Bitcoin Miami 2023 (#1 Crypto Conference)! Why You Should Go!

People will sit there and they'll tell You their horror stories and they'll Make you feel better about you know the Dumb mistakes that you've made along the Way Um and so I think it really is a good Way to to get plugged in and um and Immerse kind of in the movement that's Taking place because we all got to Rally Together like I said I mean cbdc's are Coming the walls are closing in on us And uh the people who are kind of Kicking around uh the crypto Bitcoin Scene are probably the most tuned into What's happening and the most like on High alert and looking for Solutions so I think it's just really important to Get as many of those people Um engaged and active as we can [Music] Welcome back everybody to altcoin daily My name is Aaron joined with my brother Austin today happy to have friend of the Channel George McHale he is the head of Community at Bitcoin magazine and today He's here to tell us all about Bitcoin Miami Conference 2020 why would I want To go to this conference you know a lot Of people are going what's there to you Know you know what's the reason and We're going to be there so we're excited To talk to George about why you know You know why we're going basically uh George how's it going today it's going

Great thanks so much for having me back One quick correction Bitcoin 2023 is What's happening uh you're a few years Off it's fine what did I say 20 20. oh Damn anyway uh George uh would you Introduce yourself for our audience who Might not be familiar with you Definitely yeah so again my name is George I am head of community at Bitcoin Magazine I co-authored a book called Thank God for Bitcoin been in the Bitcoin space since 2017 I would say I Am most passionate about uh Bitcoin Meetups and building local community and Uh you know in real life events Including the conference but really Anytime you can get bitcoiners uh Together in the flesh that's what I Prefer you know Twitter Twitter and all That is fun and it's good it serves a Purpose but uh bitcoiners in real life Actually that's where we we first met we Met at a conference I did in La uh Bitcoin is and uh this is proof of Exactly what I'm saying we continue to Stay in touch and have a partnership Ship on the conference and just a good Friendship so that's me definitely still Got my Bitcoin is pen right yes dude Those pens are so clutch they just keep Going they're amazing got them Everywhere totally yeah Bitcoin is was Awesome but this one Bitcoin conference Miami like what is it

So the Bitcoin 2023 takes place on May 18th through the 20th so it's a Three-day event this year in Miami Miami Beach Convention Center uh it's the Largest Bitcoin conference in the world Last year we hosted uh just over 20 000 People we had 26 000 tickets sold about 23 000 people showed up and uh this year You know we're kind of slowly feels like We're coming out of the bear Market you Know not quite going to be 25 000 this year but maybe close to 18 okay It'll still be the still be the biggest Conference uh in the world biggest names In the space uh going to be in Attendance lots of fun things uh planned For for the event both the three days of The conference itself and in the Surrounding Miami area so yeah happy to Dive into any of the details but Basically that's kind of the high level Um look at what's going on we have over 2000 companies that are joining us Including over 250 sponsors Um and like 200 speakers that are going To be joining us for the conference so Should be a good time So you guys have you guys are the Biggest and in my personal experience From prior years you guys do have some Of the best speakers but what makes a Good crypto conference in general Because there's a lot of options out There for people in crypto yeah there

Are and I think it's a good reminder too That you know our our conference is Focused solely on bitcoin so we are Bitcoin only Um and that is one of the things that Sets us apart you know unlike some of The the competing conferences are uh Sort of more crypto broadly uh consensus Is definitely one of them we'll see if Consensus actually happens this year They've been I don't know if you've Heard but that whole thing is is a Struggle right now Um so certainly if you're looking to Learn more about Bitcoin specifically This is definitely the conference for You and you know the reason I love all Coin daily is because you guys have an Audience that I think of people who are Very curious just about the space in General and they don't Um necessarily know the differences Between uh Bitcoin and sort of Everything else and it's one of the Things that that educational component Is something I'm really passionate about Because there can be some like uh Hardliners who get really down on Anybody who even like mentions a Different coin and you know we've had a Lot of conversations around this but I Just think it's really important to take The approach of Education like you know When I first got into the space I messed

