The Bitcoin Conference And The Pursuit Of Hyperbitcoinization

This is an opinion editorial by Chris Smith, the Events Ticketing Manager for BTC Inc. Disclaimer: BTC Inc. is the parent company of Bitcoin Magazine and the Bitcoin Conference.

The Bitcoin Conference is an annual tradition, a week-long extravaganza and a true celebration of freedom. The conference not only serves the bitcoin community but all who value freedom, individual sovereignty and the pursuit of hyperbitcoinization. With an event of this magnitude, there are thousands of hours poured into the product along the way toward the end goal. But, with the end goal being hyperbitcoinization, what exactly does that mean? According to the Bitcoin Magazine glossary, the definition is:

Hyperbitcoinization: The inflection point at which bitcoin becomes the world’s preferred medium of exchange.

With that understood, there is no hyperbitcoinization without the whole world being involved.

This historical event requires a reach to every continent, every nation, every language and every creed. With that goal set, the conference must go global and start reaching those with the shared vision of a hyperbitcoinized world.  Thus, the spark of Bitcoin Amsterdam.

Bitcoin Amsterdam is going to make history in Europe, October 12-14, 2022. This will be a monumental event uplifting the trek of bitcoin to all nations and adoption to all people. With the magic that the team behind Bitcoin 2022 has brought in the past, the aim is to bring this same energy to the European stage with the goal of “No region left behind.”

Hyperbitcoinization is not just an end goal, but a journey that is taking place right now. As bitcoin continues its world tour, the conference hopes to be alongside it every step of the way. Learn more about it, get involved and come join us in Miami and Amsterdam this year.

The Bitcoin Conference; Past Lessons And Looking Forward

In April of this year, the Bitcoin 2022 Conference took place in Miami, Florida where 26,000 Bitcoiners gathered to learn, teach and celebrate bitcoin. This was the largest gathering of Bitcoiners the world had seen to date. For a week straight, a wave of orange engulfed the city of Miami.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DasnizmN870

Bitcoin 2022 – The LARGEST Bitcoin Event In History!

As we think about the future of the Bitcoin Conference, it is important to focus on three things:

1. What it has been in the past.

2. What it has taught us.

3. What it will be in the future.

Throughout this past cycle, the Bitcoin Conference has served as the largest in-person platform for bitcoin and the industry that has sprung up around it. It’s been a place where Bitcoiners, ranging from curious to convicted, can meet, learn, teach, grab a drink and maybe a bite to eat.

A popular location to eat for the plebs at Miami 2022 was a food hall called Lincoln Eatery which accepted sats for payment via Lightning and on-chain. Spots like these are great for gatherings, meetups and enjoying the community. This also encourages other restaurants in Miami to accept bitcoin and it drives business; capitalism at its finest. Make sure you stop by the Lincoln Eatery next year and enjoy the ease of paying for food with bitcoin.

The Bitcoin Conference is the best annual event for networking in the bitcoin industry as a whole. The majority of attendees are players in the space and are actively looking for opportunities to collaborate. As long as you put yourself out there, you’ll meet amazing people who are interested in what you are doing.

A lot of the magic behind the week includes amazing satellite events hosted by sponsors and other members of the community. Most satellite events are structured around this conference and have been a great way for companies to make a name for themselves. The conference also offers a “Pitch Day” which takes place on the first day, Industry Day. It serves as a great place for larger players to provide investment opportunities to smaller bitcoin companies.

Another unique feature of Bitcoin 2022 was giving attendees the opportunity to sign a 9’ x 12’ edition of the Declaration of Monetary Independence (“DoMI”). I worked with the three co-authors Mark Maraia, Mike Hobart, Ulric Pattillo and the rest of the #DoMI crew to bring this experience to Miami. Initially, gathering signatures came slowly, but by the end of the conference, it was difficult to find space to sign your name. DoMI represents a very important aspect of the conference and our movement. Those who signed were essentially stating “I trust math more than I trust central bankers.”

DoMI became one of the many great experiences at Bitcoin 2022 and provided a focal point for thousands of attendees at the conference. It is now a conference staple and I hope to see it return for Bitcoin Amsterdam.

You can also sign it yourself online at declarationofmonetaryindependence.org

What the Conference has taught us has been a few interesting, but deserving, lessons that must be learned and recognized for growth and a bright future.

First, with all Bitcoin conferences, it is important to emphasize bitcoin and only bitcoin, along with of course freedom, self-sovereignty and other tangential aspects — but no other cryptocurrency projects. The sea of cryptocurrencies is truly a distraction from the end goal of hyperbitcoinization. In contrast to the rest, Bitcoin exists as a bright light in a sea of garbage, and only through education and past experience can people come to that conclusion. It is important to emphasize what really matters and not allow distractions to disrupt us from the end goal.

Secondly, it is important to encourage all, even those without similar beliefs, to attend, enjoy and be made to feel welcome. Nothing is worse than a bad first impression, and bitcoin is ultimately for anyone.

