spaces where efficient routes or channel hops can link together.

Among the workshops and Q&A sessions, European Bitcoin artists such as Lina Seiche, the creator of the Little Hodler, displayed their pieces. Konsensus, a Bitcoin book publisher, sold French translations of popular Bitcoin books for a couple of Satoshis — the smallest denomination of a Bitcoin —in the main hall. The usual Bitcoin t-shirts and merchandise could also be purchased for sats. But, to many Bitcoiners’ chagrin, coffees, beers and refreshments were paid for with fiat money. 

Daniel Prince, co-host to the United Kingdom’s second biggest Bitcoin podcast, Once Bitten, told Cointelegraph that Bitcoin adoption at the conference and surrounding area was poor:

“The casino guys are not orange-pilled, they’re only accepting cash or card as payment. Even though, I just asked ‘I wanna pay you guys in Bitcoin,’ but no, they’re not set up.”

Nonetheless, while the waves crashed around the Bitcoin bubble on Biarritz’s La Grande Plage, the waves of Bitcoin adoption were meager by comparison. From interviews snatched with street vendors, merchants, churros sellers and even surfers, Cointelegraph reporters learned that the area was “no coiner” territory. Nobody in the surrounding area had transacted with Bitcoin; no one could accurately describe the cryptocurrency or even recognize the Bitcoin “B” on a t-shirt or conference logo.

There was one exception. The 19-year-old driver of Biarritzs’ sightseeing tour train, Le Petit Train, had a crypto story to share. The train conductor reportedly bought Bitcoin when he was 14 — when the price was around $500 — but sadly, he had lost access to his seed phrase to the 2.36 BTC. He joked that’s why he was working as a train driver over the summer.

The Stackin Sats team hit a dead-end for Bitcoin payments when the mayor of the Biarritz region reportedly halted the conference hall bars from accepting Bitcoin. As such, Bitcoiners were obliged to hodl their coins and spend their euros instead. That didn’t discourage many of the Bitcoiners — including Prince — from orange-pilling local merchants such as taxi drivers and surf instructors. After all, Bitcoin is a grassroots, community-driven movement.

Tonnellier interviewed by Cointelegraph on the terrace.

Josselin Tonnellier, a co-founder of the conference, told Cointelegraph that the French crypto scene is dominated by blockchain companies, not Bitcoin advocates. In an exclusive interview, he lamented that the French fail to discern Bitcoin and blockchain. There there is a lot more education to be done, he said, as “pro blockchain narratives” hinder adoption in his home country. 

Related: Bitcoin is for those in need, the rest need time to learn: Surfin Bitcoin panel

In an attempt to encourage no coiners, the first day of the conference was free entry. The open day, called “Surfin Day,” enticed locals to dip their toes in the balmy Bitcoin waters. There was a Satoshi-inspired treasure hunt, a surf competition to win Sats and a screening of the popular French Bitcoin documentary, Le Mystère de Satoshi. The day promoted exchange and discussion “between participants of a growing Bitcoin community.”

It appears to have worked. At a surf shop up the street from the conference, local Cécile told Cointelegraph on Aug. 28 that not only did she attend the Surfin Day, but she was inspired to learn more about Bitcoin. “Bitcoin is not as difficult as it first seemed,” she explained in French. Maybe she’ll accept Bitcoin in time for next year’s edition of Surfin Bitcoin.

However, with flagrant reminders that Bitcoin uses more energy than “insert small to medium-sized country here” and that “unhosted wallets” should be banned and faced with grueling Know Your Customer laws, it’s no wonder that Bitcoin adoption in France is slow. The European Union’s stance on Bitcoin is clear-cut: regulation is coming and Bitcoin will be lumped together with every other crypto project.

Bitcoin adoption in France will undoubtedly remain a ripple as the price continues to tread water. To make waves, Bitcoin would require a swell of positive public sentiment or a pro-Bitcoin splash from Macron — France’s anti-crypto leader — or the European Union, which shows no sign of abating its Bitcoin bashing.

