Becoming a veteran of Bitcoin conferences is a blessing and a curse at the same time. I read, study, produce content, and basically breathe Bitcoin. I’m not exaggerating. Sometimes I just want to not know what is going on in the market and go climb a mountain, swim in a lake, and touch grass.

With time, Bitcoin content becomes repetitive, and the presentations start to feel the same. Especially now with Claude: I’d bet that at least 95% of the presentations at the conference were made with Claude. The main topics were the Coldcard disaster and its consequences, AI and Bitcoin, institutional adoption, and companies surviving the long 2026 winter.

That said, Lugano Plan B feels like touching grass and climbing a mountain while still being around the Bitcoin ecosystem. Literally. Like me, the city of Lugano breathes fresh air... and Bitcoin. Lugano has countless shops of all kinds that accept Bitcoin, and Bitcoin was all over the billboards around the city, in banks, gyms, currency exchanges and many other places.

Bitcoin Add in Lugano

I arrived in Lugano late at night. Lugano is in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland, so it was quite funny for me to be able to speak the local language in Switzerland. I was hungry after the flight from Spain, so I went to the first place I found for something simple before going to sleep: a glass of wine and a pizza for the bargain price of 50 Swiss francs... Yeah, no news here, Switzerland is expensive.

The next day I went for a run around the lake to see the city before the conference, and to my surprise I ran past this guy:

Statue of Satoshi in Lugano

The statue of Satoshi Nakamoto, by Italian artist Valentina Picozzi. I had seen photos of it before, and I know it’s just a piece of metal, but it’s a badass piece of metal. For me it’s a great representation of Satoshi and of how his, her or their identity is still a mystery, and will most likely stay one forever. No need to comment on the background, just stunning.

After the run I went straight to the event. As always, my favorite part of these events is meeting new people and projects in Bitcoin. In Lugano I also met two of my professors from the Master in Bitcoin, Kristýna Mazánková and Javier Bastardo, and a classmate from the program, Jorge Greko. It was great to spend time with them and follow the sessions together.

Master in Bitcoin Classmate and Professors

There were a ton of sessions, and many were very good, but if I had to pick a top 3, these are the ones I enjoyed most and why:

From Hashcash to Bitcoin: Adam Back’s Cypherpunk Journey

Dr. Back was on the main stage talking about the emails he exchanged with Satoshi in 2008–2009, and explaining why he considers himself late to Bitcoin, since he only really got into it when it started picking up in 2013.

Adam is a legend in the space. His brain works on a much higher level than normal human beings, but it’s always great to hear him share his stories and knowledge. Blockstream, Adam’s company, also announced a new hub in Lugano that same week, so Adam was in Lugano for business too.

Why Bitcoin Cannot Wait for Academia to Catch Up – Kristýna Mazánková

Kristýna was my professor in the Master in Bitcoin. She taught the Business Communication course, and her classes were truly great. Most of the cases we studied were about PR and crisis management, which turned out to be extremely useful given everything going on in the industry in 2026.

In Lugano, she shared insights on how academia is still behind on Bitcoin education around the world, and how the program at Universidad de las Hespérides is a pioneer in the field.

Who Still Gives a F* About Bitcoin?

The speaker was Julian Liniger, founder of Relai, a Swiss exchange that operates in many EU countries.

Julian’s session was very down to earth and based on numbers. He explained that trading volume on exchanges worldwide is down about 70%, which is a heavy punch in the gut for many companies. Companies that want to last as long as Bitcoin will, will need to navigate cycles: enjoy the party days and ATHs but also be ready for long winters like 2026.

Julian - Relai Exchange

Overall, it was a great event. It was wonderful to finally see Lugano and be immersed in Bitcoin without being overwhelmed by everything that happens in the market every minute. I also have to give an honorable mention to a separate space with artists and small company booths, set in a beautiful palace by the lake, where you could interact with many companies and artists in the space. It was a fun weekend.