BTC's David Bailey

MASSIVE BITCOIN 2024 (hereafter, B24) is to convene July 26-27 in Music City Center in Nashville, with targeted attendance of 20,000.

Nearly 90 days ago, in mid-April, about 8,000 B24 tickets had already been sold, according to data provided Venture Nashville at that time by the Nashville Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The event's managers currently project 375 speakers are likely to be confirmed for core B24 sessions and a batch of satellite "Bitcoin Week" events.

The event could be a one-shot deal: There's no guarantee the annual Bitcoin conference will ever return to Nashville, once the B24 After-Party ends at Skydeck downtown.

The B24 event's key owner -- 33-year-old BTC Inc. CEO David Bailey -- recently said via his Bitcoin Magazine that Nashville's "freedom-loving mindset and entrepreneurial spirit" were important factors in deciding to convene B24 in Music City.

Nashville - Music City

In broader context, during a recent "Coin Stories" podcast, Bailey said he senses there is "populist energy" afoot and rising interest in jobs and wealth to be generated from Bitcoin mining, energy innovation and production, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), etc.

Bailey has also made clear that moving the annual Bitcoin conference inland toward strategically located Nashville affords organizers and attendees, alike, a fresh venue and a very different cultural environment, after three consecutive years of holding it in Miami, where annual attendance peaked at 35,000, then declined.

The Nashville option was probably bolstered by, first, the fact that BTC has for a decade maintained a small, busy and -- in cryptocurrency and blockchain contexts -- influential headquarters in Music City.

Second, there's the fact that Nashville is increasingly regarded by any who care about such things as a home and-or sometimes a watering-hole for increasingly tech-, celebrity- and meme-savvy professionals in music, sports and entertainment.

The geo-relocation also positions the event -- and the issues within -- closer to any swing-state voters in the Mid-South/West who are "serious about crypto policies," even while harboring lingering distrust of the digital-assets movement. Related CoinDesk report.

We note that, when speaking as a self-avowed Bitcoin maximalist or "maxi," Bailey -- a bright and fierce pragmatist not known for partisan invective -- has said he sees many of the needs of Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency sector as often being in alignment with the aims of Donald Trump, the 45th President who who hopes to regain The White House.

Among other pronouncements, former President Trump has recently called for cornering the market on the high-energy-consuming mining of cryptocurrencies, particularly bitcoin, an issue closely linked to U.S. policy regarding energy production, particularly fossil fuels.

Bailey has sometimes pointed to opportunities he's had to raise such issues directly with the former President, as well as with Trump allies.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Against this backdrop, Bitcoin 2024 organizers recently confirmed that Independent Presidential Candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is scheduled to make his second appearance during the annual Bitcoin conference, on July 26. RFK on Crypto.

Asked several times by VNC whether or not Former President Donald J. Trump will in any way participate in the event, BTC staff have thus far declined to comment.

BTC's Bitcoin Magazine's news and opinion articles often are centered on Trump's varying crypto pronouncements.

Asked today whether or not BTC had invited any Biden Administration, Democratic National Committee or proxies thereof to appear on the B24 program, BTC Chief of Staff Brandon Green replied, "We have extended invitations to Biden and other high ranking members of the Democratic Party to join us at Bitcoin 2024. We maintain a standing invitation to anyone in the Biden Administration who is willing to discuss pro-Bitcoin policies and the needs of the Bitcoin industry. Bitcoin is not a partisan issue, and we welcome anyone committed to the future of America with Bitcoin at the forefront."

VNC followed-up with a request for details regarding Biden-camp contacts. A spokesperson replied late this afternoon, "I don't have more information that I could share, other than it was a high-ranking member in the Biden campaign."

Sen. Marsha Blackburn

Also listed as Bitcoin speakers are Tennessee U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn, whose first Senate term ends Jan. 3, 2025; and former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Bill Hagerty, whose first Senate term ends in 2027. Together, the two senators play influential roles in Senate banking, commerce, technology, foreign relations, taxation and finance, and other domains.

Sen. Blackburn's Bitcoin 2024 profile describes her as "a champion for cryptocurrency," asserting that her constituents are interested in the "decentralized, lack of government interference" that crypto supports, adding that the senator is also "outspoken against Central Bank Digital Currencies..." Blackburn's other venues thus far in 2024 included the Bitcoin Policy Summit, Washington, D.C. Related BTC sit-down.