Lastly, it is important to not get caught in the limelight. During high price increases and bull markets, bitcoin is all anyone can talk about. But when the bears start winning again, the media will call it “dead.” Stay connected and persist through the volatility and you will come out okay on the other end.

Looking to the future, I know the team is extremely excited about returning back to Miami for Bitcoin 2023, May 18-20. With the Bitcoin Conference spreading across the world, it is important that the flagship event stays in a unique but also accessible area for the strong orange wave that resides in the U.S.

As the conference branches off from Miami and explores new parts of the world, it is important to maintain education as a core concept. An amazing part of the Miami 2022 conference was led by Matt Odell where he facilitated the idea of the “Open Source Stage,” a stage dedicated to Bitcoin open-source projects.

For the most part, it was a high-level overview of the interaction of open-source software and the Bitcoin Core protocol. It also provided very helpful tips for newcomers to learn more about bitcoin from a technical lens. Matt included many amazing speakers and knocked it out of the park with this stage. Core concepts like open-source Bitcoin projects are crucial to give a spotlight to as the world adopts bitcoin.

As the conference continues to grow and expand, hopefully, more hands will touch bitcoin in the process. Learning from past mistakes is important to keep improving in the future, but the future of bitcoin is and has always been bright.

No Region Left Behind; Moving Forward With Europe

As the Bitcoin Conference begins going global, Europe seems to be the first stop on the journey. Bitcoin Magazine, organizers of the world’s largest and longest-running Bitcoin conference, Bitcoin 2022, announced last week, in collaboration with Amsterdam Decentralized and Westergas, the launch of its first European-focused event: Bitcoin Amsterdam.

Amsterdam is going to be an action-packed three days with more “activations” to see than time in the day. The city, for one, is going to be incredible to explore and enjoy. And with a European partner for the event, the presence of European Bitcoiners will be strong.

“While Europe is lagging behind other regions in terms of regulatory and governmental acceptance, demand from ordinary investors and institutions is among the highest in the world,” said David Bailey, CEO of Bitcoin Magazine. “What’s more, the continent’s significant Bitcoin developer and innovator community is helping shape the future of the world’s preeminent digital currency — which continues to rise.”

“Europe has been at the forefront of financial and technological innovation for over 500 years, with Amsterdam playing a particularly noteworthy role in the development of modern banking, making it the perfect choice for our first European event,” he continued. “While Europe’s regulators have been so far slow to embrace the potential of Bitcoin, the combination of the continent’s history and its continued high demand for Bitcoin means that our community can give the support, collaboration and direction that European governments are failing to provide, and together pursue our shared goal of hyperbitcoinization.”

Bitcoin Amsterdam is Bitcoin Magazine’s first attempt at bringing the conference out of the United States, and it “aims to galvanize attendees from Europe — one of the world’s most uncertain regulatory environments for Bitcoin — with the message that there can be ‘no region left behind’ in the pursuit of hyperbitcoinization,” said Brandon Green, chief of staff at BTC Inc.

The Netherlands is a special place in the Bitcoin universe, as one of the oldest and most deep-rooted Bitcoin cultures in the whole world. It was the host of one of the first major bitcoin conferences ever, the Bitcoin 2014 Conference. Since block rewards were 25 BTC, Amsterdam has had its hands all over bitcoin and it only seemed right to return in fashion.

Bitcoin and Amsterdam just make sense.

The speakers for the event are going to be predominantly European based, with universal staples sprinkled throughout the agenda. Many European bitcoiners and media members will be involved, finally getting a chance to participate in the monumental movement. There may also be a banger concert after, but don’t hold me to it.

Overall, the three-day extravaganza is going to be a must-add when you are filling out your fall calendar. No matter your exposure to bitcoin, if you are looking for a great opportunity to dive into the culture, this is your chance.

To the European Bitcoiners, I have read so many emails and comments about you not being able to get approved for travel to Miami for Bitcoin 2022. It was only right by you all to bring our event to you, so I hope you all are loving the insanely cheap prices right now. GA (general admission) tickets are only €249 during the public pre-sale, which is currently LIVE.

Europe is only a stop in this journey though, and I foresee Asia, Australia or South America as viable next targets. Wherever bitcoin spreads, gatherings will follow. The Bitcoin Conference plans to be at the cornerstone of this movement and truly spread hyperbitcoinization. Lower your time preference and get involved with the long-term mission.

How Can I Get Involved In The Bitcoin Community And The Bitcoin Conference?

With enough talk about how great it is, it’s also important to direct people to the right avenues so they can plug themselves into the community. Assuming you at least know how to buy some bitcoin — and if you don’t, you should take the 21 Days of Bitcoin course — here are some thoughts on how to go about involving yourself in the community and the annual conference.

Join a local meetup. Before we even talk about the conference, it’s important to nail down the basics first. And the first step is to join a local bitcoin meetup. If you go to meetup.com, you can type in your city and find the nearest meetup. Do not be discouraged if you live outside of the U.S., give it a search as I know of many other meetups around the world.

