Bitcoin Amsterdam Conference – How it Went
A while ago I confirmed my attendance at this year’s Bitcoin Amsterdam conference, and now is the time for a recap :)
And if you don’t have the time to read this article- I’ll make it short- you should read it.
Joking aside, I’m very satisfied with the overall experience at this conference.
Meeting fellow Bitcoiners and hearing their opinions was invaluable, and the place was cozy enough to accommodate it.
On top of that, Amsterdam is a beautiful city, so the whole trip made my last week very interesting.
Let’s go
After getting an almost free ticket from Nicehash, I started preparing for the conference.
On Tuesday, I had an early flight from Belgrade, so by 9 AM, I was already at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.
My check-in wasn’t before 4 PM, so even though I was sleep-deprived from the night before, I decided to take public transport and move close to the city center.
The public transport in Amsterdam is really good and accurate, and I quickly started enjoying the beauty that Amsterdam has to offer.
Amsterdam Conference Day 1
On Wednesday, I woke up rather early for my taste, because I didn’t want to miss the conference opening.
Luckily, the conference was only 15 minutes from my place by walk, and it took place in the Westergas arena, surrounded by a beautiful park.
And while crossing the only bridge that separated me from the conference place, I confirmed that I’m on the right path:
The entrance was a bit crowdy, but the lines moved quickly and I was soon able to exchange my ticket for a bracelet and a few small gifts.
One of them was this nice card from CoinCorner that makes it possible to pay with Bitcoin, which unfortunately didn’t support my country(Serbia):
Luckily, as long as you had a Lightning wallet, on your phone, for example, you could pay all foods and drinks with Bitcoin.
The venue had nine distinct sections:
and I had to rush to the Moon Arena:
Which soon paid off with an interesting show:
@bitcoinminingsoftware Bitcoin Amsterdam Opening #bitcoin #amsterdam #bitcoinamsterdam #bitcoinconferenceamsterdam
After capturing the opening, I decided to go back and check out the other stages before they are full of people.
And while leaving the Moon Arena, I had to take a photo of flowers grown with the heat from Bitcoin mining(more on this further down the page):
The other two stages(not including the whales one) were on the opposite side of the Moon Arena:
and they were much smaller as is the usual case at conferences:
But unlike at some other conferences, this time I decided to spend more time on “side” stages as they are more oriented to practical work and it’s somewhat easier to locate similar minds.
The plan was all set, so I went to the Expo Booths and chatted with some nice people from the industry(and also received some nice perks!):
You could also buy various Bitcoin-related merch, and even check out a small gallery.
It all started with a carrot
I met some people on day 1, but I also visited quite a few lectures.
The first of them was “Analyzing the Bitcoin Market” run by the Carrot.
He had an interesting outfit, but also shared quite interesting stats, and confirmed my belief that Bitcoin market cycles are playing according to the Bitcoin halving tune.
Afterward, on the Sats stage, I visited the end of a panel with a few ladies talking about Bitcoin:
and waited for the best deal I could get from day 1- the lecture from Greentech.
Beating the energy crisis with heat recovery
This talk from GreenTech brought lots of interesting ideas.
What the company is doing, is building a system that preserves energy from Bitcoin mining and recycles it.
And potential use cases are rather unlimited.
From growing paprika with the heat from Bitcoin miners to providing heat systems to home houses.
With current energy prices and crypto market prices, GreenTech is definitely a company to learn more about.
Soon afterward, in the Moon Arena, another great lecture followed.
Replacing DeFi with Bitcoin Finance Using RGB Smart Contracts and Lightning
RGB is a smart contracts platform secured by the Bitcoin blockchain, so you can be sure it was interesting to hear about it.
This topic I find very interesting, because Bitcoin is by far the most secured network by miners, and having smart contracts through it would be outstanding.
ICP is also working on a feature similar to this.
Also, on the second day of the conference, I met Adam Haun from the Stacks Foundation, a platform that is also working on this feature.