Around with ethereum and Litecoin and Did all the stuff and you know Eventually my journey led me to to Realize that you know Bitcoin is what I Wanted to focus on it was is the one That's uh the most unique and the one That I feel like has the most potential To actually facilitate human uh Freedom At the individual level and the Community level which is you know what I've been searching for is something That actually fights back against uh the System and uh the the people that have Our backs against the wall with with Printing the money and the inflation and All all the stuff that's happening in The world and the apocalypse that's Taking place right now so Um I don't know if that answers the Question but I think that's kind of one Of the main things that does set us Apart is that we're we're the largest We're Bitcoin only and uh you know it's The place that the industry Um makes major announcements too so We're known for Um you know surprise guest surprise Announcements uh El Salvador announcing That they were adopting uh uh Bitcoin Took place at our conference a couple Years ago Um so you can expect uh some more things Like that it's it's where companies kind Of all descend on Miami around this time

A lot of people have like their board Meetings and stuff because everybody's In town at the same time and so it's It's kind of a big Crescendo to what's Happening in the overall space so uh Definitely uh there's a lot of things That you don't want to miss Definitely what sets this conference Apart is I think the quality and variety Of speakers all on the topic of Bitcoin The broad topic of Bitcoin whether it's Mining whether it's you know human Rights a lot of different topics right Yeah exactly so we have an entire mining Stage mining experience that's just Dedicated to that side of things we have An open source stage where if that's Kind of more Um your your angle into what makes Bitcoin exciting uh we have content Dedicated for that specifically I'll be Giving a talk on community and why you Know getting together in real life is Important Um so there's something for everybody if You're more sort of the finance side of Things you know we'll have a lot of Great analysts and and people who have Been in the space uh varying degrees Right from Michael Saylor to Jack Mallers to Lynn Alden and uh so yeah There's something for everybody and it's Also it's like you know Bitcoin Disneyland in a lot of ways um and so

It's a it's a great place to and Families bring kids get them that Initial exposure bring a friend you know People who are curious are just like Kicking the tires around and trying to Figure out what's going on with this Whole Bitcoin thing it's a great Opportunity to just get some exposure That you really can't find anywhere else George who's the number one speaker You're excited to see Oh that is a great question there are so Many but I I would have to say I'm most Excited for Arthur Hayes who we just Announced Um Arthur Hayes is a bit of a polarizing Figure not sure if how familiar your Audience is with him but uh recently I Think I think served either house arrest Or something for Bank secrecy act Violation which if you know what that is It's basically like he didn't go through Or allegedly didn't go through some of Like the AML kyc stuff he was the Founder of bitmex the largest you know Derivatives exchange for Bitcoin correct Correct yes sorry that's important Context uh but then like what what Happened was he the feds kind of got him For some random violation of BSA got it And got his uh hand slapped a little bit Serving some time Um but I think what's funny about that Whole situation is his sort of alleged

Crimes are so much less than you know Spfs and SPF is not even facing anywhere Near the same amount of consequences so I mean that's an aside but I think it's Really cool that he's confirmed for our Event and people are kind of salty about That but I think he's got a great Perspective and I'm actually really Excited to hear from him he broke the Law in a cool way he said you know Allegedly broke the law to go away yes Yeah and he's a really that wasn't there I wasn't there right we don't know but He's a really Dynamic author you know uh He always writes really interesting Stuff I like as a speaker Um that will be a good one and then who Else so there's Michael Saylor there's Matt Odell there's Lynn Alden yep yep The you know the usual sort of Um uh Bitcoin Educators say if Dean will Be there Um a lot of exciting developments in the Space overall so I'm looking forward to Hearing from uh some of the people who Are involved in either Noster or even Some of this ordinal stuff I'm sure you Guys have been following is I I don't Know very much about it so I don't want To get too much into it but it's Interesting if nothing else right it Kind of proves out the whole it's Proving out the whole thesis of nfts Have some value and once you start