Self-custody your bitcoin. It is the most important step in protecting your stack. For a great guide, here is BTC Sessions, “Trezor Model T – How To Use A Bitcoin Hardware Wallet.” Ben is great, so make sure you check out his other tutorials as well.

Have conversations. Encourage discourse and talk about bitcoin with your peers. Learning from others and challenging each other’s thoughts and ideas only improve your understanding of bitcoin in the long term.

Something that goes hand-in-hand with this is a famous Chinese proverb: “He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever.”

Engage in self-education. Self-education is important, especially for Bitcoiners. There are many great authors, podcasts, and teachers in the space. Take advantage of this.

Work in the bitcoin space. Of course, you never have to work in the bitcoin space. Many great Bitcoiners work outside of the space and still manage to stay involved. But, working with like-minded individuals in pursuit of a similar goal or path as you cannot be understated in its rewards. And as Bitcoiners, we all want to see bitcoin succeed. Many job opportunities exist all over the space.

If you’re interested, check out b./tc/jobs for new openings. Another great website is Bitcoiner Jobs.

Attend the conference. The most important part to engage in the conference is actually getting a ticket! Pre-sale tickets are live for Bitcoin 2023. It is always better to get these on the front end as most conferences do price increases to drive FOMO and demand.

Check out satellite events. The Bitcoin Conference does a great job at highlighting satellite events going on in Miami in what is referred to as “Bitcoin Week.” Here is where most of your schedule planning will occur outside of the conference agenda hours you wish to attend.

Get involved. There is also a “Get Involved” page where you can participate in multiple activations including volunteering, enrolling in hackathons, becoming an affiliate or hosting a satellite event yourself!

Give back. Lastly, as events like this arise, it is important to allow proper space to give back to those less fortunate. “Giving Back” was a project that coincided with the “Built With Bitcoin Foundation.” The Built With Bitcoin Foundation is, “a humanitarian organization devoted to creating equitable opportunity by providing clean water, access to quality education, sustainable farming and humanitarian support — all powered by Bitcoin …”

Final Thoughts

As bitcoin marches on, it is of the utmost importance that members of the bitcoin community continue meeting in person, face to face and celebrating the freedom that all who participate in bitcoin receive. Conferences are only one way to do this. Try and find a way to interact with the bitcoin community on a daily basis. This community is truly a group of critical thinkers, hard workers and flat-out winners.

When we look at the recent contagion that has hit the market, which companies have been the ones performing the best? The ones that stuck to the game plan, did not deviate or get distracted, stayed moral and focused on bitcoin and bitcoin only.

Bitcoin is the key to defeating the plague that has inhabited this earth — fiat.

Lower your time-preference and get on board with hyperbitcoinization or get out of the way.

This is a guest post by Chris Smith. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.

Bitcoin What-If: The Education System Was Orange-Pilled?

Author Disclaimer: The following work is analogous to fan fiction in your favorite sci-fi world. I do not intend to infringe or misappropriate any real-world ideas or work. Any similarity to concepts or work is purely coincidental. This is Part One of a series I call “Bitcoin: What-If.” Marvel can’t own that, right?

What If … Education

Centralized education has failed the individual. That’s not to say that all students are failures. Rather the education structure employed by most of the civilized world 1) creates an environment that picks winners and losers much like the fiat monetary system, 2) has not kept pace with the rate of technology and information growth in subject matter and infrastructure, and 3) discourages free thought while driving its participants to capitulate to a specific viewpoint.

The compulsory education as known in most of the contemporary world ironically fails to remain contemporary. The infrastructure of the academic system has made little change since the “Committee of Ten” established it at the end of the 19th century.

With that structure came many other philosophies that have shaped the country’s and the world’s general outlook on education. The Committee of Ten of 1892, made up of high school and collegiate educators, determined that “…every subject which is taught at all in a secondary school should be taught in the same way and to the same extent to every pupil so long as he pursues it, no matter what the probable destination of the pupil may be, or at what point his education is to cease.”

What does this sound like? Keynesian economics, which is a “macroeconomic economic theory of total spending in the economy” according to Investopedia, chooses to minimize the importance and uniqueness of the individual’s action. This perspective chooses to employ generalizations, prejudices, and heuristics over critical thought and tailored analysis that answers questions about human action and individual incentives.

Contrarily, Austrian economics “can be expressed in terms of microeconomic foundations,” as Steven Horwitz stated in his book “Microfoundations And Macroeconomics: An Austrian Perspective.” From a rational perspective, the macro/corporate entity is made up of the micro/individual, not the opposite. Therefore, if the capability is available, the individual must be the basis of economic study.

Education has missed out on true prosperity similar to the corporate-focused Keynesian economic world. This has resulted in individual students being left behind for the sake of “taking the easy road.” Even The Committee of Ten claimed that better academic success would follow the simplification of teacher training through the unification of content taught. To these academic central planners, it was more important to get a task completed than to get a task right!

