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@ Tanja
2025-03-06 22:39:15
Last week at Bitcoin Investment Week in New York City, hosted by Anthony Pompliano, Jack Mallers walked in wearing sneakers and a T-shirt, casually dropping, “Man… I hate politics.”
That was it. That was the moment I felt aligned again. That’s the energy I came for. No suits. No corporate jargon. Just a guy who gets it—who cares about people, bringing Bitcoin-powered payments to the masses and making sure people can actually use it.
His presence was a reminder of why we’re here in the first place. And his words—“I hate politics”—were a breath of fresh air.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Anthony was a fantastic host. His ability to mix wittiness, playfulness, and seriousness made him an entertaining moderator. But this week was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced in the Bitcoin ecosystem.
One of the biggest letdowns was the lack of interaction. No real Q&A sessions, no direct engagement, no real discussions. Just one fireside chat after another.
And sure, I get it—people love to hear themselves talk. But where were the questions? The critical debates? The chance for the audience to actually participate?
I’m used to Bitcoin meetups and conferences where you walk away with new ideas, new friends, and maybe even a new project to contribute to. Here, it was more like sitting in an expensive lecture hall, watching a lineup of speakers tell us things we already know.
A different vibe—and not in a good way
Over the past few months, I’ve attended nearly ten Bitcoin conferences, each leaving me feeling uplifted, inspired, and ready to take action. But this? This felt different. And not in a good way.
If this had been my first Bitcoin event, I might have walked away questioning whether I even belonged here. It wasn’t Prague. It wasn’t Riga. It wasn’t the buzzing, grassroots, pleb-filled gatherings I had grown to love. Instead, it felt more like a Wall Street networking event disguised as a Bitcoin conference.
Maybe it was the suits.
Or the fact that I was sitting in a room full of investors who have no problem dropping $1,000+ on a ticket.
Or that it reminded me way too much of my former life—working as a manager in London’s real estate industry, navigating boardrooms full of finance guys in polished shoes, talking about “assets under management.”
Bitcoin isn’t just an investment thesis. It’s a revolution. A movement. And yet, at times during this week, I felt like I was back in my fiat past, stuck in a room where people measured success in dollars, not in freedom.
Maybe that’s the point. Bitcoin Investment Week was never meant to be a pleb gathering.
That said, the week did have some bright spots. PubKey was a fantastic kickoff. That was real Bitcoin culture—plebs, Nostr, grassroots energy. People who actually use Bitcoin, not just talk about it.
But the absolute highlight? Jack Mallers, sneakers and all, cutting through the noise with his authenticity.
So, why did we even go?
Good question. Maybe it was curiosity. Maybe it was stepping out of our usual circles to see Bitcoin through a different lens. Maybe it was to remind ourselves why we chose this path in the first place.
Would I go again? Probably not.
Would I trade Prague, Riga, bitcoin++ or any of the grassroots Bitcoin conferences for this? Not a chance.
At the end of the day, Bitcoin doesn’t belong to Wall Street from my opinion. It belongs to the people who actually use it. And those are the people I want to be around.