Putting them on bitcoin people are Paying attention it's got some really Interesting momentum and anytime Something is like controversial and it's Like that polarizing it's it's something To pay attention to Um so yeah definitely looking forward to Conversations and debates around that Um so yeah as far as speakers go that's Those are kind of some of the highlights But I'm also just excited for a lot of The other activations that we that we're Doing on site and and some of the um the Different things that you can get Involved with Um I don't know if you want to go into That but yeah like what do you mean Activations so when we call an Activation just anything that's like When you when you're walking through the Conference and you see someone that's Put on a game or someone has put like a Booth together where they're you know You can you can buy beer with lightning Or something like that Um so the one that I am excited about is I'm I'm spearheading something called The Bitcoin games Um which is going to be a competition a Series of competitions where local Meetups from around the world compete For a chance to win one full Bitcoin And uh so obviously as you know outside Of community is initiative that we're

Excited to be able to kind of give back And Um do in a fun way right so I think like Cornhole chess these meetups will form Teams and uh they'll all compete so the Winner walk away they'll get a full Bitcoin to take back to their Meetup and Invest in whatever it is that they're Doing so Um you know one of the things that we're Trying to encourage meetups to to work Towards ultimately is having their own Physical space Um and this is this is a challenge this Is something that I've noticed the more I I talk to organizers is is finding the Right venue for your your Meetup can be Really difficult and uh there's some Meetups that are leading the way and and Creating these models that I think are Really really Um uh effective and so we got Nashville With Bitcoin Park they've bought their Own facility you got Bitcoin Commons in Austin Pub Key in New York so they have Their own facility they can do whatever They want and and it's all when you walk In you know they can decorate the walls And they can do everything they're going To own the space and so having that one Bitcoin is an investment towards that Possible future is something that's Really exciting so the Bitcoin games is Going to be a great way to get people

Plugged into their local meetups and be Really thinking through like okay what Do I actually want out of this because Um a lot of times you show up to Conferences and you don't really know Kind of what the end goal is other than Oh I heard a cool talk or I got to see Some some friends which is great right There there are benefits to that Um but people ask like what what's the Goal like what do you want people to do When they leave the conference you know My answer is I want them to take that Energy back to their home City and Replicate it right like meet with the People who live in driving within Driving distance to you and get together Every couple weeks and keep the energy Of the momentum going so Um excited to connect people through the Bitcoin games with their local meetups Because a lot of people don't even know That those are taking place so So this is the chance for somebody to Win one full Bitcoin or a meet-up to win One full Bitcoin so Um the winning City basically gets it as A as their prize and then they can do What they want to advance their their Local uh Meetup goals So say I'm in the audience I'm listening Right now I think hey this sounds Awesome I'm gonna click the link down Below use code altcoin daily for 10 off

My ticket now I'm on the website which Pass is best for me I know you have General whale Etc yeah great question so uh general Admission includes access to the uh two GA days which is going to be May 19th And May 20th Um so that's like your standard we call It the pleb pass kind of so if you want To go you want to learn and hear some of The top speakers you know that's Probably uh the pass for you gets you in The door and it gets you just kind of Like the general experience the only Thing it doesn't get you is access to That first day uh which is industry day So May 18th is industry day so if you Get an industry day pass this is more For people who are either in the the Space already in terms of like they're Doing business maybe they're mining uh They got a startup or they want to get Into the space so they want to meet People who are hiring they're hiring Themselves they're looking for for Talent and so this is really the Industry day is really focused on the Business side of what's happening in the Bitcoin ecosystem And there's there's a few other perks we Lift them list them on the the website But um really I'd encourage anybody to Get an industry pass if they see any Type of future for themselves in working