The Bitcoin Boat, called Sato Boat, set sail on the final day of the conference. Faced with a calm sea and an extended bear market, the Bitcoin adage, “stay humble, stack sats,” springs to mind. Overall, Surfin Bitcoin is “ze place to be” for the French Bitcoin believers, but there’s a lot of work and a heck of a journey ahead for the French Bitcoin scene to achieve greater levels of adoption.

Bon voyage. 

Crypto Biz: A Futurist take on crypto

The 2022 Blockchain Futurist conference in Toronto, Canada wrapped up this week. DeFi and institutional adoption of crypto were high on the agenda.

You might not know it, but Canada is quietly becoming a major player in the blockchain and crypto scene: Ethereum has strong Canadian roots, Toronto-based 3iQ launched North America’s first physically-settled Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) and the percentage of active crypto holders in the country has increased steadily over the past two years. 

Against this backdrop, I had the pleasure of attending this year’s Blockchain Futurist Conference in Toronto, where I got to moderate two panels on rebuilding the financial system through Web3 and onboarding the next wave of crypto users. The event served as another reminder that the industry’s brightest minds are still building amazing products despite current market conditions. Not to sound overly cliche, but it’s hard to be bearish on digital assets if you adopt a low-time preference.

Blockchain Futurist Conference 2022 opening day, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

DeFi needs a ‘killer app’ to go next level, says Ripple exec

You can’t have a proper conversation about the future of digital assets without talking about decentralized finance (DeFi). One of the most stimulating panels at Futurist, titled “The Future of Decentralized Finance,” featured the head of DeFi markets at Ripple Labs, the founder of Teller Finance and executives from Aventus Ventures and FLUIDEFI. According to Ripple Labs’ Boris Alergant, the institutional adoption of DeFi is coming next — but not before the industry creates the next “killer app” to really pique interest.

Wealth managers and VCs are helping drive institutional crypto adoption — Wave Financial execs

The crypto bear market has instilled a lot of fear in retail investors. But, for institutions and venture funds, adoption has been ramping up. At Futurist, I had the opportunity to interview two executives from asset management firm Wave Financial, who explained that high-net-worth individuals and institutional investors are increasing their exposure to digital assets. During the last bear market, institutions were asking, Is this the end of crypto? Now, the question seems to be much more around, Is this the right time to get in?

Coinbase posts $1.1B loss in Q2 on ‘fast and furious’ crypto downturn

We all know the crypto exchange business got nuked in the second quarter due to the bear market. As it turns out, the performance of top crypto exchange Coinbase was worse than expected. The company booked a massive $1.1 billion loss between April and June, easily its worst quarter since going public in 2021. Revenues were also down 45.1% quarter-on-quarter and 153.1% compared with year-ago levels. Although crypto prices have rebounded modestly over the past month, retail interest and trading volumes remain low. That means there could be more pain in store for Coinbase in the short term.

Amid miner capitulation, Hut 8 maintained BTC ‘HODL strategy’ in July

Some of the world’s largest Bitcoin miners have been selling their bags to finance operations during the bear market — but not Hut 8. The Canadian mining company, which trades publicly on the Nasdaq and Toronto stock exchanges, maintained its diamond hands in July as its Bitcoin reserves grew to 7,736 BTC. Hut 8 maintains an active “HODL strategy” that involves depositing all self-mined BTC into custody. The company’s resolve is truly impressive given how fast and hard Bitcoin’s price has fallen.

Don’t miss it! Is your SOL safe?

Solana was the target of another coordinated attack this month after hackers stole roughly $8 million in crypto from ecosystem wallet Slope. Possibly due to its ambitious design and security trade-offs to achieve higher throughput, Solana has been the target of several exploits over the past year. This leads us to the vital question: Is your Solana (SOL) actually safe? In this week’s Market Report, analysts Marcel Pechman, Yashu Gola and Benton Yaun debate whether SOL investors should be legitimately concerned. You can watch the full replay below.

Crypto Biz is your weekly pulse of the business behind blockchain and crypto delivered directly to your inbox every Thursday.

Korea Blockchain Week, Aug. 9: Second-day takeaways from the Cointelegraph team

Discussions about the Metaverse dominated the final day of Korea Blockchain Week’s mainstage conference.

