KEYTAKEAWAYS
- RFK Jr. promises tax-free Bitcoin transactions and massive government BTC purchases if elected president.
- Senator Lummis proposes Treasury buy 1 million BTC over 5 years to hedge against dollar devaluation.
- Edward Snowden highlights privacy concerns in Bitcoin transactions, challenging common misconceptions about anonymity.
CONTENT
Bitcoin 2024: RFK Jr.’s crypto executive orders, Lummis’ million-BTC Treasury plan, and Snowden’s privacy warnings. Plus, the crypto world grapples with gender imbalance.
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The Bitcoin 2024 Conference in Nashville, Tennessee wrapped up on July 27th. With Trump and a couple of other high-profile speakers in attendance, the conference not only became a hot topic of discussion but also put crypto back in the national spotlight.
Trump’s speech, in particular, ignited bullish sentiment when he claimed he’d establish a national strategic Bitcoin reserve if elected and fire SEC Chair Gary Gensler on day one. This gave the crypto community a glimmer of hope that the current administration’s hostile stance on crypto might come to an end, pumping up market confidence. But what other notable statements and phenomena emerged from the conference?
BITCOIN 2024 CONFERENCE: ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR.
As the most active presidential candidate at the Bitcoin conference, he promised to issue three Bitcoin-related executive orders if elected:
- Directing the DOJ and U.S. Marshals to transfer about 200,000 BTC held by the government to the Treasury as a strategic reserve asset.
- Signing a separate order for the Treasury to buy 550 BTC daily until U.S. reserves hit 4 million BTC.
- Issuing guidelines declaring all Bitcoin-dollar transactions non-reportable and tax-free.
Taking a shot at his rival, Kennedy criticized Trump’s crypto stance: “I welcome President Trump’s new enthusiasm for Bitcoin. But he’s only weeks into the Bitcoin dialogue. In 2021, Trump said that BTC was just a scam. …Bitcoin is about our souls. It’s about our values. President Trump needs to explain how his personal values align with those of Bitcoiners.”
BITCOIN 2024 CONFERENCE: SENATOR CYNTHIA LUMMIS
Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis also dropped some bullish news. She announced plans to propose that the U.S. Treasury purchase 1 million Bitcoin (worth about $68 billion at current prices) over five years to hedge against dollar devaluation.
“Bitcoin is a great store of value. Over the last four years or so it has increased about 55% per year. During the same period, the U.S. dollar has declined in value and we’ve seen increasing inflation, So it would be of value, in my opinion, to have a hard asset that backs the U.S. dollar and that grows in value instead of declines in value.”
The bill would require the Treasury to self-custody the Bitcoin in “multiple geographic locations” and hold the tokens for at least 20 years unless sold to “reduce debt.”
Lummis stated: “We know from modeling the numbers and past experience with bitcoin, that it is capable of being an absolute game changer for the mess the United States has gotten itself into with its debt and its deficits.” Additionally, the Treasury should custody about 210,000 BTC accumulated through criminal seizures by the DOJ and other agencies.
Lummis has long been a Bitcoin hodler, buying her first coins in 2013 and standing at the forefront of crypto legislation.
BITCOIN 2024 CONFERENCE: EDWARD SNOWDEN
Former NSA employee Edward Snowden emphasized the pitfalls of political allegiance and privacy issues surrounding Bitcoin in his keynote speech.
He argued that Bitcoin transactions are not anonymous and can be traced to individuals, posing privacy risks. While many mistakenly believe Bitcoin transfers provide complete anonymity, Snowden clarified that most transactions can be linked through various channels, such as regulated exchanges. This linkage enables transaction history tracking, potentially revealing sensitive information about users’ lives and relationships. Transaction tracking has broader implications beyond just Bitcoin, affecting all forms of crypto transactions.
Despite the bullish sentiment at the conference, it wasn’t all moonshots and Lamborghinis.
BITCOIN 2024 CONFERENCE: GENDER DISCRIMINATION PHENOMENON?
Some pointed out that, like Wall Street and Silicon Valley, the crypto industry also suffers from gender discrimination.
According to DL News, only about 13% of Bitcoin 2024 speakers were women. This is down from about 17% in 2019, with the percentage of female speakers hovering between 13% and 16% in subsequent years.
(source: DL News)
A study found that women made up 25% of keynote or solo speakers at global tech conferences from 2016 to 2018. Another survey across various industries found that male speakers still outnumber female speakers two to one. According to Forbes, all 17 of the wealthiest billionaires in the crypto industry are men.
Meanwhile, X is rife with malicious posts about women.
Many on X use profane and misogynistic terms to describe long-time crypto critic Senator Elizabeth Warren. Someone even created a memecoin called WHOREN, apparently alluding to the senator.
A recent report by the Association of Women in Cryptocurrency, a non-profit advocating for women’s participation in Web3, highlighted gender disparities in the industry.
In late 2023, the organization surveyed about 400 women in the crypto industry and found that 82% of respondents believed sexual harassment existed in the industry.
Bitcoin 2024 invited British artist Russell Brand as a speaker, despite four women accusing him of sexual assault, including rape. Brand, who is under investigation by British police, denies these allegations.
This isn’t a good look for an industry on the verge of mainstream adoption.
It’s worth noting that some crypto companies have pushed back against gender discrimination. For example, London-based Zodia Custody dropped its partner Copper after the latter hosted a party with a rather lewd theme at an industry conference in March.
Neel Somani, founder of blockchain Eclipse, left the company after allegations of sexual misconduct spread on X, with investors urging his departure.
Bitcoin 2024 has considered gender inclusivity. According to the conference agenda, a “Women’s Brunch” was held on the 25th.
>>> Read more:
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Trump’s Bitcoin Conference Speech Summary: A Turning Point for Crypto in American Politics
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Bitcoin Nears ATH: Trump’s Speech to Trigger Parabolic Rise?
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