Wanting to work in in Bitcoin or if You're already working in Bitcoin and Then the whale passes of course our top Level VIP experience uh comes with a ton Of extra perks there's a separate stage With its own exclusive content uh you Know obviously uh comp food and drinks Premium food and drinks there's a Separate whale area on site called The Deep Um which where all this stuff kind of Takes place uh you know premium access To the the front of every line there's a Separate uh whale night party which is The most exclusive party in Miami that's Taking place so certainly if you're a Whale and you can abort it encourage you To pick up a whale pass that's going to Be your best chance to meet with some of The top names so there's no guarantees But the top names that are going to be There they have well passes so they're Going to be hanging with the other Whales so if you are looking to kind of Rub shoulders with uh with some of the Bigger names Um in Bitcoin and you can afford it Again that's definitely the way to go Great chance to you know rub elbows with Robert brief love Matt Odell Michael Saylor you know the biggest names in Bitcoin well and you guys too you guys Will be out there yes no way to hang out With you yeah looking forward to it uh

What else for this conference George What haven't we talked about yet Yeah so honestly Um our website is super helpful I think This is the best website that we've Built I would encourage people to you Know set aside like 10-15 minutes and Just kind of go through it a lot of People just kind of tend to skim which There's nothing wrong with I think You'll get a general idea but we put a Lot of work into kind of breaking down All the different experiences all the Different activations what's happening On each day we're adding new content to The website uh every day so I'd Encourage you to to kind of do a deep Dive and spend some time there ticket Prices actually go up tomorrow so this Would be a good uh oh sorry I don't know What day this is gonna air but today is Thursday February 9th uh I'm gonna get It out by tomorrow but second prize is Just what I'm really sorry about that But um there's a like you mentioned We've been reminding our audience often So don't blame it hey that's all good They're going to go up again so yeah now You're just at the start of the next Cycle so uh we we're increased ticket Prices about every 30 days Um and so yeah there's there's a ton of Opportunities to to get involved I would Encourage people to go to actually the

Get in ball all page on the website you Know if if you are looking to volunteer For instance maybe you can afford a Ticket and you want to earn a free one Volunteering is actually a really great Way to get plugged in I help run that Program and it's uh it's actually a fun Way to to attend the conference too Believe it or not yes we put you to work But you get exposure to some of the Behind the scenes stuff you kind of get To know what goes into putting a Conference like this on and you get to Meet people Um in the space so it's another way Actually if you're looking to get your Foot in the door Um you know in the past we've actually Hired people from the volunteer team Onto the Bitcoin magazine team so again It's just great exposure Um we have an open source program if You're an open source contributor and uh You you write code or design stuff for The open source world we have a bunch of Projects that are eligible for Indus Free industry day pass if you've Contributed to those uh we have special Deals for students if you are a active Student you have a edu email address you Can get a general admission ticket At a heavy discount Um so you can find all that information On the website as well and

Um what else I think those are really The main things I I don't know I mean What did you guys enjoy the most about Bitcoin 2022 that you think uh people Would be interested in Yeah last year was the first year yeah 2022 is the first year I went to Um Bitcoin Miami it was awesome we were Still feeling you know a little bit of The bull market I think when that was Going on so everybody was still feeling Really good and I mean I like one of my Favorite things was like meeting people And I don't know maybe it's because we Like plugged it so much in our Channel Like just everybody was coming up to us And it was a great opportunity to you Know just meet people from all over the World who are in our audience and you Know who love Bitcoin and then Obviously like you know chatting it up With the other speakers as well Um that's what I liked Austin yeah and I Think the networking was great because Like as you started this interview it's One thing to like talk to people on Twitter but it's a whole nother thing to Be able to just uh talk to them in real Life so like Dan held for example we've Had him on the channel many times talk To him through Twitter and we saw him at Bitcoin is La conference I believe but Again just like being able to connect With people in real life is such on a