All in all, lots of interesting talks and things to hear about smart contracts on Bitcoin.
Setting up Ibex Lightning POS
Learning how to set up the Ibex Lightning POS on the Proof of Workshop stage was very interesting.
The guys from the company showed how easy it is to set up a payment or donation system using their platform.
And with the support of Lightning Network, you should definitely check them out.
The payment process is very simple, and with Lightning, the transactions happen almost instantly.
Furthermore, the fees are rather low so it’s great even for micropayments and donations.
Building Bitcoin Data Applications with PostgreSQL
At the end of day one, I attended a very interesting lecture for developers by Attila Toth.
He talked about different types of data that we can extract from Bitcoin(market data, mining data, and on-chain data), as well as how the company he works with(Timescale) can help.
The rainy day 2
Starting day 2 meant getting a bit wet.
I accidentally realized the night before that the conference ticket also gives us the right to a 1.5-hour drive through Amsterdam canals.
I’ve spent the first hour inside the boat, chatting with some Bitcoin enthusiasts from Belgium, England, and Italy, before going out and capturing a tiny bit of what Amsterdam has to offer.
The boat ride ended successfully, and I was ready for part 2 of the conference.
The power of networking
The lectures on day 1 were very interesting and I spent most of my day 1 following them.
However, day 2 went in an entirely different direction.
While waiting outside, I met a guy called David from Portugal.
David is in the business of ASIC repair(azic.pt) and plans to spread his business from Europe to the US.
By talking to this guy I’ve learned more about the Bitcoin mining industry than I would from all lectures combined.
In fact, until meeting him I didn’t even have the perception that this world needs something like an ASIC repair service.
Through David, I met Marko from Switzerland(mybitcoin.ag), and Appie from the Netherlands(ultrabit.nl).
Both of them are in the buying and selling of ASIC machines, as well as providing hosted ASIC solutions to their customers.
Through them, I met a few more folks from the industry and we spent a few hours chatting outside.
Infinite cups of coffee, nice Indian and Italian food, and an influx of ideas I’m still processing and settling.
Chatting with staff from Nicehash
One of the company booths at the conference was dedicated to Nicehash.
And if I had to pick a favorite booth, it would be this one.
It was very interesting to hear how they manage their business, and how you need to prepare your reserves during the bull market, in order to survive the bear ones.
I’ve also asked about predictions for GPU mining since the Merge.
They have similar opinions that some coin will emerge, but I was almost shocked to hear their prediction:
According to a guy from Nicehash, it may take a year or two for GPU mining to become profitable again.
I was hoping that we will see something sooner(who knows), but the Nicehash guys are packed with knowledge and experience, so I find this prediction serious.
Bitcoin Amsterdam Conclusion
I am very satisfied with how this conference went.
There was something for everyone.
From learning about Bitcoin to networking with people and companies.
Amsterdam just made it even better with its beautiful architecture and rich history.
Bitcoin Amsterdam Predictions
I’ve chatted with quite a few folks, and they all seem to think in similar market periods.
Bitcoin halving is a strong catalyst, and most people expect the next bull market to start in 2024.
Many of them also expect further downside in prices.
BTC at $10000-15000 is something that most expect, before the next bull run in which BTC is expected to surpass $100000.
There wasn’t much talk about other cryptocurrencies, which is expected since this was a Bitcoin conference.
Mining predictions
When it comes to mining, the situation is tough everywhere.
The electricity prices went to hell, and cryptocurrency prices have spiraled downwards.
The bottom line, mining for most people is not profitable at the moment.
However, those who invest in the mining equipment patiently, will be the ones with the highest profits once we get into a new bull market.
I’ve really learned a lot at this conference, and plan to dedicate much more time to Bitcoin mining specifically and provide the best resource for ASIC mining in the following months.
Bitcoin Amsterdam Videos
Luckily for all of us, every lecture, panel, etc were recorded and has already been released!
I’m embedding here the playlist from Bitcoin Magazine, but if any is missing you can probably locate it here: