Looking back at Adopting Bitcoin Arnhem

Last week, Arnhem Bitcoinstad celebrated its 10th anniversary with the event Adopting Bitcoin Arnhem. Enthusiastic Bitcoiners from all over the world came to Arnhem to celebrate this milestone. Blockrise was proudly involved as a sponsor, and CEO Jos Lazet was invited to speak.

Arnhem Bitcoinstad

Throughout the week, various activities were organised in Arnhem Bitcoinstad, including workshops and gatherings. Bitdevs Amsterdam also organised a meeting, at which for example the recent legal developments concerning Craig Wright were discussed, alongside the (technical) developments of Bitcoin Core. There was valuable input from various attendees at this Socratic meeting. All topics from the Bitdevs meeting can be found here.

In the city of Arnhem, nearly 60 retailers accept Bitcoin as a payment method, including restaurants, bars, and even supermarkets. Many attendees of the event were highly motivated to pay with Bitcoin as much as possible. The Adopting Bitcoin Arnhem website tracked the statistics for the entire week, with a total of 1163 payments made worth €16.112.

Adopting Bitcoin Arnhem Conference

On Saturday, 25 May 2024, the main event of the anniversary took place: the Adopting Bitcoin Arnhem conference. It was a day filled with a variety of speakers and topics. Patrick van der Meijde enthusiastically opened the conference, followed by an inspiring speech from Evelyn and Gerardo about developments in El Salvador. In 2021, Bitcoin was introduced as legal tender in El Salvador, resulting in significant adoption.

Our CEO, Jos Lazet, also spoke in a panel discussion on the evolution of storage solutions for Bitcoin and their global impact. The discussion covered the future of the Lightning Network, a solution to make Bitcoin payments easier, cheaper, and faster. Jos also shared his vision on institutional challenges and their future. He believes that Bitcoin ETFs can undergo a series of improvements to enhance integrity.

Closing Remarks

Blockrise greatly appreciates initiatives like Adopting Bitcoin, where the provision of information and focus on the technical aspects of Bitcoin are highly valued. It is therefore natural for Blockrise to support this initiative as a sponsor. Many thanks to the organisation, speakers, and of course, the attendees of the event. We look back on educational and motivating days.