Sen. Bill Hagerty

Sen. Hagerty has also weighed-in on crypto-related issues, as shown in this search of the senator's website, this recent Binance coverage, and as reflected in this Coindesk search.

In January this year, he introduced S.3603, to establish an information-sharing pilot program to combat the illicit use of crypto assets, which was referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, with short title, Preventing Illicit Finance Through Partnership Act of 2024.

Both senators have inveighed against creation of a U.S. central bank digital currency (CBDC) as likely to lead to an erosion of privacy.

Though the organizers promise further surprises in B24 marquis-speaker announcements, we'd be remiss if we did not mention the return this year of former National Security Agency Contractor Edward Snowden, a fugitive American indicted for espionage in the U.S. and a Russian citizen since 2022.

Snowden participated in BTC's Bitcoin conference (video) in 2019, the same year he published his autobiography. We note that for a brief period after his arrival in Russia in 2013, Snowden reportedly lived on donated Bitcoin funds from the U.S. technology community.

According to a 2019 report by The Guardian, Snowden's income has periodically been augmented by speaker fees he earns, though we've seen nothing about how he collects those fees.

HIGHLIGHTS (Sessions TBA)

► The Nashville event's Pitch Day, attended by industry pass holders, will be held July 25. No details yet on presenters.

► A developer's Hackathon is being conducted with bitcoin winnings. Entries are due by July 12 (11:45PM EDST). Winners are to be announced July 26. Hackathon targets include Lightning Network innovation, Sidechain scalability, and a "Bitcoin Propaganda" to create "compelling content that promotes Bitcoin and its potential impact...to inspire and mobilize a broader audience to embrace Bitcoin." Related posts here / here / here.

► The B24 Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Program, focused on the regulatory landscape and emerging legal issues, begins prior to the main conference. The CLE offering's content has been mapped by the abovementioned CoS Brandon Green, with execution supported by Calli Bailey, alongside CLE Program Chair Carlen Williams.

► Calli Bailey also advanced the B24 "Women of Bitcoin Brunch" program, which will be moderated by Natalie Brunell.

► New record: During B24, the organizers will announce winners whose song submissions competed for Title Track and other slots on an original, pressed-vinyl Bitcoin Record.

Apart from dozens of Bitcoin professional sessions under the big tent, there are at least 25 ancillary events dubbed "Official," "Featured," and "Non-Affiliated," all listed here as part of "Bitcoin Week."

► There is, for example, the Bitcoin Bazaar, described as a "marketplace where artisans, merchants, and small businesses showcase their products, available exclusively for purchase with Bitcoin."

► The organizers are also methodically introduce more youth to Bitdcoin. Postsecondary students may apply for festival passes here. Also, parents may enroll children age 6-12 in a Bitcoin STEM education program. Some activities for teens are apparently conducted in collaboration with Generation Bitcoin.

► BTC Media is now also promoting its international Bitcoin conference in Amsterdam, Oct. 9-10, and its first Middle East-North Africa (MENA) event in Abu Dhabi, Dec. 9-10. BTC conducted its 2024 Hong Kong two months ago.

NOTES

Below, some previously included entries have been updated, corrected and-or deleted.

The multifaceted BTC ecosystem is overseen by CEO Bailey, who operates mainly from mainly from San Juan, Puerto Rico; by Nashville-based BTC Co-Founder Tyler Evans; and, by Brooklyn-based Bitcoin Magazine President Mike Germano, among others.

The most visible of the BTC ecosystem elements are BTC Inc., the BTC Media unit's Bitcoin Magazine, as well as UTXO Management Group, UTXO Ventures, UTXO Bitcoin Ecosystem Fund, a batch of publishing, gaming and merchandising gambits, among an untold number of other assets, partnerships, and other linkages to commercial and nonprofit organizations.

Not long before graduating from the University of Alabama in 2013, Bailey delivered a student lecture on "The Rise and Fall of Empire," which he may view as providing context for his first decade's work in the Bitcoin cryptocurrency arena.

The ethos, goals and ambitions Bailey and others aim to weave into the BTC ecosystem seem strikingly described here.

CEO David Bailey is married to Emily Vaughn Bailey, who is also a B24 team member. They and their three young children reside in Puerto Rico. See our 2022 story on the Bailey family's shift to Puerto Rico.

Previous VNC coverage of David Bailey. LinkedIn here. VNC coverage of BTC began in 2015 here. VNC

.last edited 1311 4 July 2024