Where does this track of thought lead us? To accept information propagated by authority because of the existence of the office rather than the rationale resonating from the office. In other words, “Do not question what you are told.” What is science? Prior to 1900, a sovereign creator was considered a legitimate origin theory. In the 20th century, the uncontested centralized perspective states that man evolved from fish. Instead of encouraging the understanding of both positions and enabling Socratic learning for students to choose (and maybe change their mind over time with more information), educators of the “free world” oppress one view and promote another. As long as there is a centralized mandate for education, it will always be a form of social programming.

While science may be an acceptable compromise to those that wish to erase the concept of God, the same forced narrative takes place with the dissemination of history to students. Did President Abraham Lincoln really care about the evils of slavery or did he want to preserve the union’s tax revenue golden goose in the south? Was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt a courageous hero of freedom or did he bait the Japanese to attack Pearl Harbor to sway the public and Congress to favor a lucrative total war in Europe? Is Black Lives Matter a destructive Marxist group preying on social strife in America or are they the new banner carriers for civil rights like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X before them?

History and science in a fiat world is written by the victors. The education of our youth is directly impacted by this coercive, centralized approach.

While the argument over “whose science” and “which history” could be debated endlessly, the subject matters of English, science, history and mathematics have been the core of primary and secondary education since the Committee of Ten report over 125 years ago. All the while, as finance and economics are immensely more important now than before, students are still learning about flowers in biology until ninth grade. We are in a world where five-year-olds navigate touchscreen operating systems, but software design is rarely available as an elective for highschoolers. One could place the blame on a slothful industry lacking initiative or funding to progress. But if this system is truly another pillar of the fiat ponzi scheme, then the limited, outdated, and redundant education is by design to inhibit broad scholastic progress. Therefore, to protect a skewed system where the powerful few understand and monopolize control over money, it would be counter-intuitive to educate the masses about how their natural rights are continually infringed.

Natural rights? Where in school do we discuss if we have natural property rights to our body and our labor? Is that up for a debate? Or is that part of the education that in order to justify government encroachment of property, people must never think they truly own anything, including themselves? We are left with an education system where the student, without intervention of a parent, church, or their own pursuits, will be subject to learn twisted history, skewed science, unapplied mathematics, and centralized literature. Additionally, students remain unaware of the natural laws of existence as a human and receive zero instruction on navigating the economic landscape of this world. Academics, as it is today, is antithetical to the concept of liberty. Its proponents must fervently defend the wasted time of students and money of taxpayers so as to protect the most efficient avenue for propagating control over the next generation: abject nascence. But all is not lost. As you may have heard before, Bitcoin fixes this.

It Is Sometime In The Early 2040s …

In this future there is hope. In this future, humanity prospers. Fiat money has capitulated to Bitcoin, the decentralized monetary network, and has consumed nearly all value of many countries’ fiat wealth. Through years of violently volatile trading with world governments being public buyers, bitcoin surged through bull and bear markets whose end was only marked by the 2033 Bitcoin International Treaty (B.I.T.) to dismantle central banks across the world for the sake of a new Bitcoin monetary standard, 100 years after Executive Order 6102 that forbade the individual ownership of gold by U.S. citizens for a period of time. Nearly all governments in North America, Europe, South America, South Asia, Middle East, Africa, would adopt bitcoin-backed regional digital tokens (dollar, euro, peso, rupee, dinar, franc). These currencies had levels of government oversight and insurance that was more palatable to a segment of the population.

Some countries in Oceania and Asia remain obstinate to a hard money supply, like China and Australia. They did not participate in B.I.T. and outlawed owning any alternate currency or token, especially bitcoin. Instead they chose the path of surveilled and coercive CBDCs as they continued to slowly steal the wealth from their constituents. CBDC implementation was made easier upon outlawing emmigration a few years before as citizens of some countries became essentially prisoners.

Because the Bitcoin world virtually ceased inflation, the exchange rate of 1BTC became 25 million North American dollars. As the age of central banks came to a close, governments also began divesting other areas of society on which they had previously dominated. The world quickly discovered the limitations of government reach when sound money is the root of all human action.

Forced Adaptation

The COVID-19 pandemic forced many to make drastic, unprepared changes in their educational life. Parents were not ready to police their children for at-home learning. Students lost fear of discipline for absent-mindedness and effortlessness. Teachers began to mail-in their effort behind video conferencing and irregular meetings. They were also forced to make due with curriculum and tools not designed for distance learning.

As society moved past the pandemic, something interesting, yet familiar happened: humanity found opportunity in apparent barriers. Schools began to leverage premade online courses as aids to in-person education. High-achieving students showed similar concept retention as with live teaching. The more automated lessons were implemented, the more teachers were able to act as supplemental tutors focused on lagging students. The problem with many traditionally “poor” students was found to be a lack of attention from teachers. This was an impossible issue to solve with overcrowding classrooms. The relationships teachers made with these students became a difference-maker for overall classroom success when implementing this simple technology supplement.

