Introducing the Moneybadger Conference

Oh yes, I agree. These topics are fantastic. Well, because we kind of curated it ourselves, so of course we are going to like it for sure. But Piers, if you follow us here on the World Crypto Network and ConsenSys Network, you know that we talk a lot about Austrian economics. And as you said, Niko, this is going to be definitely one of the major focuses with everything that I touch. So I want to get the brightest mind in libre sound monetary thinking onto the stage and give them a platform to grow their ideas and to share this knowledge with others so that it increases in its unlimited power. So yes, this is going to be Austrian Economics, and we will have all the good people there. I will try to make everything happen here to get like Pierre Rochard, Saifedean Ammous, Stefan Livera, Michael Goldstein, Anselm Lindner, maybe Jeffrey Tucker, Jörg Guido Holtzmann. That might be something. A couple fellows from the Mises Institute. We really want to get here an academic Austrian economics conference that really discovers the nuances of sound money in the 21st century. And of course, I will be speaking a little bit as well, talking about the economic principles here that we find ourselves in and how important they are. I think this is going to be fantastic. But then, of course, also applying these Bitcoin best practices, right? And showing, as Niko said, that this actually exists, that these are tools at our disposal, and we might use them as we please, as long as it's peaceful. And there are so many things to do with this awesome software, with first and foremost, of course, the Lightning Network being the latest and greatest. And I can't even imagine where we will be at the time of the conference with Lightning Network development. So Niko, maybe, right, like firsthand of experiencing Lightning Network, what are your thoughts on how we can make this applicable in the marketplace, in the agora of a small conference?

Yeah, this is actually what I got most psyched about. And this was the idea by Max, by the way, that we need to enable— I mean, we need to require everybody to check in their dirty fiat at the door and exchange it into Lightning balance. And then of course, we're going to Well, familiarize everybody, vendors, local vendors who are going to come there on the Agora to offer their products and services, maybe drinks, whatever they want to sell. But the only catch is you got to be able to accept Lightning Bitcoin. So, of course, we're going to familiarize them with that. And we're also going to be running our own dedicated money batcher node with no fees. So everybody can just plug into that and use that. So basically, when you arrive at the door, you can just dump your dirty fiat in a dirty sack. And we'll give you some Lightning balance with some inbound balance as well. So then after the first confirmation, you're ready to go and spend it on the marketplaces. And this is the great thing that we were actually going a little bit in the wrong direction for a moment that we were trying to do this like have catering and, you know, this kind of a centralized thing. Well, then we started to think like, you know, I eat whenever the hell I want. Like, I don't— like, there's no dinner bell. for me to invite me to eat. So why would we expect that from our guests? So why don't we just invite as many different kinds of options there to offer these foods? So then people can eat whenever they feel like it. And of course, then that will be less burden for us, the organizers, less expenses, which means cheaper tickets. So I guess it's worth to mention that this is definitely not for profit. This is just for good times. And all we're looking for from here is to break it even and have a fantastic time. So yeah, we're taking it to crowdsourcing way. So anybody who wants to participate in actually making this a reality, and we are super serious about making this a reality, then please just don't hesitate to contact me or Max, and we'll definitely cut you in. And you'll definitely get a free ticket to the conference if you want to help.

Yes, many points, many great points that you cover here. And I would say, right, first and foremost, the, the groundlaying rule that we have here and that we established from the get-go is don't hurt others. Don't steal from them. Respect private property utmost. So if we find a thief here at this event, bad things are going to happen to that person. But as long as you're peaceful, and as long as you rely on mutual beneficial exchange only, then we will have a nice time and everyone will get along. So this means, per definition, first and foremost, we must not have any fiat-backed hodlers amongst us. Because if you hold fiat currencies, you are supporting a terrorist regime. That is a very violent action, and we will not have that at this event. So if you come, you better have all your fiat bags— either you leave them outside, or when you still bring them to the conference, you will be required, in order to step your foot on the vicinity, to throw the fiat back into the old dirty bag and open yourself up with some Lightning Network. Credit cards are going to be even worse. They will be burned at the stake. But then, Niko, also, as you said, right, we want to have the free market here of different entrepreneurs buying and selling products and engaging in the agora of freedom, right? So definitely we support all entrepreneurs to come here and provide their goods and services. And this includes, of course, but it's definitely not limited to the food, right? So if you are a cook, if you provide, I don't know, if you can make coffee, if you can make smoothies or something else, Then this would be awesome if you can come along, bring your resources and the machines that you need, and provide this service of delicious food, make it as good as possible, and try to be profitable by getting your precious satoshis from all these Bitcoiners. And this means first and foremost for us, we're lazy. So this is easier for us to organize because as Niko said, we— do not want to micromanage you, and we do not want to micromanage this conference. But it also is a great opportunity to connect individuals, right? The marketplace is beautiful, and it is mutually beneficial. So we try to bring here together the peers selling their goods and services for Bitcoin and the peers who really want to spend their Bitcoin on some really awesome things. So Niko, what other goods and services might be exchanged here?