Korea Blockchain Week (KBW) 2022 wrapped up its two-day mainstage events this evening, which again saw a number of influential speakers take to the podium including Janine Yorio of Everyrealm, Yat Siu of Animoca Brands and Sky Mavis’ Jeffrey Zirlin.

Held at the Grand Intercontinental Seoul Parnas, the second-day conference saw thousands of attendees engaged across three conference tracks — Stage Seoul, Stage Busan and Stage Jeju.

The majority of the discussions on the second day focused on the future of the Metaverse, and the strategies that Web3 companies are taking to grow the industry. Given that the event was based in Korea, many were interested in the many exciting Web3 projects coming out of the Korean blockchain scene. The two-day event turned in a very large attendance despite Seoul experiencing some torrential rain over the last few days.

But, it’s not quite over yet for KBW 2022 attendees, who will continue networking throughout the night and the rest of the week over countless side events. From 7:00 pm KST, KBW and Upclub will be hosting an exclusive afterparty for KBW attendees at People The Terras in Gangnam-gu in Seoul.

Later in the night, the “KBW Official After After Party” will kick off at Club Oriental Jack in Seoul, with the festivities running from 11:00 pm KST to 6:00 am KST for the brave.

For those that couldn’t make it to Seoul for KBW 2022, the Cointelegraph team on the ground in Korea has highlighted some of the key discussions from the second day of the conference.

Ready Player One’ gave us the misconception that the Metaverse is VR — Everyrealm CEO

Everyrealm CEO Janine Yorio believes that Steven Spielberg’s film Ready Player One presents a myriad of misconceptions about the Metaverse, mainly due to the fact that “the protagonist is wearing a VR headset.”

Pictured:  Janine Yorio, CEO, Everyrealm

In the presentation, Yorio highlighted that because humans like to “interact with technologically” which is historically 18 inches from our faces, VR headsets can present a number of adoption challenges.

Related: Experts clash on where virtual reality sits in the Metaverse

Digital property rights key to thriving Web3 economy — Animoca’s Yat Siu

Co-founder of Hong Kong-based venture firm Animoca Brands Yat Siu believes that on-chain digital property rights are one of the main aspects of blockchain technology that will drive a more decentralized society.

Related: Metaverse housing bubble bursting? Virtual land prices crash 85% amid waning interest

Siu believes Web2 companies have had their day with “controlling our data,” and now blockchain-based applications can provide digital ownership to content creators themselves.

Pictured: Yat Siu, Chairman and Co-Founder, Animoca Brands

Axie Infinity to “double-down” on the Korean market

Sky Mavis, the firm behind play-to-earn (P2E) heavyweight Axie Infinity outlined intentions to “double down” in South Korea and ramp up adoption of the game.

Sky Mavis co-founder and growth lead Jeffrey Zirlin spoke to Cointelegraph and noted that despite the domestic ban on P2E games still being in place, the “Korean market is one of the most important gaming markets in the world, and we have tons of players in South Korea.”

Related: Vitalik Buterin proposes stealth addresses for anonymous NFT ownership

Zirlin added that the company is currently looking at ways to tailor the Axie Infinity game to its cohort of Korean gamers:

“I think you know, we want to double down. We want to localize for example, Koreans don’t speak much English, right? So there are actually a lot of barriers to actually getting the game into the hands of Korean players.”

20 million JavaScript devs can now build applications on NEAR

Near Protocol founder Illia Polosukhin spoke to Cointelegraph after the protocol rolled out its JavaScript Software Development Kits (JS SDKs), effectively opening Near’s floodgates to 20 million global Javascript developers.

During KBW 2022, Polosukhin emphasized that the move will open up the niche field of blockchain development to a substantially broader audience, such as students looking to dip their toes into the blockchain and people in the commercial sector looking to accelerate their projects.

Related: How to get a job in the Metaverse and Web3

“There’s about 20 million JavaScript developers in the world. Probably like every developer one way or another wrote JavaScript in their life. And what we allow you to do is to write smart contracts in JavaScript,” said Polosukhin.

Positivity blazing through a bear market: Blockchain Economy Istanbul 2022

The Blockchain Economy Istanbul 2022 summit made one thing clear: The positivity of the crypto ecosystem remains unfazed by the turbulent market shakeouts.

