Huge Trump ad makes convention politically charged
The Bitcoin 2024 conference kicked off on July 25 in Nashville, Tennessee, attracting Bitcoin enthusiasts and high-profile politicians from around the world. The most eye-catching thing about this conference is the huge advertisement of former President Trump, which adds a strong political color to the conference. Trump recently stated that Bitcoin is crucial to the future of the United States and promised to deliver a historic speech at the conference. Convention organizer Brandon Green said Trump's speech will be the highlight of the convention and is expected to draw a large audience. However, market expectations for Trump's speech are not high, with many investors doubting whether he will announce anything substantive.
Source: Cointelegraph Trump display ads are everywhere in Nashville
In addition to Trump, independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and well-known Bitcoin supporters such as Michael Saylor of MicroStrategy and Cathie Wood of ARK Investment Company will also give speeches at the conference. Although details of Kennedy and Wood's speeches have not yet been revealed, their presence will undoubtedly add to the weight of the convention. It is worth noting that Vice President Harris Harris was originally expected to attend the conference, but ultimately failed to make the trip.
Bitcoin and Lightning Network still hold promise for retail banking
In the forum discussion "The Future of Retail Banking Made Possible With Bitcoin & Lightning", the impact of Bitcoin and Lightning Network on retail banking business has become a hot topic. In their presentation, Christian Catalini, chief strategy officer at Lightspark, and Joey Garcia, director of public affairs policy and regulation at Xapo Bank, delved into the potential of Bitcoin and the Lightning Network in global payments and banking. Catalini emphasized that since its birth, Bitcoin has allowed users to seamlessly transfer value 24 hours a day in more than 200 countries around the world and has deep liquidity.
Garcia added: "Lightning Network, as a second-layer scaling solution for Bitcoin, can significantly increase transaction speeds and reduce costs, allowing retail banks to operate more efficiently."
He pointed out that as more banks and financial institutions begin to adopt Bitcoin and Lightning Network technology, we can expect faster and cheaper cross-border payments, as well as more efficient financial services.
The potential of these technologies extends beyond payments and banking. Catalini and Garcia also mentioned the applications of Bitcoin and the Lightning Network in asset management and investing. As Bitcoin is gradually accepted by mainstream financial institutions, we can foresee its application in more traditional financial industries, which will have a profound impact on the global financial system.
BlackRock’s clients are mainly interested in Bitcoin, Ethereum
Another focus at the conference was global asset management giant BlackRock’s plans to enter the cryptocurrency market. In a conversation with Bloomberg News' James Seyffart, BlackRock's head of digital assets Michael Mitchnick detailed the company's progress into the cryptocurrency market with Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) products.
Source: Bitcoin Magazine Youtube channel screenshot Michael Mitchnick, head of digital assets at BlackRock, talking to James Seyffart of Bloomberg News
"BlackRock's clients are currently most interested in Bitcoin, followed by Ethereum," Mitchnick said.
He noted that while demand from BlackRock's wealth advisors and institutional investors is still building, interest from these clients has increased significantly. It’s worth noting that large wealth management platforms like Morgan Stanley, UBS and Merrill Lynch don’t yet actively offer Bitcoin ETFs, but they do offer them upon client request.
This trend shows that cryptocurrencies are gradually being accepted by traditional financial institutions and starting to enter mainstream investment portfolios. Mitchnick emphasized that as more investors and institutions enter the cryptocurrency market, we will see further maturity and development of this market.
Jimmy Song Rage Rally
Bitcoin developer and advocate Jimmy Song expressed strong dissatisfaction with the content of the conference during a panel titled "Making Bitcoin Great Again in America." Song criticized the involvement of traditional financial institutions such as BlackRock and the conference's focus on banking, trading and ETFs.
Song said: "The greatness of Bitcoin is freedom, autonomy and self-sovereignty, which are the foundational values on which the United States was founded. Unfortunately, due to the power of money and the power of the money printing press, we are now dominated by a country that thinks it is superior to us. Ruled by administrative agencies." He added that these discussions reflect the interests of the rent-seeking class and administrative agencies, which are contrary to the ideals of freedom, autonomy and self-sovereignty.