Different level yeah and if you haven't Done that I mean I would just encourage Whoever's watching too even if you can't Make it to the conference like this is Just my my hobby horse this is the thing I'm passionate about buying your local Meetup and like meet other bitcoiners I Think it's uh I think it's a really Important part of of learning too it's Actually one of the best ways to learn Because people will sit there and They'll tell you their horror stories And they'll make you feel better about You know the dumb mistakes that you've Made along the way Um and so I think it really is a good Way to to get plugged in and um and Immersed kind of in the movement that's Taking place because we all got to Rally Together like I said I mean cbdc's are Coming the walls are closing in on us And uh the people who are kind of Kicking around uh the crypto Bitcoin Scene are probably the most tuned into What's happening and the most like on High alert and looking for Solutions so I think it's just really important to Get as many of those people Um engaged and active as we can Excellent and as we're wrapping up you Know one of my final questions for you Is just on bitcoin Market generally how Are you feeling about Bitcoin lately is Your conviction still as strong as ever

And I found it interesting and Refreshing you said oh it's kind of cool Like ordinals are coming about you know Sometimes you know you know some Bitcoin Only people don't seem to like that as Much so right yeah no definitely and I Don't I don't have a strong opinion one Way or the other I just think look we Can't we can't sit here and complain About every little thing that happens And uh It's like okay we don't like nfts Because they're on ethereum or Tron or Whatever and uh someone puts them on the Bitcoin chain and we're still mad so It's like all right come on we gotta Like pick our battles here guys Um and again like I know very little About it I understand even the arguments Against like you know whatever is Spamming the chain or whatever I just Think again we gotta we gotta really Figure out how we pick our battles and How to actually be attractive to people Right actually be Um compelling and and inviting even you Know and not just like so close-minded And uh in some ways so that's my little Rant there but as far as like the market Goes yeah I mean there's there's Definitely some exciting uh things Happening Price is probably the least exciting Thing you know as you mentioned right

After the conference I think with the Conference we're like 44 so things were Kind of starting to slide a little bit From all-time Highs but then it was like Right after the conference you know Things just started to go down and I Don't know if that's I think that's Correlation not causation Um but uh then you had FTX shortly after All that kind of stuff my I would say my Conviction for uh Bitcoin in the Long-term prospects of what's happening Is stronger than ever which is probably Like cliche or whatever so much signal I Know people say that all the time but The reason is because of just like my How I'm actually living my life right Um so with with the price drawdown Um you just you're forced to kind of Face reality like I was one of those People who was convinced we were going To hit 100K and I was dead wrong right And so you just start getting humbled a Little bit by Bitcoin and you start Realizing that uh number one you can't Predict price you can't predict a FTX Type of a situation all those things are Um you know probably going to continue To happen at some level but I'm most Um intrigued by like what's happening at The Grassroots level like I I lead a Meet up here in Arizona and our Meetup Continues to grow every single week you Know we started with five or eight

People having beers at a bar and now We're up to like 30 40 people Um on a regular basis and that's through The bear market and so what does that Tell you I think that's like that's the Highest signal of what's actually Happening what's taking place is people Are coming back around asking more Questions getting more curious because Um because again bitcoin price isn't the Most interesting thing and it's not the Thing that's going to draw people in What's going to draw people in is the Recession and people losing their jobs And going to the grocery store and not Seeing eggs there and you know all the Stuff that's taking place in the real World that's that's getting people to Scratch their heads and be like hmm what What's actually going on and you start Peeling back the layers and you connect The dots to Central Banking and all that Kind of stuff you fall down the rabbit Rabbit hole and you end up at a Bitcoin Meetup and so Um yeah more bullish than ever foreign I want to encourage the audience use Code altcoin daily link down below check Out the conference hope to hang with you George hope to hang with you final Thoughts for the audience And I feel like I have rambled with all Of my random thoughts so much but I just I mean I really appreciate you guys

Having me back on this is just kind of Fun it's uh there's been some Interesting conversations that we've had I remember the one that we had where my Like my printer started going off yeah That was that was also a good one I Think um yeah I just appreciate the Relationship and you guys being open to Having a Bitcoin only person on altcoin Daily and the patience that your Audience has and listening to somebody Like me because I know a lot of times we Don't all see eye to eye but it's all Love and it's all just like again we're All on the same team we're on team human And we're trying to build a better Future so that's what's up and uh if That if that is compelling to you then Yeah I'd encourage you to join us at the Conference and if you see me come say hi