The teaching profession was going through a redefinition, not an extinction. Construction workers were not made non-existent because of cranes and bulldozers. Accountants did not disappear because of tax software. These individuals were rather empowered to achieve more with technology at their disposal. Teachers at this time in history similarly were able to inspire excellence from their students because they had more time to actually teach and less time needed for lesson planning and regurgitating concepts taught millions of times before. Not surprisingly, students greatly benefitted across the spectrum raising performance in various metrics like standardized tests and qualitative feedback about their learning environment.

These successes were not without challenges. In this Bitcoin future, endless government spending was simply not an option without overt, public debasement of the regional currency. Taxation without inflation was not enough to maintain many state-operated institutions. The traditional academic infrastructure suffered despite measurable student success. Many teachers quit the industry. The ones that did not experienced furloughs and layoffs, but as learning modules were refined, the teachers left behind were able to administer more students at nearly all grade levels and the academic progress maintained despite a rapidly rising student-to-teacher ratio.

Lightning: A Decentralized Information Network

As the Bitcoin Lightning Network matured, decentralized video services grew in usage as uncensored alternatives to YouTube grew in demand. There people could create content and earn in multiple ways, such as streaming satoshis per minute, charging a lump sum per video, periodic subscriptions, tipping and more. The streaming service “NakaVision,” in particular, attracted educational content because of the “live party mode” that enabled the publisher or a proxy to interact with viewers during scheduled sessions. These premium options enabled administrators in the virtual room to play the role of teacher assistants that provide live help to prerecorded courses that air at specific times. This was not always necessary, but came in handy for math, science, and social studies classes where live problem-solving and discussion was a part of the learning process.

NakaVision established a standard for course length that publishers could follow. This suggested standard was one major step toward enabling their courses to compete with traditional academic course credit. The service was leveraged for on-the-job training, compliance training, and academic curriculum.

It soon became the one-stop shop in the Bitcoin world for all virtual learning. However, because of the decentralized nature of the network, every user enters a unique agreement with each content provider as they are sovereign over their own node. There is no centralized effort by a platform to promote, propagate, censor, or cancel content. This was something that older centralized services pretended to provide, but never did.

NakaVision also featured a machine learning protocol that captured questions asked about the published content. Early after a publication, the creator may have some work cut out for them to address questions from their audience. After a piece has been published for a significant time however, question-and-answer periods could be nearly autonomous as old questions that come back around would be addressed by the system. This technology dramatically reduced the required man hours to maintain a dynamic learning environment. Newly-published work could even import Q/A databases (if allowed) from similar courses so as to reduce the need for future content to start from scratch. Technology, again, was driving the cost of knowledge acquisition to zero.

The Free Market Of Knowledge

Outreach through education became a new social marketing frontier for this decade. Not education about products for sale, but about industry-applied processes and knowledge. This seemed to matter more in the Bitcoin world than the values-based social marketing of the early 21st century. Back then, microeconomic decisions were primarily based on how much a company pandered to an individual’s morals. The economy became a political game of poker to see who could spend more resources not focused on productivity.

In this Bitcoin world, companies set themselves apart by how much they contribute to the knowledge of the future generations. All of this was done with little effort because they simply taught what they did. Marketing firms creating marketing education content. Aircraft producers taught aeronautical engineering and physics. Some companies with larger marketing and outreach budgets created entire academic branches to manage and distribute content that would equate to hundreds of hours of educational content for the edification of society and the advancement of an industry.

The topics of lecture were as vast as the internet. Where the Committee of Ten determined that “every subject which is taught at all in a secondary school should be taught in the same way,” this could not be further from the truth in the Bitcoin world. Never before have so many perspectives of history been readily available to students. Students, given the choice, actually desired more challenging modules that were relevant in the real world. Secondary students had an appetite for the design of the Tesla robot, 3D printing from Nano Dimension, multiple philosophy courses, and Austrian economics that inspired the Bitcoin network they grew up in. Alternative methods of learning like Socratic teaching were often implemented which guided students to ask the right questions rather than telling them the right answer.

The subjects that attracted the least interest were basic math, unapplied science, and traditional history which took up most of students’ time in the 20th century. These courses were seen as distractions and one of many causes for the Great Inflation Theft from 1971 to 2031 that kept generations of students unaware of the fiscal policies that hurt so many people.

Testing centers have always been a part of society for professionals to acquire certifications for program management, architecture, engineering, medicine, and law. These centers exponentially grew in popularity as a form of integrity control for countless virtual education modules online. Because these centers charged both tester and testee, there was a cost benefit for both sides to optimize the number of graded exams. While too few may not be able to test enough key factors to the course, too many tests would result in undesirable fees to the testing centers. In this free market of education, the better-quality instructions were often given a longer leash to test students more frequently, but if a competing course offered a similar quality lesson and required fewer sessions at the testing centers, a change in market share could occur as students look to maximize their value. At the same time, a course that tested students too little could result in graduates that do not prove concept retention in future courses or jobs. This would result in poor marks for the course from the industry at large.

