Ok - the conference recently kicked off and I've watched a few minutes of it.

I'm appalled. I'm not complaining, necessarily. But I'll just say it definitely feels like more of the same. What do I mean, by that.

Admittedly, I have not been around as long as some of you OGs, yet I feel nevertheless that in that short time, there has been major shift in the framing of Bitcoin in the mainstream. Since tuning in today to the live-streams¹, an entirety of the talks have been either about Bitcoin treasuries, the financialization and/or the politicization of Bitcoin. Same financial engineering, same political jockeying, same vacuous talk I came into the bitcoin space to escape.

Before you criticize me--this is not a "Bitcoin is captured" post, nor is it a black-pilled post about how I think the culture has been infiltrated and atrophied at the hands of the crony political class (while true that may be). It is instead a lament on the state of human affairs that seems to elicit an ever revolving door: same old clowns, different talking points.

Since I came into Bitcoin, I maintain my interest in having money for the people, that is reasonable, cogent (because it's based on mathematics) and just makes sense. What I've seen today is 99.999% financial and legislative jargon. I didn't come into Bitcoin to need another lousy degree in finance or law, and yet the majority of what I'm hearing today are suits talking to exactly these types.

As I surmise, there is far too much talk at Bitcoin 2025 about how Bitcoin helps America and not enough about p2p electronic cash. Nothing against my friends south of the border, but imho there is a distinct cultural pattern there where hyper-politicization churns grassroots movements led by amazing visionaries into inoculated, lame specters of what they once were.

I know many of you are going to write that I ought to dry my crocodile tears, that this was inevitable, that Bitcoin is an NSA project .... yadda-yadda; and while you can all roll-over to get fucked into complacency, I think you ought not to.

If you zoom out, the financialization, politicization and nation state adoption are patently less relevant for humanity than the enabling of responsible self-custody and p2p usage of bitcoin as money, which is why, if you haven't watched any of the conference yet, then I'd say skip it and instead learn or teach someone about how to self-custody their stack, read a @DarthCoin guide, run a Bitcoin or LN node, build something that makes life easier for the plebs, start or find a meetup, start a business that incorporates Bitcoin payments or even just post in an online community that is genuine about the ethos of the sovereignty of the individual.

Bitcoiners might come for the NGU, but they stay for the freedom.

That's all for now, I may report back if I can stomach to watch any more of Shitshow 2025.

The irony is that this all happens on the "Satoshi Nakamkto" stage. Talk about cult worship.

Maybe this has always been the spirit of Bitcoin conferences and I've been out to lunch?