By Susie Violet Ward · City A.M. · 23 May 2023
Written as a City A.M. column in May 2023, the piece reflects on the Bitcoin Conference 2023 in Miami. The column singles out the Mining Stage and Lounge and the Bitcoin Mining Museum, which it describes as the highlight. It also describes discomfort at the contrast between wealth and street poverty in Miami, and criticises exclusive areas for large holders and a culture of hero worship as contrary to bitcoin’s inclusive nature.
Peter McCormack of What Bitcoin Did represented his hometown of Bedford on the Nakamoto Stage, which the column sees as a symbol of bitcoin’s power to lift overlooked communities. It disputes Stacy Herbert’s claim that the most brilliant minds in bitcoin were moving to El Salvador, while accepting that hostility from the US, EU or UK could cause a brain drain. The column calls for future conferences, starting with Nashville, to focus on equality, collaboration and education.