A breakthrough year for Bitcoin is all coming to a head at Bitcoin Unleashed in London.
On October 19 and 20, some of the Bitcoin ecosystem’s leaders will weigh in on a milestone year that has ushered in a new era for the world’s oldest blockchain. The conference is set to be a convergence point for developers and thought leaders intent on pushing Bitcoin to its full potential.
From the latest developments in the L2 and Ordinals landscape to discussions of how the Bitcoin economy can – and will – evolve, Bitcoin Unleashed will serve as a window into a future built on BTC.
As you know, our goal at Trust Machines has been to build the biggest ecosystem of Bitcoin applications to lead us into a new global economy with Bitcoin at its core. For us, Bitcoin Unleashed isn’t simply a celebration and lookahead to the next big developments to expect – it’s also a chance for our team to cement Trust Machines as an emerging leader in the Bitcoin ecosystem.
Console: The Official Chat App of Bitcoin Unleashed
First and foremost, Console (a product of Trust Machines) will be the official messaging platform for Bitcoin Unleashed – a precursor to appearances at the frENSday conference in Istanbul and a select group of Art Basel parties in Miami this year.
Console elevates traditional ideas of group chat and community platforms by integrating Web3 tools that prioritize security and enable user-owned communities. Since Console communities are building on-chain, they own their own data, social networks and creative outlook.
After all, ownership starts with owning your identity.
In addition to being the messaging platform of choice at Bitcoin Unleashed, Console founder Chris Castig will hold a workshop at the conference’s Developer Den on October 19. Attendees will get an exclusive look at Console’s 2024 roadmap and learn about how Console is more than a chat app – it’s an app that has simplified community curation.
Conference attendees can also catch Chris on the main stage on October 20 in a panel moderated by the Stacks Foundation’s Jenny Mith titled “How Web3 Communities Grow Into Full Ecosystems.” Chris will speak alongside Collab.Land co-founder Anjali Young, Procrastinate Pixels and Nonnish co-founder Craig Sykes and STX.LDN co-founder Nathaniel Cole in a panel discussion that will analyze some of the fastest-growing communities in Web3.
Trust Machines CEO on the State of the Bitcoin Economy
Trust Machines CEO Muneeb Ali will be featured twice on the first day of Bitcoin Unleashed, starting with a keynote presentation on realizing the full potential of Bitcoin L2s titled “State of the Bitcoin Ecosystem” on October 19.
When it comes to L2s, the numbers speak for themselves – Ethereum’s L2 flywheel economies have amassed $8 billion while the Bitcoin L2 ecosystem currently stands at $2 billion in market value. Much of that is due to the difficulties inherent in scaling Bitcoin, which has led many developers to seek out newer blockchains over the years.
But more recently, the outlook has changed as a number of protocols have led crypto users to the Bitcoin blockchain. Renewed calls for more established Bitcoin L2s have once again emphasized the need for the Bitcoin blockchain to scale, especially to accommodate additional developments that may come down the line. Muneeb is more than familiar with the need for a more robust Bitcoin L2 ecosystem, an argument that will be made in both his keynote and a panel discussion following shortly after. “The Ossification Debate: Does Bitcoin Need to Change?” will be moderated by Bitcoin Magazine editor RIZZO, and feature Muneeb alongside Casa co-founder and CTO Jameson Lopp.
While Satoshi Namakoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, may have argued that Bitcoin’s design was “set in stone” (which we will cover with the launch of our recent “Bitcoin’s Crystal Anniversary” content campaign), it’s really the users and builders who have a say in the blockchain’s future. In the coming years, changes will likely need to be made to Bitcoin’s core software, and the challenges that come with immutability and decentralized governance will also need to be addressed.
Navigating the Evolving Bitcoin Ecosystem
Speaking of change, users’ first point of interaction with changes in the Bitcoin ecosystem is with their Bitcoin wallets.
Bitcoin wallets like Leather (a product of Trust Machines) have always acted as a gateway for people to interact with the crypto world. With Bitcoin hitting milestone after significant milestone this year, it’s more important than ever for users to have a secure Bitcoin wallet with which they can put their assets to use. And as the world gradually transitions into a global economy that incorporates crypto and Web3, crypto wallets will continue to evolve.
So, what will the next generation of crypto wallets look like?
Leather general manager, Mark Hendrickson, will try to answer this question on October 19 as part of a main stage panel, “Beyond the Seedphrase: The Next Generation of Crypto Wallets.” There, he will give his take on how wallets can effectively onboard users to Web3 using lessons learned from his work on Leather. The panel is moderated by Coinbase’s Sid Shekhar, who will also be hosting Ryder CEO Louise Ivan, Xverse CEO Ken Liao and Toby Box, Head of Product Financial Services at IOV Labs.
But new protocols and technologies won’t be the only determining factor in Bitcoin’s development. As we know, external parties outside of crypto are also set to impact the crypto and Web3 industry amidst a global crackdown on tokens and centralized exchanges.
Our Head of Operations and Strategy, Rena Shah, will attempt to address some of the biggest questions facing Bitcoin’s future in “High Noon: Crypto’s Regulatory Reckoning, and How It Impacts Bitcoin.” The panel, which also includes Digital Frontier Editor in Chief Andrew Rummer, Blockchain Lex Group founder Brian Sanya Mondoh and Fox Williams associate Vlad Arutyunyan, will dive into some of the biggest headlines facing the crypto ecosystem this year and offer some clarity into how regulatory discussion and debate could impact the Bitcoin community.
Our position as a member of the Blockchain Association helps inform our stance on the regulatory landscape for crypto. Namely, we believe strongly that education is vital in understanding how blockchain technology affects not just companies, but the everyday lives of people represented by those in power.
Trust Machines and the Future of Bitcoin
As you’ll likely hear our Chief of Staff, Gina Abrams, address in the “Community Q&A: Learn from the Bitcoin Ecosystem” panel on October 19, building on Bitcoin isn’t without its challenges. But as we navigate towards a future where Bitcoin is the bedrock of the Web3 economy, we’re dedicated to taking the lessons we have learned and improving upon them for a brighter future ahead.
From L2s to Ordinals, the Bitcoin ecosystem is gradually reaching its full potential as more builders block to the world’s oldest blockchain. And ultimately, that’s our vision – to build a brighter future for Bitcoin that is accessible to everyone.