While there were corporate sources for education, there were also comparable grassroot modules as well. These groups did not represent any significant business, but out of the passion for a topic, propagated knowledge for the masses to use for their own benefit. While some were free, most used a recurring fee system so a student was incentivized to complete a course efficiently and without unnecessary delay. Because of the ability for nearly anyone to access these courses, there was no need to charge exorbitant amounts of satoshis or regional currencies. Technology was driving the cost of knowledge acquisition to zero.

Gradually, Then Suddenly

A large city in Colorado made a decision that shocked the country: they set in motion to abolish their municipal school district over the course of five years. In the place of dozens of education department administrators and educators was left a charter, some student counselors, and a few clerks to aid in transition. Their rationale was that all the infrastructure for students of traditional K-12 grade to learn was publicly available for less money than tax revenue to operate the legacy school system. They felt the legacy system was actually infringing on their maximum learning potential and maximizing the use of NakaVision would result in a diverse and inclusive academic experience allowing students to enjoy the pursuit of knowledge customized to their person rather than a one-size-fits-all plan. The city created a simple charter for all stakeholders.

1. Students shall maintain 25 hours per week of academic lecture upon the NakaVision network.

2. Students shall leverage open-source curriculum programs of their choosing from NakaVision with signed parental consent.

3. Students shall leverage privately-owned testing centers as necessary for course completion exams.

4. Counselors shall assist students as requested in selecting modules.

5. Student athletes and performers are free to participate in the Amatuer Athletic Union and other private amateur programs alongside their normal course load.

6. Students athletes and performers are free to participate in major or minor professional organizations or entertainment with a tailored version of their curriculum not to subceed 10 hours per week.

It was a drastic change from the bureaucratic and archaic mess schools were in before. But because of NakaVision and technology growth in general, it became more apparent of the abject waste that students were forced to endure simply because that is the way it always was. If Bitcoin changed the monetary standard, then it was only logical that other institutions were to be at least audited.

A year later, a small city in Pennsylvania decided to try the same thing. A few months later, Las Vegas jumped on the bandwagon. The next year, the entire state of Texas pledged to abolish all school districts within 18 months. Academia was being flipped on its head, but students were not the only beneficiaries.

Teachers Wanted

Public school teachers were at a crossroads. While some moved to other towns and continued their life as normal, others saw the writing on the wall and realized the profession as they knew it was changing forever; there was no running from this revolution. As much as technology made traditional university and secondary school virtually obsolete, there was still a significant role for child education specialists in the Bitcoin world. With some exceptions, there was a very real need for specialists to educate ages five to 10 (K-4 grade) for localized in-person learning. Private institutions grew in number and provided a service for parents, as necessary. While there was still use for NakaVision education modules for the youth, much of the teaching at these formative levels was delegated to live instructors.

Because this became such a unique gap in the NakaVision, primary-level educators became much more desirable in the free market. A second-grade teacher in the old system was restricted by the price disruption of the government system to make true free market earnings. However, those primary educators filling such a critical need in the new decentralized world earn two or three times more value compensation for a similar career in the old fiat world. This not only increased the competition, but the quality of professionals. Much like a coveted position on a sports team, they worked diligently to earn and keep their job.

A World Without “Mean Girls?”

While the teachers were needed still in the lower legacy grades, education was near-autonomous in the more mature courses. Without a center needed for students to congregate for learning, students had no mandate to congregate socially. The very fabric of how generations of teenagers defined their childhood was abolished. The unrealistic, ephemeral social hierarchy of middle school and high school did no one favors growing up. The social roles in the legacy academic social system generally encouraged elitism and popularity based on athletic prowess, threat of physical violence and lawlessness (underage drinking and drugs). Because there is no free market in the schools, the most valuable social currency was always the “shock” factor. How far can he throw a football? How many nerds will that bully beat up? How wild of a party can they throw before the police break it up? When the centralized school was abolished, students not only congregated amongst groups that shared their ideals, for they already did that, but they were now in virtually no contact with the other groups that formed the artificial social structure. Athletes socialized with one another, but were no longer school heroes because there was no school. The school bully had no victims to cross paths on a normal basis. The pretty girl’s popularity, while she surely would still receive her fair share of attention, was drastically reduced without the test-tube universe that was high school.

Students in this Bitcoin world leveraged their newfound sovereignty over their time to revolutionize their social life. While peer pressure never fully went away, the traditional high school forced interactions within social groups that generally would never take place in the adult world ceased. These situations often led to feelings of violence and abuse for the losers and a false sense of value for the winners in the social construct. Rather than creating a more disaggregated society, students instead interacted with those outside their social group with more humility and respect. This has inspired some people to a call for society to move on from democracy, which always devolved into objective mob-rule, and to a form of rules of government that respects all participant’s property and being. I want to live in this world!

The University: The Temple Is Destroyed

“The University” has been the symbol of many facets of human progress for centuries. Libraries to store knowledge, laboratories to expand science, great halls to share ideas, and alumni networks to extend its reach into civilization and industry. To some it is a romantic representation of human achievement. To others, it is a thick pillar of the fiat world that is a gatekeeper to information and power.

