Scotland

UK forms Bitcoin Policy org to boost BTC education and adoption

A Bitcoin-only policy organization in the United Kingdom seeks to steer a course for greater levels of BTC adoption.

God save our gracious coin, and long live the coin. A team of entrepreneurs, environmentalists and Bitcoin (BTC) advocates have assembled to back Bitcoin in Britain.

Bitcoin Policy UK (BPUK) unites stakeholders, policymakers, environmentalists, tax specialists, Bitcoin experts and miners to “unlock the potential of Bitcoin” in Britain and explore how the decentralized currency’s burgeoning industry could benefit U.K. households, businesses and communities.

BPUK’s primary objectives are to drive investment, generate and prepare students for the Bitcoin jobs of the future, raise awareness and education, and explore the use of wasted and stranded energy resources for Bitcoin mining.

Freddie New, BPUK’s head of policy, told Cointelegraph that “the genesis of this project was the Bitcoin Collective Conference in Edinburgh” — the U.K.’s largest Bitcoin conference, taking place in fall 2022.

Bitcoin advocates Natalie Brunell, Lawrence Lepard, Greg Foss and Jeff Booth on stage at the Bitcoin Collective in 2022. Source: Bitcoin Collective

New told Cointelegraph that most of the team had been working on Bitcoin advocacy in one way or another before the conference, “but coming together like this will enable us to formalize these efforts and focus on three key related areas.” He continued:

“Getting clear and correct information on Bitcoin to policymakers and regulators, highlighting the environmental and sustainability benefits of the mining industry, and collating and providing educational resources for the next generation of Bitcoiners.”

Some of the advisers and board members are familiar to Cointelegraph readers. Author and journalist DecentraSuze, whose son recently introduced Bitcoin to the classroom, is a director, while Jordan Walker, co-founder of The Bitcoin Collective, and Mark Morton are advisers. Morton’s Bitcoin mining company, Scilling Digital Mining, was featured in a recent Cointelegraph mini-documentary:

Walker told Cointelegraph that the BPUK is an important piece of the collective puzzle to drive Bitcoin education in the U.K.:

“It’s time for the UK to step up when it comes to embracing new technologies such as Bitcoin, otherwise we risk getting left behind.” 

New told Cointelegraph that the BPUK is not-for-profit. To operate, it hopes to raise funds through the community, tapping into the growing trend of funding projects with satoshis, or small amounts of BTC, via the Lightning Network, a layer-2 instant payment solution built atop Bitcoin.

Part of the team’s mission is to locate and harness renewable, wasted or stranded energy across the U.K., New explained. 

“We’re working […] to identify potential sites for sustainable mining, and our aim is to develop some small mining installations to use as ‘proof-of-concept’ sites.

He continued with the plan: “We can then invite British policymakers to these sites so they can see mines in action and hopefully understand more about the industry’s potential to mitigate vented methane, provide demand response for renewable grids, or simply act as a customer for energy that is otherwise wasted.”

The bagpiper procession that brought the Bitcoin Collective conference to a close. Source: YouTube 

The U.K. has burgeoning renewable energy sources but lacks in hash rate (a measure of the Bitcoin protocol’s security). According to the Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance, the U.K. supports 0.23% of the global monthly hash rate, compared with the United States’ 37.84%.

This is partly due to electricity costs in the U.K. exceeding those of the U.S. and Asia, but also due to Bitcoin mining awareness — or a lack thereof — in the U.K. Moreover, legacy media platforms have taken aim at the Bitcoin mining industry in recent years — the Guardian critiqued Bitcoin as “digital beef” instead of “digital gold.”

A heat map of the monthly Bitcoin Mining hash rate. The U.K. is light orange, at 0.23%. Source: CCAF

BPUK highlighted that in light of the U.K.’s departure from the European Union, it could develop a Bitcoin and cryptocurrency regime separate from that of the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation in Europe. The European parliamentary committee on MiCA may threaten Bitcoin mining on the continent. 

BPUK co-founder Krista Edmunds took inspiration from El Salvador’s decision to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021. Edmunds explained:

“The U.K. has an immense opportunity to become one of the first jurisdictions globally to embrace Bitcoin. We have seen what is possible in El Salvador, which is experiencing huge gains due to its forward-thinking approach to Bitcoin. The U.K. can secure a similar competitive advantage, and we hope to support the British people in making that happen.”

On the governmental side, the policy group will have an opportunity to educate and inform. Lisa Cameron, a member of Parliament and chairperson of the Crypto and Digital Assets All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), told Cointelegraph in an interview last year: “We are on a learning curve, and it’s just very, very important because the U.K. government has a policy vision that the U.K. will become an international hub of cryptocurrency and digital assets.” She added that there was some confusion surrounding Bitcoin, central bank digital currencies and cryptocurrency. 

Cointelegraph’s Joe Hall speaks to MP Lisa Cameron in Edinburgh.

New explained that as a Bitcoin-only organization, the BPUK ultimately seeks to “make sure that Bitcoin is included in the government’s proposals, if not at the front and center.”

LinksDAO wins bid to buy its first golf course, says CEO

The successful bid comes a month after 88.6% of LinksDAO token holders voted in favor of putting in a “compelling offer” for the golf course in its governance vote.