Yeah, glad you asked. Of course we're not limiting it to just food and drinks, not at all. Of course we are looking for good times, but we're also looking for education. We're also looking for awesome fun projects that we can learn more about. So if you have a project that is involving Bitcoin somehow, please just come and show what you built, you know, put up your own laptop somewhere in the corner and just go ahead. If you have, if you have a service or a class or anything you want to sell against Bitcoin or just teach people, and you're welcome to do so. This will add to the collective value of the whole event. So this is highly encouraged. So yeah, like for example, you could be making t-shirts or stickers or anything like that. That would be a great thing to be selling. Like let's think of a rock concert, you know, what do you find there? You find shirts, people need shirts, people want to wear maybe some funny-looking crypto shirts. I've been seeing those like really awesome Bitcoin shirts surfaced lately. I bet there's plenty of entrepreneurs who would like to offer that. So definitely, that's something to think about.

Yes, exactly. And again, of course, this can also be workshops. If you want to educate others around a specific topic and you want to do so in a condensed fashion, then for sure, get a couple of people together. And if they pay you for that, even, like, perfect for you. And then teach them about some important things. So any type of workshops, I mean, there are many out there. Justin Moon's Biddle Bootcamp, for example, just being one of the many. Maybe the Boltathon guys want to be there and do an in-person Lightning Network conference. Maybe the Lightning Network Hack Day that, by the way, will be in Munich really, really soon, and I'll be speaking there maybe as well. So that will be dope. But yeah, we want to really be a part of this Bitcoin conference ecosystem, and with this specifically, not blockchain. So I will be speaking at many of these events and helping out in the organization. And of course, the Money Badgers just being one of them. And then further, right, we want to be a similar vicinity than these other events, right, and want to really have good speakers coming there. So Niko, maybe like what What speakers will be there and how might be the speaker engagement in general?

Well, of course, I'm hoping that it will be more like a social event, that we're not necessarily looking forward to have like a VIP room where all the speakers will go afterwards, but rather mingle within the crowd. Actually, the original inspiration for the whole event was kind of like Burning Man style Bitcoin event where everybody would just come and contribute and build things together. Yeah, I mean, depending on, of course, who will come. And of course, we can't at this moment verify exact names who have already promised to come. But once we lock down on the venue, and I'm going to talk about that shortly again, we're going to be starting to release the names who are actually going to be talking there. So I'm hoping we will have like a main stage for keynotes for a little bit bigger names. Maybe, uh, on the Austrian economics side, uh, the spearheads we talked about earlier. And I would like to have a smaller stage where, where we can have this kind of like open speakers corner, uh, type of thing. So if you want, if you like making videos, if you like teaching people and preaching people about the wonders of Bitcoin or anything related to that, freedom, freedom of technology, whatever is your flavor, you're welcome to do so. And then you will find your audience, or at least Well, you will find valuable information. If nobody's interested in what you have to say, that's also good. So, you know, this kind of thing, like, let's see what turns out. I actually don't know, and I don't want to really control it. Like, I'm a part of a couple of these more traditional events, and it's kind of like we decide exactly what the program is going to be like, but we don't really know who is going to come and are they going to enjoy. So this is going to be kind of like a different approach. So you also kind of bring the program with you. Of course, we're going to have awesome keynote speakers like we mentioned, but also we're going to have maybe something even more awesome, which is going to be this whole family gathering kind of thing, which actually Max can probably tell more about because I haven't, to be honest, been— I've been mostly to this more lock and chain side of events. I haven't been to a single Bitcoin-only conference yet.