Universities for years were losing their value proposition as many people in the 2010s began to question the benefit of a degree which cost three or ten times more than prior years. The rapid growth of the internet combined with the productive deflation of bitcoin created exposed the university system as simply too archaic and sluggish to provide real benefit to the people of the 2030s and beyond. The growth of technology and their relevant expertises were seldom able to be taught effectively because those experts were needed too much in the productive market. Education for cutting-edge topics like augmented or virtual reality, robotics, or nanotechnology was rarely found in the halls of the university.

With the lack of relevance of the most contemporary areas of human progress as a value offering, institutes of higher learning began to divest their catalog. World-renowned schools like those in the Ivy League began to draw straws amongst one another, narrowing their scope to specific fields. Harvard focused on medicine, University of Pennsylvania focused on business, Princeton narrowed to mathematics. State colleges and private universities followed suit narrowing their discipline to law, medicine, engineering, or philosophy. The divestiture increased the quality of the education experience, as removing cost-burdened departments decreased the cost of attendance which made traditional schools more affordable. This was enough for colleges to remain an option for those teenagers that desired to leave the nest to study. Nevertheless, digital learning was an industry-killer and reduced college enrollment by 85%. The world of academia had its bubble popped by the Bitcoin standard. Even though traditional education was more affordable now than it had been in over 40 years since the 2000s, most students chose not to pursue that route.

The Learning Game

The Bitcoin world in the 2040s was a renaissance of learning. People wanted knowledge because it was increasingly more affordable, increasingly uncensored, and accessible. The knowledge from the decentralized platform, NakaVision, was high quality but it was not the same as a college degree. There was no mandated course track. There was no lambskin at the end of the journey.

The NakaVision community developed another standard that would help students organize their learning goals in a way that would be value-added for them and for job offerers that could more accurately assess relevant knowledge acquired. Modules were assigned experience points or “XP” for the focused discipline or function that was taught. Additionally, each module was allowed up to 10% bonus XP based on other supporting subjects involved. Experience points like in a role-playing game brought a bit of gamification to learning and encouraged the pursuit of knowledge beyond the confines of traditional learning years.

A student could take a physics “double” that features a 10 XP bonus credit on math. A philosophy “course” could heavily reference historical context and feature a 5 XP credit in history.

Students in this network would work toward achieving degrees of mastery. Different from the university system, there is no bias for academic milestones upon a university name at the top. NakaVision put forth a metric system for learning milestones as a way to bridge the gap during this period of parallel systems:

In a parallel system of tracking and assessing knowledge and competency, the mastery system had the advantage of identifying gates or milestones, but was not an all-or-nothing system like traditional college. Your NakaVision learning profile could say “1500 XP in Mathematics and 1000 XP in Computer Science.” This is much more granular and personal information than “Bachelor of Science in Computer Science” based on the work you as an individual student accomplished.

This system did not tax the students’ time through general education under the disguise of a benevolent mandate. If a student wanted to be a nurse and a job required a first-degree nursing mastery, they did not need to waste their time through philosophy, trigonometry, or creative writing. The courses for nursing would essentially be self-contained where once completed you were indeed qualified as you could be without on-the-job training.

Traditionally advanced degrees like law and medicine would even still be first-degree if that is the value of relative training. However, a first-degree of medicine may have already received a first or second degree in biology or general science.

The education system of the past became a gatekeeper for who was allowed to learn and consequently who was allowed to pursue careers. NakaVision became a byproduct of the Bitcoin monetary standard balancing the playing field of education through the use of technology and decentralization.

Getting There From Here

Jumping back to the present day, it is easy to see this education system built upon the tools and mediums we have now.

Homeschooling is a concept that has pushed the limits of innovation and creativity. Pre-recorded VHS tapes were used for teaching in the 80s and 90s. I spent most of elementary school in a 90s virtual setting with Abeka Academy who is still innovating their process decades later. My mother took it a step further with my siblings by using more than one home education service. One she chose for math and science while another was better at language and social studies. When is optionality not a good thing? Anything that monopolizes your time or effort is a form of slavery or bondage. Some students may indeed benefit from a traditional classroom, yet that does not mean all should be compelled to partake in the same practice.

The Saylor Academy and the Khan Academy are both non-profit education organizations whose goals are to bring education to the world free of charge. Leveraging technology today, this is possible with donors. This medium is not a fad. It will continue to improve alongside technology and entrepreneurship. AR and VR are not off limits as an enhancement to educational experiences in the future as well.

This is not doomsday for teachers. To the contrary, teachers will be more celebrated than ever before as technology and the free market will bring the best teachers to a wider scope of appreciation where they can impact more with their ability to convey knowledge. Additionally, their time will be freed up to develop relationships with students they could never have in the past, bringing teaching back to the mentorship and apprenticeship of the times of Aristotle and Socrates.

Bitcoin will not only refine the way we transact, but the way we educate, and learn.