The decentralized autonomous organization (DAO)-operated golf startup, LinksDAO is primed to become the new owner of the Spey Bay Golf Club in Scotland after successfully winning a bid to buy the course initially listed for just over $900,000.

After winning the bid, the DAO has entered into an exclusivity agreement with the vendor and will look to formally close the deal in early April.

In the meantime, the DAO is undergoing its “due diligence” phase before it officially puts pen to paper, CEO Jim Daily said in a Twitter Spaces eveon March 16.

While the initial listing was a tick over $900,000, a report from Golf Digest suggested the final sale price is expected to be higher. Links CEO Daily said that they’re not planning on revealing the purchase price until the contract is signed.

LinksDAO put in the highest offer over “several other potential buyers,” the report added.

LinksDAO — self-described as a “global group of golf enthusiasts” that is on a mission to build the “world’s greatest golf community” — put in the bid following a community vote that saw 88.6% of 4,300 LinksDAO members vote in favor of putting in an offer.

If the deal closes, it would be the DAO’s first golf course purchase.

The DAO is still “working through the details” of the course membership structure and hasn’t confirmed what benefits would be provided to LinksDAO token holders who wish to access the golf course.

As for the state of the golf course right now, Besvinick described it as “playable.”

“It’s good, it’s going to be getting a lot better soon and we think it’s going to be great by this time or springtime next year.”

If the deal is closed, Besvinick said that the DAO would keep the course open until it starts renovations.

Links is seeking advice from several architects to remodel the golf course, because it has “suffered from weather and erosion issues over recent decades,” head of strategy Adam Besvinick explained in the Twitter Spaces.

“Improved maintenance will elevate this site significantly,” he added.

Related: Types of DAOs and how to create a decentralized autonomous organization

Daily and Besvinick explained in its community proposal to purchase the course that the high ceiling to low price ratio of the Scottish course made it “too special to ignore.”

“Even a price triple the ‘guide price’ would be cheaper than most mediocre courses we have assessed thus far in the U.S.”

Cointelegraph reached out to Links for comment but did not receive an immediate response.

The UK’s largest Bitcoin conference comes to Scotland

Over 800 attendees are set to attend the United Kingdom’s largest international Bitcoin conference in Edinburgh, Scotland on Oct. 21.

The bear market won’t scuttle Bitcoin’s (BTC) adoption plans in the United Kingdom. From Oct. 21–22 this year, internationally recognized Bitcoin experts, authors and content creators will take part in the United Kingdom’s largest Bitcoin conference to date.

Organized by the Bitcoin Collective, a newly formed Bitcoin company, and in partnership with Bitcoin and crypto exchange OKX, the event takes place at the Assembly Rooms on Edinburgh’s George Street.

Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital city. Source: Telegraph.co.uk

Jordan Walker, CEO of the Bitcoin Collective, told Cointelegraph, “the conference is solely Bitcoin related, as this is our focus as we aim to inform and educate the collective.” In the press release, Walker added: 

“However, it’s not about buying or investing in Bitcoin, that’s a whole different discussion. Our focus is on education, so make sure to bring a notebook and pen!”

Speakers include Jeff Booth, author of The Price of Tomorrow, Greg Foss, Validus Power Corp strategist, Natalie Brunell, host of Coin Stories, and Samson Mow, CEO of Jan3. Booth told Cointelegraph that he’s “excited to meet fellow Bitcoiners and others just starting their journey in Scotland:”

“With a protocol level technology such as Bitcoin emerging and the confusion around it and what it means for the future, in-person events such as the Edinburgh conference are critical in broadening the awareness that Bitcoin is for everyone.’

The conference upholds education, community, inclusivity and open dialogue as defining principles. According to Haider Rafique, chief marketing officer at OKX, the conference “is just what the Bitcoin industry in the UK needs—the community itself rising up to say this is what we’re about, and this is why you should care.”

The conference venue, the Assembly Rooms on George Street. Source: Google

As Walker makes clear in the Bitcoin Collective podcast, the conference should serve as a catalyst for Bitcoin adoption in Scotland, while it “aims to capture as many diverse participants as possible both on and off the stage.” Bitcoin Collective operations director Lucy-Rose Walker explained that “Bitcoin is for all, and does not differentiate between gender, race or religion.”

Scotland’s capital, affectionately known as “Auld Reekie” to locals, is Scotland’s second-largest city. With a population of almost 500,000, it makes it slightly smaller than Glasgow. But, it more than compensates in history, architecture and music. Edinburgh attracts more cultural and historical events than Glasgow, including the world-renowned Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Hogmanay (among the world’s largest New Year’s celebrations).

Related: Coinbase seeking aggressive European expansion amid crypto winter

There were fledgling signs of Bitcoin adoption in Edinburgh throughout 2021, although the conference would hope to make waves in terms of nationwide adoption. Across the border in England, grassroots adoption stories are spreading while the Isle of Man — a British Crown Dependency — is fast becoming a “Bitcoin Island.”

British Bitcoiners feature among the speakers as Peter McCormack, podcaster behind What Bitcoin Did, Allen Farrington, author of Bitcoin is Venice, and Danny Scott, CEO of CoinCorner, have been announced as speakers to date. The conference is the inaugural Bitcoin Collective conference, with locations for the following years yet to be announced.