BCCN3 attended this year’s Bitcoin Amsterdam conference and interviewed several of the speakers, founders, and industry experts. The event proved there is a clear path forward for bitcoin to upset web2 business models and many other structures in the world at large. Of the many keynotes, discussions, and presentations at the conference, here are five key takeaways from the conference. 

Decentralizing citizenship

With so many things being decentralized in the world today, national citizenship is one factor that has not yet been fragmented by the blockchain. PlanBPassport is an innovative company working to change that by providing customers a second passport to increase the number of countries a holder can travel to. PlanBPassport operates in 145 countries around the world––nearly every country on earth. We interviewed the company’s COO and CEO.

From left: Jessica Hodlr, COO, and Katie the Russian, CEO of PlanBPassport.

Using the universal nature of bitcoin, a PlanBPassort holder can move around the world without financial restrictions as their bitcoin can be accessed from almost anywhere. The company provides holders with the opportunity to adopt and test out a number of options that decentralized citizenship offers. 

PlanBPassport’s goal is to, as they say, ‘short the state,’ meaning that people who are looking for truly free citizenship in a deglobalized world should shop around for the best nations to live in.

CBDCs: the new surveillance state

The rise of Central Bank Digital Currencies, or CBDCs, has come with concerns about political persecution––a factor that has been addressed by no less than the World Economic Forum. The fact that this has to be stated at the outset is concerning in and of itself.

Bitcoin advocate Layah Heilpern spoke about these concerns at Bitcoin Amsterdam. Essentially, democratic nations could suppress certain rights of the individual not by outright terminating particular rights, but by simply turning off the money supply of an individual who wants to buy something the government deems illegal.

Nigel Farage addressed the rise of CBDCs and said, “Central Bank Digital Currencies are one of the things I fear the most,” a comment that resulted in great applause from the many bitcoiners in attendance. 

Nigel Farage at Bitcoin Amsterdam 2022

Crypto tax reporting

As with stocks, it is only when an asset yields realized gains that a tax is incurred. As of now cryptocurrency trading exchanges do not automatically withhold taxes when crypto is sold. This is where CoinTracking has come in to meet the demand for organized tax reporting, easing investors’ efforts to keep track of what taxes they owe through its platform.

We interviewed the team at CoinTracking on our podcast, BCCN3 Talk.

With over 20,000 crypto coins available for investment, keeping track of profits and losses can quickly become confusing. CoinTracking generates reports that calculate earnings and tax amounts owed in more than 100 countries. Investors can submit a report to their CPA and even get legal tax advice from CoinTracking’s full-service team.

Mortgage lending

We interviewed Aaron Nevin and Tristan Marino, the founders of Moon Mortgage, a web3 company that uses crypto assets as collateral for mortgage loans. With traditional banks rejecting digital assets as collateral, Moon Mortgage stepped in to provide this service. 

Investor assets are 100% secure with the company’s partnership with Anchor Digital, a crypto custodian. In line with the diaphanous nature of blockchain technology, Moon Mortgage prides itself on being as transparent as possible. 

Moon Mortgage is innovating at a rapid pace, turning the mortgage industry upside down by offering quicker escrow closures, dialing in at an average of 14 days. A high average loan amount of $1.6 million also rivals many traditional mortgage lenders and banks. 

With their stated mission to “materialize your digital wealth,” Moon Mortgage has quickly become a popular choice of crypto investors everywhere. 

The future of payment 

In line with the growing trend of decentralization, Unlimint has set out to change payment methods, making this often tedious task more streamlined for both businesses and consumers. 

Unlimint offers card processing in many different currencies in more than 1000 alternative payment methods. Even when physical credit cards are not present, customers can still pay using Unlimint’s card issuing API. 

BCCN3 Talk interview with Nadia Ivanova, CMO of Unlimint. 

As we move into the future with such goods and services as virtual commodities, drone delivery, and space tourism, businesses will need to innovate how they accept payment. Digital businesses and investment opportunities will continue to become more and more borderless and Unlimint provides payment systems that can operate in a borderless business model. 

The major takeaway from Bitcoin Amsterdam

Of the many key insights that were exhibited at Bitcoin Amsterdam, one major takeaway became quickly apparent: true self-sovereignty is now possible. The individual can start to become separated from central banks, traditional business methods, and even the state. 

With the current economic problems caused by the use of centralized fiat currency, decentralized finance, and bitcoin in particular, are proving to be the best solution. The use of national debt, money printing, and interest rate manipulation has proven to the modern generation that centralized currency is not working for the ordinary citizen. 

Decentralized finance is giving the power back to people, creating what might be called a new bitcoin bourgeois.