Held at Hilton Bomonti — a fancy hotel next to a renovated and repurposed beer factory in Istanbul — the fourth iteration of the Blockchain Economy Summit 2022 (BE2022) proved to be a significant step-up compared to its pre-pandemic predecessors.

The previous summit, BE2020, was held at the WOW Convention Center two years back. In addition to being situated in a harder-to-reach part of Istanbul, the summit coincided with the COVID-19 outbreak, further impacting the overall attendance. Since the sole purpose of that venue was organizing large-scale events, the crypto community from two years prior was just not big enough to fill the space. As a direct result of the aforementioned factors, the BE2020 felt like a two-day trip to a ghost town.

Attendees of Blockchain Economy Istanbul 2022 described the summit as dense, vivid and full of energy, drawing a stark contrast to the BE2020 in almost every aspect. It was also the first international crypto and blockchain event held in the region ever since Turkey revoked travel ban restrictions. As a result, the crypto community members — from Western and Eastern countries — could join in on the celebration.

The event roster had a good balance between the local companies and global crypto players. While big shots like Binance, Huobi or FTX were visibly absent from the event, logos of major companies like KuCoin, Gate.io, Bitget, Bitmex and Uphold were filling the main hall. Despite its recent troubles, Gari Network donned the main sponsor badge for the whole event.

For two days, the main hall never saw a dull moment: People were there mainly for networking purposes after two years filled with lockdowns and travel bans —and it’s hard to say they missed much by not attending sessions at the main conference stage.

The Cointelegraph ground team enjoying a special goat milk-based Turkish ice cream called “Maraş dondurması.”

Sure, some exciting names like MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor (although he joined via video call) or Davinci Jeremie, the “Please Just Buy One Bitcoin” guy, were on the keynote schedule. But, unfortunately, the program saw greater participation of more local or regional speakers than necessary for an international event of this scale — and the supercooling in the conference room didn’t help either.

People got chilled, lost interest in the simultaneous translation and headed back to the main area where a giant-sized samurai dog statue from the blockchain-based battle royale game Katana Inu welcomed them in an intimidating way. The best part? Most keynote speakers made themselves available for a little chat in the main hall after their stage performances.

KuCoin Labs head Lou Yu explaining latest trends in Web3 development

Cointelegraph reached out to several keynote speakers for some quick commentary and in-depth conversations, including KuCoin Labs head Lou Yu and AAX exchange executive Ben Caselin.

The BE2022 event was most beneficial for the young and talented developers of the community, of which Turkey houses plenty. During the event, Ali Dursun was able to pitch his blockchain gaming ecosystem Ratic to an array of global exchanges and venture capitals. Aybars Dorman introduced Metavest, a fresh take on decentralized finance (DeFi), to the participants, and Yotta21 founder Yunus Cebeci made important industry contacts at the smoking area.

Zignaly co-founder Abdul Rafay Gadit explaining their project to Cointelegraph business development executive Anton Kabatov and editor Erhan Kahraman

Two things were clear: First, the COVID-19 pandemic could not slow down the crypto ecosystem’s growth. For many participants, Blockchain Economy Istanbul 2022 was their first networking experience with the rest of the industry, and they thrived in making the most of it. And second, no matter how bearish a crypto market gets, the price fluctuations can’t shake down the positivity of the crypto ecosystem.

Considering everything that transpired during the event, the Blockchain Economy Istanbul 2022 summit solidified that no matter the market conditions, the crypto ecosystem is ready to invest time, money and energy to stay positive.

The UK ‘Bitcoin Adventure’ shows BTC is a family affair

A family-friendly day out in the southwest of the U.K. got the kids, adults and grandparents on their feet, learning about magic internet money and dancing to Bitcoin tunes.

Bitcoin (BTC) is for everyone: toddlers, kids, hard rockers and even racing pigs. At the “Bitcoin Adventure” held in Avon Valley, near Bristol, Bitcoiners and hobbyists shared their knowledge, quips and personal journeys down the Bitcoin rabbit hole despite the predictably wet United Kingdom weather. Better still, Bitcoin’s “toxic maximalism” was MIA.