Well, I come here fresh from the Understanding Bitcoin event, which really was outstanding. It was so much fun. Why? First and foremost, because the right people were here. I mean, of course, we have here, as they say, instructors, just people hanging out and teaching others. And that was really it. And that was the— yeah, just the breadth of not just the speakers there, but also the attendees. Because, well, not everyone who's on the main stage is like They are not the only interesting people there, of course. They might be noteworthy because of what they have contributed to the space so far, and maybe that you might thank them here and listen to them as with what they are doing. But definitely there were a lot of people there, and the discussions around the main stage were awesome. I did not watch a single of the talks, and I will probably also for other conference like Breaking Bitcoin. I would most likely not watch these people here speaking. Because, well, there are other things that we can do, right? We can talk to the people and actually make sure that this is something that we build together. And yes, you can get the input, but of course, that will be recorded as well. So it's with all these peers, and many of these peers will come to the Baltic Honey Badger Conference. Or, well, that as well, of course, but also the Money Badger Conference. But yeah, the Baltic Honey Badger Conference, another great one with many, many peers from their coming over as well. And we really, though, want to make sure that anyone can contribute. So all of those who really care to make sure that they get their voice heard, they will have the opportunity. And I think that is going to be a really nice mixture of well-curated keynote speakers, as well as a very broad and open space for others to contribute.

Yeah, actually the Baltic Honey Badger is the first Bitcoin-only event that I'm actually able to attend, so I'm really looking forward to that. And I'm sure we're gonna learn more about this kind of conference there and get some good ideas and also inspire more people to come to the Money Badger at the end of this year. And yeah, I was— I said that I'm gonna talk about the venue. The venue is kind of like a tricky thing. So we would like to reach out for the community. Like, if you can find us a badass venue, you are guaranteed a free entry there at the very least. If you can find us a badass place, like we're not looking for five-star hotels here. We're looking for low-budget options. Like Baltic Honey Badger apparently is in a bear house, so that's pretty much cyberpunk setting right there. We could have a beach setting with some shipping containers or stuff. We can have like a rock. Rock concert setting. We can have a freaking circus tent, all I care. Like, you know, as long as it fits around 200 really enthusiastic people, it has some kind of an open space that we can build stuff, it has an option to build a stage or 2. Yeah, that's pretty much all we need. And I was actually thinking it would be really cool if we could find like this, some kind of a small like 3-star hotel that has been just opened or renovated or something like that and rent the whole place. So that will give us the accommodation and the conference space in the same same place. So that would be something really cool and compact and convenient, first and foremost, to have. And we're looking to have this in Southern Europe. We've been looking at Portugal mostly, maybe Barcelona or Portugal, Lisbon, Italy, some places. But we haven't really locked down or narrowed the options. I think actually at this point, it would be better if the idea comes from the audience. And we are more than happy to compensate you for your trouble. And yeah, let's just build this the best event we can.

Yes, agreed. The venue really is, is an interesting question because it can be any hotel, right? It could be really just a hotel. Everyone gets, gets their rooms in that place and we, we meet there. I mean, why not? Because we will talk till 2 AM in the nights anyway, right? But what I have experienced so far from these conferences is that We're always moving and we're never at the same place. And there are always people leaving and coming and going other places. So this really is going to be much more of a, I would say, fluid event. And we'll, I think, embrace that much more than other conferences might. And I would say also maybe for the accommodation. I mean, like, if you want to have a 5-star hotel in any city, you'll find something like that, right? But if you want to save money, then, well, you might be completely fine with a hostel or a cheap Airbnb. Or maybe you want to get together with like 10 of your friends and you want to like rent an entire house and then just live there and talk all night. These are all different options that are really subjective in the desires. Or you might be there with your family and really just want to have like your 2-bed hotel room and you're quiet at night. Right? So it really depends on who you are, where you also want to sleep, right? Maybe you want to tent on the vicinity and just sleep outside on a hammock. Why not, right? So again, for here, I would much prefer to not micromanage it, right? To not be, this is the official hotel, but just be like, we're going to be roughly at that time at roughly that place. Meet us. And then just let everything else somewhat fall into place as it then most usually often does.

Oh yeah, absolutely. We could have like a camping area or something like that close by. We could, I don't know, rent an empty school or something and people can sleep on the floors. Like hobbyist conferences do that all the time. And it's pretty neat because then you can, like you said, stay up all night and talk about Bitcoin. What's better than that? And of course you have options. Whatever is your flavor, you can do it.

