Hello everyone, welcome to BudgetHolics. Here’s a short overview of some key takeaways from the 2021 Bitcoin Conference. The entire event was around 17 hours long, but if you want to watch the full event, you can do so using the links below.
Francis Suarez, Mayor of Miami
The mayor of Miami said he envisions that his city will become the blockchain and mining capital of the world. Miami was the first city to accept bitcoin payments for fees and taxes, and now, employees can opt to get paid in bitcoin.
Jack Dorsey, Co-Founder & Chairman of Tweeter, Co-Founder & CEO of Square
Jack Dorsey’s speech was centred on the theme of Banking the Unbanked. Similarly to other bitcoin proponents before him, like Andreas Antonopoulos, he underlined that those who need bitcoin the most are residents of developing countries such as India, Ghana and Nigeria. He predicts that by 2025, 1 billion people will be using bitcoin. He also pointed out that his work is focused on increasing the speed of the protocol, and that Square is developing a hardware wallet.
Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy
Michael Saylor described bitcoin as the “apex form of human property”. He argued that it’s the only asset with true property rights, and the prime store of value for both individuals and businesses - drawing from his MicroStrategy experience. On the ESG front, he argued that bitcoin is the most efficient form of value creation ever invented.
Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss and Anthony Pompliano
The panelists argued that in contrast to gold, which has a simply scarce supply, which could increase in the future, bitcoin has a fixed supply, making it the ultimate store of value. They expect bitcoin to reach $1 million, hence, anyone owning even 1 bitcoin, will be a millionaire. The Winklevoss twins announced that they’re coming out with a new credit card that will reward 3% bitcoin cashback for every dollar transaction.
Nayib Bukele, President of El Salvador
The President of El Salvador announced that he plans to introduce legislation that will make it the world’s first sovereign nation to adopt bitcoin as legal tender. According to Morning Brew 70% of the population does not have a bank account and 20% of the country’s GDP comes from remittances, which are payments sent by Salvadorans living abroad back to the country. Bukele said that bitcoin could help streamline those cumbersome cross-border payments, while promoting “financial inclusion” for those left out of the system.
Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Investment Partners
Novogratz pointed out that all big banks, including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and J.P.Morgan are buying bitcoin. Similarly to institutional investors, he suggested that retail investors should start by allocating 3% of their holdings to cryptocurrency. He also pointed out that given the levels of inflation in the US, the EU and the UK, he expects bitcoin to become the Global Reserve Currency by 2023
