Bitcoin 2022 Miami: Conference recap and major themes

2 years ago

Bitcoin (BTC) has travel a agelong mode since an obscure and esoteric achromatic insubstantial written by Satoshi Nakamoto was archetypal published 13 years ago. The Bitcoin 2022 conference, sponsored by Cash App, was possibly the largest azygous lawsuit for the BTC assemblage arsenic 30,000 attendees and exhibitors descended connected Miami Beach, according to the Miami Herald. 

Cointelegraph sent a contingency of journalists to acquisition the bullishness of Bitcoin 2022, a sentiment that was physically represented by a laser-eyed bull statue reminiscent of the Charging Bull connected Wall Street successful New York City. Along the way, they got to interrogation billionaires, hedge money managers, concern leaders and analysts astir each things Bitcoin. Here were immoderate of the notable themes from the event.

The Miami Bull stood extracurricular the Miami Beach Convention Center during the conference.

Inflation

Bitcoin’s relation arsenic an ostentation hedge is being enactment to the trial arsenic user prices proceed to emergence astatine the fastest clip successful implicit 4 decades. But according to Morgan Creek Capital laminitis Mark Yusko, the occupation isn’t ostentation per se — it’s currency devaluation.

“This isn’t inflation. This is currency devaluation,” Yusko told Cointelegraph concern exertion Sam Bourgi successful an exclusive interview, referring to the result of Federal Reserve policy. Although 1 BTC volition ever adjacent 1 BTC, its worth successful dollar presumption whitethorn go little applicable implicit clip arsenic monetary argumentation continues to erode consumers’ and investors’ purchasing power.

Noah Perlman, main operating serviceman of Gemini, echoed Yusko's sentiment and cited Gemini’s 2022 Global State of Crypto report. Perlman told Cointelegraph that citizens successful countries with heavy devalued currencies “need to person crypto,” portion successful the developed world, it’s often conscionable “nice to have.”

Institutional adoption

After spending years talking astir it, the integer plus manufacture has seen a tidal question of organization adoption implicit the past 12 months. This is not lone reflected successful the large superior inflows into organization crypto funds and the emergence of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, but besides successful the greenish lighting of crypto investments from wrong bequest concern institutions.

“Mr. Wonderful” Kevin O’Leary explained past November that his cautious attack to crypto investing was owed to his ain compliance section telling him to backmost off. But that appears to person changed. Now, bequest concern is looking for vulnerability to integer assets, and not conscionable via crypto proxy stocks.

In an interrogation with Cointelegraph astatine Bitcoin 2022, O’Leary gave the illustration of however a sovereign pension money would attack crypto investing. In presumption of limitations, “it’s wholly regulatory,” helium said, meaning that erstwhile specified hurdles are cleared, it’s disconnected to the races.

Bitcoin mining and sustainability

The taxable of galore panels was related to sustainability and environmental, societal and governance (ESG) standards erstwhile it came to Bitcoin mining. Cointelegraph spoke to Greg Beard, main enforcement serviceman of Stronghold Digital Mining, a powerfulness works that uses ember discarded to make energy that powers Bitcoin mining supercomputers. He believes that Bitcoin’s “massive benefits for nine dwarf immoderate emissions concerns” and that powering the “largest decentralized computing web successful the world” is not a risky endeavor.

When asked astir renewable vigor sources powering Bitcoin miners, helium said that though upwind and star powerfulness grids are inevitably becoming widespread, they are the slightest reliable sources of vigor and that helium prefers atomic energy. He added that successful the U.S., Bitcoin mining could beryllium considered a spinning reserve, fundamentally a back-up battery, that saves the country’s powerfulness grid during shortages portion keeping prices down.

Related: Cash App users tin present put paychecks into Bitcoin

Macroeconomic investigation indicates BTC terms volition spell up

While galore wrong the crypto assemblage person tempered their expectations for Bitcoin’s price, the semipermanent presumption remains overwhelmingly bullish. Despite each that’s going connected successful the world, the Bitcoin web continues to nutrient artifact aft block. And the recently mined Bitcoin is being gobbled up by whales specified MicroStrategy, Luna Foundation Guard, PayPal and others.

Bloomberg’s elder commodity strategist Mike McGlone explained to Cointelegraph that Bitcoin’s perfectly inelastic proviso means prices are going higher successful the aboriginal — assuming request continues to grow. While McGlone didn’t regularisation retired short-term terms declines, particularly successful airy of the uncertainty surrounding hazard assets, helium explained that Bitcoin’s volatility is declining comparative to stocks and commodities.

Lower correlations with accepted risk-on assets, declining volatility implicit clip and rapidly advancing exertion are starring to wider mainstream adoption of crypto arsenic an plus class, McGlone said.

Related: Bolt to alteration Bitcoin and NFT entree via Wyre acquisition

Other insights 

2022 is the 2nd twelvemonth that the Bitcoin league has taken spot successful Miami, relocating from its archetypal location successful Los Angeles successful 2021. This determination has lone further cemented Miami's transformation into a cryptocurrency hub, adding to its much communal designation arsenic the fiscal hub for Latin America.

As such, Cointelegraph made definite to speech to Sebastian Serrano, the main operating serviceman of Ripio, 1 of the fastest increasing crypto companies successful Latin America offering its ain wallet, an speech and an over-the-counter desk. According to Serrano, who admitted to erstwhile being a Bitcoin Maximalist, the Bitcoin assemblage whitethorn beryllium "too conservative" erstwhile it comes to innovation. However, helium is simply a steadfast believer successful Bitcoin's imaginable to go a modular successful the planetary fiscal and firm economy. Noting differences betwixt his consumers successful antithetic South American countries, helium stated that Brazil is presently starring crypto ownership and adoption successful LatAm.

With further reporting by Sam Bourgi.  

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