Yes, exactly. And yeah, I think this is just the entire theme of this event, to be like, yeah, we're like, we are not the organizers, we are not the micromanagers of this. We're just supporters who want to see it happen, and we'll try our best to make it happen. And though this doesn't mean that we're responsible for you, and that we just do stuff for you, not necessarily. I mean, yes, we collaborate on this, and we will sacrifice our time and attention, and maybe our money as well, in order to make this happen. But this does not mean that you don't have to do it, right? If you want to contribute, for sure, in what any shape or form, just by showing up, you're supporting such an event and by being part of the mindspace of such an awesome conference. And of course, if you are a company or business, I don't know, I'm looking, for example, at peers like Coldcard or Nodle.it, if the website would load, or just other hardware manufacturers. And maybe if you're like Trezor schlosh to show your products and services, right? We really want to encourage you not to be just a financial sponsor, but be actually part of such an open-source Libra event. And just come over and showcase your wares and actually honestly advertise them and educate peers on how to use them. That is really what we want to do. And that was so awesome at the Understanding Bitcoin conference, was the workshops. Because I mean, so many of these here do have products. I mean, here we talking about Slushpool. Here we have JoinMarket. Pavel is also— yeah, it's also Slushpool. Here, BraiinsOS again, Satoshi Labs Trezors, like a cLightning, some Bitcoin ATMs, a Blockstream satellite, like ABCore. There are all these different products. Nodle, of course, being sold, Bitrefill. And this is not bad shilling. This is actually important. advertisement and education of how to use these goods and services. And I'm telling you, like, these conversations that we had afterwards with these entrepreneurs about their products was awesome. And we really advanced it quite a lot and made the user experience better and the integration. I mean, just thinking about the conversations I had with Francis Poullian from Bull Bitcoin and Adam Fiskor from Wasabi Wallet on how these 2 businesses can collaborate and how can Adam write software that makes Francis's workflow easier. Like, this is good collaboration. This is exactly what we want to have. And I believe that the Money Badger will be exactly one of these conferences, not something that is being micromanaged, but just getting the right peers at the right time at the right place and then seeing what will happen.

Yeah, that's exactly what I'm expecting to happen. And to really show that we mean business, maybe it's time to show the comic that we had made.

Oh yes, very, very cool, uh, because I think that it's, it's so nice. Like, I love this. Again, this was, this was a very collaborative effort, um, just from the community, uh, with awesome artists collaborating here together. And it is the story that we want to tell here. Um, the Mr. Money Badger finds a friend and he breaks out of the zoo. All should be free to try on their own. Freedom! And that is what the Money Badger is all about. And then he escapes the horrible central banks, the banksters here, the crocodiles, because he needs to get out. He really cannot handle it anymore. Too much corruption, too much coercion. Life alone feels incomplete and the evil banksters are too strong. So you know what? We're just going to build a better system. Niko, want to continue? You're muted.

Sorry about that. Yeah, when he gets out, he actually runs into Miss Piggy, who says, hey, Mr. Money Badger, we don't have to follow their rules. All we need is consensus. And then they go on a journey together where Mr. Money Badger teaches Mrs. Piggy Bank how to use tools, and Miss Piggy Bank teaches him how to hodl, and then they go to the moon together. So the moon being the Money Badger event. So that's pretty much the story so far. I have a feeling that there is a sequel coming. Let's see how this develops.

Yes, I love it. Isn't that awesome? I think it tells quite a lot in a short little comic. I like the style. It's really colorful. And tells a good story, right? So let's see where this continues, and we're probably going to have some swag with this, some stickers, maybe even an entire book. Let's see, maybe just a bunch of shirts or bags or whatever. So again, like, this is a collaborative conference, and if you want to contribute even with something like, like art, that is absolutely welcome because this is an essential part of such an event is the motto, the theme behind it. The stories we tell why this is important. And again, we want to highlight this very much. And as Space Jockey says, they made a comic? Well, then I am convinced. Niko, I think that was a good decision. Now it is official. We are professionals. We have a comic.

Yeah, of course. I mean, if you're not convinced by a comic, then I don't know what is going to convince you. And yeah, actually, the idea of the book is not that far off. The artist, who remains unknown for now, actually draws children's books for a living. So, so that might be something that we can make happen.