Song’s comments sparked lively discussion among attendees, with many finding his views provocative but also helpful as a reminder of Bitcoin’s original intentions and values.
Michael Saylor: 2024 will be the year of mainstream adoption of Bitcoin
As the first day of the conference came to a close, MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor gave a speech during the conference live broadcast. He said 2024 will be the year of mainstream institutional adoption of Bitcoin. Since announcing Bitcoin as a primary financial reserve asset in August 2020, Saylor’s MicroStrategy company has held more than 200,000 Bitcoins.
Source: Bitcoin Magazine Youtube channel screenshot MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor said during the live broadcast of the conference: "2024 will be the first year for mainstream institutional adoption of Bitcoin."
Saylor mentioned that he continues to receive calls from public company CEOs and institutions that have expressed strong interest in Bitcoin-first investment strategies. Saylor also noted that the presence of the two presidential candidates and other prominent U.S. senators was a positive sign for Bitcoin.
Saylor said: “I think Bitcoin will have tailwinds no matter what. I really can’t see any future government not embracing Bitcoin. The question is not whether future governments will be ‘supportive of Bitcoin’, but that they will How fast will it move?"
He pointed out that the moment Bitcoin became an institutional-grade digital asset in January 2024 was a turning point for the industry. Saylor quoted BlackRock CEO Larry Fink as saying: "Bitcoin should be in every investment portfolio." This shows that Bitcoin has huge global appeal and the world needs more Bitcoin.
Who else will be speaking on stage next, and what can we look forward to?
As the conference progresses, there will be more high-profile talks and events over the next few days. Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will both take the stage to share their views and policy proposals on cryptocurrency.
Kennedy has previously stated that he hopes to put the entire U.S. budget on the blockchain for public review, an idea that has attracted widespread attention. Ramaswamy received support from a large number of cryptocurrency communities during the campaign, calling for an end to "Biden's war on cryptocurrency" and ensuring that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are produced in the United States.
In addition, Cathie Wood of ARK Investments and Michael Saylor of MicroStrategy will once again take the stage to share their insights and future outlook for the cryptocurrency market. Renowned whistleblower Edward Snowden will also attend the conference, where he is expected to discuss privacy and cryptocurrency-related topics.
On the last day of the conference, former President Trump will deliver the finale speech. This will be the first time a presidential candidate attends the Bitcoin conference. This historic moment will become an important symbol of the intersection of cryptocurrency and politics.
Image source: Bitcoin 2024 Bitcoin 2024 conference heavyweight speakers
Is Trump the only thing most people expect from the convention?
Although the conference attracted many heavyweight guests and industry leaders, the focus of many attendees was still on Trump's speech. Trump’s political influence and his changing stance on cryptocurrency made his speech the biggest highlight of the conference. His running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, is also a supporter of cryptocurrencies, owning $100,001 to $250,000 worth of Bitcoin.
The cryptocurrency community is looking forward to Trump's speech and hopes that he can provide specific policy support to promote the legalization and popularization of cryptocurrency. While Trump has yet to detail his policies, his meetings with cryptocurrency miners and calls for Bitcoin production in the United States suggest he may be moving on that front.
Overall, the first day of the Bitcoin 2024 conference was full of wonderful speeches and discussions, whether it was technological innovation, policy support or market trends, making people full of expectations for the following events. With more heavyweight guests taking the stage, this conference is expected to become an important milestone in the history of cryptocurrency.
This conference is not only a technology and market event, but also an intersection of politics and economics. As cryptocurrencies gain more and more attention, we can look forward to more policy support and market development in the future, pushing cryptocurrencies towards broader prospects.
If you want to watch the content of the Bitcoin 2024 conference, you can go to the Youtube channel of "Bitcoin Magazine". There is currently live content of the first day of the event. "Crypto City" will also continue to track news related to the conference and provide more complete information in real time.
