Watch Out Bitcoin 6th - 8th October 2023

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On the 7th October, our own DSF Chief of Staff Juan Ignacio Ibañez joined the Watch Out, Bitcoin! event to speak on the impact of the Bitcoin network from core legal and environmental perspectives for the European Union and international regulatory frameworks, as well as the historical and contemporary characteristics of mining operations. 

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From the venue in Madrid, Spain, Juan was joined by fellow industry experts: Alfredo Muñoz (Consultec-TI), Cristina Carrascosa (ATH21), Javier Maestre (Maestre Abogados), José Antonio Bravo (Agora SA), and Alberto Mera (Moderator). Focal points of the debate covered: major regulatory changes made and enforced in various geographies during the recent months of crypto winter; how consumers should be be) and KYC (Know-Your-Customer) procedures; relationship between crypto CEXs (Centralised Exchanges); mining bans in European member states; and the century-old question of to what extent should governments be involved - particularly in outlining policies affecting daily miners and network contributors. 

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At the same time, Juan was able to keep the relevance of the matter on the EU’s efforts to standardise the industry by presenting a first-of-a-kind paper (co-authored by Nancy Quirós) exploring the way in which Bitcoin mining can be improved in order to satisfy the climate-friendly regulations disclosed in the MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation) framework set to take full effect in June 2024. 

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Adding to this endeavour, Juan was asked to share his expert views on the matter by Lunaticoin (moderator) alongside guest Miguel Vidal (FLOSSystems), as well as a professionals from academia and the education sector: Gael Sánchez, Dev7ba, BTCAndres, and CSH2000. Here, it was clear that there was an apparent urge to hold Bitcoin accountable to its environmental impact, but also to realise that the network has done incredibly well to adapt to its governance and security challenges since 2008 to get to where it is today. 

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Bitcoin Amsterdam 12th - 13th October 2023 

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A few days later, Juan travelled slightly more north in the European continent, being invited to the reputable Bitcoin Amsterdam conference to dive deeper into how the Bitcoin mining narrative should be re-framed to work alongside broader policy strategies implemented throughout the European energy markets - with specific reference to today’s price action and adoption of renewable energy sources. 

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Critically, as echoed in the panel forming of Bradford Van Voorhees (Sustainable Bitcoin Protocol) and Romain Nouzareth (SATO Technologies), the landscape for mining power and concentration should now be approached with a geopolitical notion in mind, coupled with an emphasis on conducting these operations (in terms of storing and cooling hardware, as well as dealing with waste material.) in a eco-friendly manner.