Credit to Heidi Porter and Mark Maraia for peer review. Credit to @bitillustrated for the awesome cover art.

Have you signed #DOMI yet? Check out declarationofmonetaryindependence.org and lend your support for a document that unifies us against the incumbent system.

This is a guest post by Ulric Pattillo. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC, Inc. or Bitcoin Magazine.

The Declaration Of Monetary Independence Will Be At Bitcoin 2022

It’s 2022. Not even the first quarter is in the books, yet what word would I use to describe it so far?

Squeezed.

People are feeling squeezed in many different matters by many different forces, like the squeeze of COVID-19 mandates from governments encroaching upon sovereign individuals. Some of those people are squeezing those same governments through blockades in their capitals. Those governments are reacting by squeezing the fiat of demonstrators through frozen bank accounts. Countries are feeling squeezed by others that threaten them with the proximity of weapons and militaries. They then react by squeezing their neighbor out of their own lands. And all people in the world are feeling the squeeze of their fiat that is either rapidly inflating, sanctioned or both.

In these times of intense pressure, the filter of “ain’t no one got time for that” is turned up to the max on people’s emotional barometers. There is less patience for fluff, empty promises, scams and frivolity. It is in times like these that the true cornerstones of civilization are discovered. Only when the opposite force of the squeeze arises — the Freedom, the Protest, the Shelter — can we progress toward a greater world.

The Declaration of Monetary Independence is not a petition for people to cry out to their superiors, demanding mercy. Petitions are forms for political influence and that is something that is simply unnecessary in this regard. And if it were a petition, it surely would not be called a “Declaration.” These statements are made without an appeal to any authority beyond the individual sovereignty possessed by every human being.

This document summarizes a problem with the strongest fiat unit in the world, the U.S. dollar, with 27 points of contention. To many in the silver-spoon nations of the West, the greatest challenge is to see and believe that the incumbent system is dying. The Cantillon effect greatly benefits all of American society, even its poorest members, and this blinds them to the fact that citizens outside of America are being robbed of their wealth to an even larger degree.”. These problems make themselves evident in other countries as hyperinflation or intense foreign exchange volatility, and impair the ability for the common person to make economic plans beyond the immediate future. This is a violation of humanity’s natural right to their own labor and time. This problem has grown in intensity over the last couple of years where most would assume “that could never happen here.” What we experience, and what the mainstream media call capitalism, is a lie. The current monetary policy leads to authoritarian rule and crony capitalism. This is a significant difference from the free market. Many people, including myself, are becoming increasingly aware of this real problem on the horizon — numbed as we are by the narcotic system of endless entertainment, pointless political issues and manipulative news media.

After presenting the problems with the status quo, #DoMI offers the solution in a summary of statements regarding the benefits of the Bitcoin network which is based on consensus rules, math and cryptography. The hardest part, in this time of increasing authoritarian reach and coercion, is deciding where to begin and where to end in describing the asset that could be the saving grace for sovereign individuals around the world. These 29 theses, not ordered in any significant way, seek to brush no more than the tip of the massive iceberg that is Bitcoin. The objectivity of Bitcoin’s function was also the theme for writing each declaration. #DoMI was not written because of a subjective feeling; it was written as a tribute to the existence of Bitcoin in the real world — a characteristic countless copycats fail to achieve.

The document features 55 original signatories (one short of its inspiration, the American Declaration of Independence) from Bitcoiners who hold fast to these statements and believe in the importance for the world to come to understand their meaning. This document is a special project as it truly highlights the statement “Bitcoin is for everyone” and treats all participants the same. The signatories feature retired professionals, college students and everyone in between. Even the time spent in the Bitcoin space ranges from OGs during the time of Mt. Gox to those orange-pilled in 2021. Some signatories will be on stage at Bitcoin 2022, while for others, the world will never know their real identities. Truly, I say to you, Bitcoin is based on rules, not rulers and this document epitomizes that sentiment.

This is not intended to be a relic of 2021. Rather we encourage everyone who believes in these statements to participate with their own signatures on the website. After that, reach out to others about it. Not just those who agree with you, but those who may not have connected the dots. Use #DoMI as a tool for discussion about what the Bitcoin network means for them and their loved ones. This is your call to action.

We, the authors, are excited about Bitcoin 2022 and look forward to meeting everyone that was inspired by the website. Look for a 9 foot by 12 foot version of #DoMI that will be present at Bitcoin 2022. You will be given an opportunity to sign along with thousands of other conference attendees. There will also be a presence among the booths, so keep an eye out!

If you have yet to visit the website, check it out!

Bitcoin 2022 will be the biggest event in Bitcoin history, with an unprecedented range of technical, cultural and financial progress being made in the space. To secure your place at the event, use the discount code “MAGAZINE” for 10% off ticket prices at https://b.tc/conference/registration.

Bitcoin Magazine is operated by BTC Inc, which also hosts the Bitcoin Conference series.

This is a guest post by Ulric Pattillo. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC, Inc. or Bitcoin Magazine.