A world-first for a Bitcoin meetup, the “Adventure” took place at a wildlife park. So while some of the U.K.’s household name Bitcoiners headlined the main stage, the 250 attendees who bought tickets, (payment in BTC, naturally) could also play with the park’s furry Bitcoiner mascots: petting goats, cuddling rabbits and spectating pig racing. 

The day’s adventure laid out. Source: Cointelegraph

Organizer DB told Cointelegraph that the “Aim was to create a family-friendly Bitcoin event to bring people together from across the U.K., to share ideas and learn in a relaxed, family environment.” 

“Although confident it could be a success, this was stepping into the unknown in many ways. However, the positive feedback from all involved has been incredible and the event exceeded our expectations.”

From Zoomers to Boomers—and with a gender balance that most Bitcoin meetups can only aspire to—the Bitcoin Adventure was a grassroots display to compliment the decentralized movement. There were zero corporate sponsors, “shadowy super coders” or bad actors using Bitcoin to bewilder the banks — there were only “people giving up their time to educate others.”

In fact, the slipperiest customers were probably the mob of mischievous meerkats:

For some punters, the Bitcoin Adventure was a day to lose their Lightning Network virginity. Bars accepted Bitcoin over the Lightning Network using CoinCorner point of sale (PoS) devices—of Bitcoin #LightningLunch fame—while QR code stickers with “free sats here” were hidden around the wildlife park. Plus, Bitcoin stickers, novelty socks and even cufflinks could be bagged for a few Satoshis. 

Ben Arc of LNBits, a self-proclaimed Bitcoin FOSS (free open sourced software) hobbyist, delivered a  stimulating presentation on open source tools. He could be found tinkering away on LN hardware devices and QR code readers, on hand to answer questions no matter how dippy or detailed. 

The day’s talks ranged from lessons on multi-signature wallets, thanks to Neil Woodfine of Unchained Capital to the risks and rewards of Bitcoin mining from analyst and miner, Jason Deane; and popular podcaster Daniel Prince and Nathan Day topped off proceedings with a discussion about Bitcoin, homeschooling and travel. Their kids then “stormed the stage” to answer questions. 

“World schooling for Bitcoiners” talk. Source: Cointelegraph

Jordan Walker, CEO of the Bitcoin Collective (the U.K.’s first Bitcoin conference) and event MC, mingled among those new to the digital, decentralized currency. And while the over 18s congregated at the bar to pay for pints using the Lightning Network and discuss the day’s finer details, kids had a wealth of Bitcoin-themed activities to keep them occupied and entertained. Organizer DB explains:

“Learning through play for children is important and Bitcoin Ballers, Zebedee, Gamertron and Robotechy gave children the opportunity to have fun and learn about Bitcoin.”

Coach Carbon, the Bitcoin football coach behind Bitcoin Ballers was helping toddlers to teenagers “get off zero” with an inflatable football goal. Elsewhere, Bitcoin gaming and even “explaining Bitcoin using playdoh” were featured as child-friendly Bitcoin presentations. Education for kids is a growing subset of Bitcoin learning as more and more authors and educators create content with their offspring in mind.

The team from Bitcoin Racing showcased one of the fastest-moving advertisements for Bitcoin and El Salvador. Bitcoin “minors” took to the driving seat of the Citroen C1 adorned with an El Salvador flag that will be racing around the United Kingdom in the coming months:

Arguably, the Adventure’s highlight and the hidden gem was Roger 9000, a vivacious Bitcoin musician. The one-man band rounded off the day by rocking out to Satoshi-inspired songs. Lyrics included “Bitcoin is the love machine,” while the song “Alle Canada,” is a battle cry for the Bitcoin-backed trucker protests in North America. 

As the sun set on the inaugural event, many attendees pitched tents in the campgrounds. For organizer DB, the plan is to “let the dust settle, sit down in the coming weeks and run through the day—what we could have done differently and what we could improve on.” 

“We will then put the wheels in motion for The Bitcoin Adventure 2023″.

Let’s hope that by next summer’s Bitcoin Adventure, there will be no more signs of a bear meerkat.