Yes, yes. And there again, a lot of cool stuff happening. So if you have anything that is interesting in Bitcoin, again, It can be a very wide array of topics. As long as it's honest and not bullshit, then it is very welcome here at this event. So anything that is also then— and try— okay, well, though I would have to say that saying it's just a Bitcoin conference is again, I guess, in the ethos of Bitcoin, but it's not just about the Bitcoin topic. Or at least the Bitcoin topic is so wide that we can include a huge different like sources of learnings. Like, as we said, Austrian economics, development, right, in the technical side, hardware, uh, and, and real workshops, right? But of course, OPSEC and, and how you can use, for example, cryptography tools like GPG, uh, or maybe hosting your own website or something. Uh, and I think it is going to be really a huge array of topics, as it always is at these Bitcoin events. Uh, and I think it's really worth, uh, checking out. Um, so Niko, maybe any, any last, like, real nuggets that you think we did not yet highlight?

I think we got it pretty much. Yeah, I like what you said. It's not— I mean, it is a Bitcoin event, obviously, but what is Bitcoin for? Like, for me, it stands for freedom. So what we're really talking about here is what I'd like to talk about is freedom tech or freedom software or Libra software. And, and, you know, the ideology behind Bitcoin, why Bitcoin was conceived, and why Bitcoin is necessary. I mean, ironically, and I think Saifedean wrote about this in his research bulletin, which is, by the way, great, Order, you should definitely go and order it right now. That if only the central banks and the governments would make the world a better place, there wouldn't be need for Bitcoin. So the more there is control, the more there is government control imposed on people, the more the value proposition of Bitcoin goes up because it is about freedom. It is about censorship resistance. It is about taking responsibility of our own lives and sovereignty. So that's Really what it's about. But of course, Bitcoin is the most powerful tool we currently have to enforce those rights.

Yes, exactly. And again, it's a freedom conference, and therefore it is a Bitcoin conference. But this also means that we as as kind of organizers will will form the consensus that no shit coinery whatsoever. But yeah, what I also would like to highlight is that there are many many other cool conferences and events. And the Money Matcher is not in competition with them at all. But these are, so to say, Bitcoin— different Bitcoin holidays and different Bitcoin family gatherings that are really important and that really give us the opportunity of meeting up again and again and again and really making sure that this is a strong community that we foster. So we thank and we support very much all of these other conferences. I mean, here just listing these that I will be going to. There are a couple more. Of course, but yeah, this is really going to be just one of many Bitcoin family gatherings and not really in competition, but rather in collaboration with all of them. So we're also in contact with all these organizers and we're supporting each other and then helping out. For example, Kevin Loack, the organizer of Breaking Bitcoin, he is based in Lisbon. Right? So he suggested a couple of really cool venues that we might use. Right? So this is very much a collaborative event. And just on the timeframe, again, we're not yet too certain, but we think September 2019 will be a good event because just June is going to be packed with the Lightning Hack Day, with Breaking Bitcoin, with Unchained Berlin, lots of different conferences here. And then July, August, also a couple already, and maybe September is still a nice place. to fit one in. It's still warm in the southern European parts, so that is what we like, where we still want to get some sun, maybe at the beach, that would be nice. And yes, as Niko said, this is a collaborative event and we need your support, especially for the location. So if you have something suitable for such a really open event for roughly 200 to maybe 500 peers, then reach out. You know where to contact us. For me, it's @hillebrandmax. Where is it? Yep. And for Niko, it's @omnifin, right? Or you will find us sooner or later here in cyberspace. But yeah, help out, collaborate. And I think that is the entire ethos here of this event. So Niko, any last words?

No, I think you covered it pretty well. And yeah, of course, the Baltic Honey Badger is in September as well. But yeah, we were thinking about the last quarter of this year. And we don't really care when it is or where it is as long as it is. And it's just like Bitcoin, you know, it is enough that it is. And we want to make this a long-running event, a yearly thing for the very least. And why wouldn't we want to have more of these family gatherings? Because they seem to be so awesome, and I've been missing out for sure. I don't know about you guys who are watching. There's 21 still watching us, so thank you. you for your attention. And yeah, please, please send us a message and be, be a part of it.

Yes, fantastic. Okay, Piers, you heard it here first, the Money Badger Conference, where Mr. Money Badger and Mrs. Piggy will finally meet up on the moon. It will be in 2 weeks, somewhere, somewhere. We don't know it yet. But Piers, thank you very much for joining us here today. And go to all of these awesome Bitcoin events. Many, many of them will happen this year. And of course, including but not limited to the bunny badger. Thank you very much for joining us here today and see you on the next show. Bye-bye.

Bye-bye.