Bitcoin’s spirit animal is the honey badger. Bitcoin evangelist turned Bitcoin Money promoter Roger Ver first popularized the meme in 2013 when he paid $1,500 a month for a billboard in California to show “Bitcoin is the Honey Badger of Cash.”
Since then, the honey badger has been an elusive beast, often showing in memes and tweets in addition to at its annual hunt on the Baltic Coast of Europe.
A Baltic Honeybadger sighting excites even probably the most hardcore Bitcoiners. Dwelling on a eating regimen of purple meat and Latvian beer, lurking close to cypherpunk phases and infrequently noticed skulking over a pc display screen checking and rewriting traces of code, the Baltic Honeybadger allures cypherpunks and Bitcoin (BTC) advocates alike.
The Baltic Honeybadger convention started in 2017 when audio system Andreas Antonopoulos and Elizabeth Stark graced the stage. As “probably the most OG Bitcoin convention,” the Riga-based occasion elevates privateness, anti-surveillance and cypherpunk rules.
Privateness is a human proper
These ethics materialized on the Cypherpunk Stage. Incessantly packed or with standing room solely, the Cypherpunk Stage was strictly off-limits for cameras, recording gadgets and reside streams.
A workforce of “Bitcoin Bears” (aka, safety personnel) watched over the Honeybadger viewers. No media, tweets or photographs would enterprise onto the web — all of the motion remained within the room.
In the course of the convention opening, Max Keidun, founding father of Honeybadger and CEO of Hodl Hodl and Debifi, introduced that any visitors discovered recording or photographing the Cypherpunk Stage could be thrown out of the convention and banned from Honeybadger for all times. He added:
“We don’t joke in Japanese Europe.”
These rules permeated all through the convention. Many attendees wore badges stating their need to keep away from photographs, the convention goodie bag included a privacy-centric bandana, and it was frequent to listen to individuals ask each other, “Are you doxed?” — primarily that means, “Is your identification shared or hid on-line?”
Freedom of speech was additionally essential. One of many Cypherpunk Stage talks by Bitcoin activist Rikki in contrast some elements of Bitcoin in El Salvador to central financial institution digital currencies.
Giacomo Zucco, a Bitcoin educator, described how “midwits” can get in the best way of Bitcoin. With comedic intentions, he highlighted that lower-intelligence Bitcoin advocates, or “80 IQ plebs,” are a drive for good, whereas “midwits” journey up over nuance and fail to notice the larger image.
Nonetheless, regardless of its OG attract, the Honeybadger may very well be underneath risk of extinction. Many Bitcoin conferences all over the world have been transformed into social media moments and selfie alternatives due to the rising mainstream glamor of Bitcoin and the propulsion of telegenic Bitcoin advocates reminiscent of Michael Saylor, Natalie Brunell and Jack Mallers onto tv screens throughout america.
Certainly, Rigel Walshe of Swan Bitcoin stated the Bitcoin 2021 convention in Miami felt like a Christian rock competition. Why else would 1000’s of younger individuals come collectively to look at crusty outdated guys discuss esoteric rules reminiscent of sound cash or salvation, he joked.
If Miami’s Bitcoin convention was a rock competition, Honeybadger was a dive bar, the place something was up for dialogue, from nuclear battle to Miniscript, from human rights to hamster wheels. (Sure, all of those matters have been mentioned throughout talks.)
Moreover, not like the massive crypto conferences, Bitcoin’s worth was seldom spoken of—sparing one panel on the primary day. The dialogue, “When 100K?,” noticed Blockstream CEO Adam Again double down on his declare that Bitcoin would hit all-time highs earlier than the Bitcoin halving in April 2024. The panel finally advanced right into a dialog about macroeconomics.
Lightning strikes Riga
As with all Bitcoin conferences, the facet occasions and offstage shenanigans stole the present. The workforce from Nostr, a decentralized protocol whose first iteration proposes an alternative choice to X (previously Twitter), hosted occasions and dominated dialogue.
A celebration organized and fundraised through Nostr Zaps — Bitcoin suggestions over Nostr — closed out the weekend. All funds to assist the open bar, purchase pizzas and sponsor a reside present with rented devices have been crowdfunded and zapped over the Lightning Community within the days main as much as the convention.
Derek Ross, a Nostr developer, defined that “purple-pilling” goes hand in hand with “orange-pilling” throughout one other speak. Being orange-pilled means understanding Bitcoin, whereas being purple-pilled means understanding Nostr.
Elsewhere, Portuguese programmer Francis arrange a Chain Duel match. Chain Duel is a social Bitcoin sport that mixes components of the 90s basic Snake with satoshis, the smallest denomination of Bitcoin. Whereas the sport seems straightforward, it’s addictive and aggressive.
Gamers registered on Chain Duel by sending satoshis to the in-game Lightning Community handle with a fee observe as their identify. The winner of the match took house the pot of 1,520,000 satoshis, valued at greater than $300.
Lightning-enabled interactions have been a outstanding characteristic all through Honeybadger. All of the convention meals vans accepted Bitcoin and Bitcoin Lightning funds, and each service provider who spoke with Cointelegraph commented that it’s simpler and sooner to pay with Lighting than card funds. Plus, Lightning avoids the charges charged by Mastercard and Visa.
In whole, greater than 1.1 BTC ($27,600) was paid over Lightning over the course of the convention. BTCPay Server, the workforce behind the fee terminals, shared the statistics on social media.
Basement Bar, a Latvian bar within the metropolis heart, was swarmed with Bitcoin fanatics eager to pay in satoshis. As a Bitcoin-friendly location, it grew to become the de facto haunt spot over the weekend as clients tapped, zapped and scanned Bitcoin as their chosen technique of fee.
Certainly, the Bitcoin-critic meme “Nobody makes use of Lightning” was undermined by occasions, dialogue and motion at Baltic Honeybadger. The phrase “Lightning” featured in eight of the talks, and discussions ranged from Breez CEO Roy Sheinfeld explaining offline funds to explanations of sensible contracts on Lightning and Synota CEO Austin Mitchell explaining that “Lightning is transactive power.”
Sam Wouters, a Bitcoin analysis analyst at River, summed up Lightning’s scenario with regard to the Bitcoin community:
“Lightning is probably going a part of the scaling puzzle. Lightning purchased us time.”
In all, the Baltic Honeybadger convention changed headline-grabbing bulletins acquainted to giant Bitcoin conferences with backroom discussions and debates. Privateness took priority over picture alternatives, whereas fiat funds have been outstripped by Lightning.
Baltic Honeybadger was a name to motion for cypherpunk rules. It’s typically forgotten that Satoshi Nakamoto, the founding father of Bitcoin, was additionally a cypherpunk. They didn’t reveal their identification and disappeared the second Bitcoin made a transfer into the mainstream.
