Bitcoin Insights from Riga
Bitcoin Insights #9
I spent the last six days in Riga, Latvia — an exciting time marked by two outstanding events: One day at NOSTRIGA and two days at the Baltic Honeybadger.
NOSTRIGA
Thanks to Jack Dorsey, an excellent conference focused on Nostr took place ahead of the Honeybadger — NOSTRIGA. This two-day event brought together some of the leading minds in the industry, including Jack Dorsey himself, Jack Mallers from Strike, and many other top experts.
Although I could only attend the second day of NOSTRIGA, the experience was overwhelming. Not only was the quality of the talks impressive, but I was especially captivated by Nostr as a platform. About a year and a half ago, I first used Nostr through Damus and created an account (pjah, npub1tam725g2m7exx7ms83e74ggqyd7sra6m5ckhvn2zhz8mn87pfk3sqevlhv). At that time, the app was still in its early stages, but it has since improved significantly. Nostr has become much more user-friendly, and there are now strong alternatives like Nos or Primal — both CEOs were also present at NOSTRIGA.
Nostr: The Decentralized Alternative to Twitter/X
Like Bitcoin, Nostr is decentralized. In short, it offers the same features as Twitter (or X), but on a decentralized technology. This means that Nostr is censorship-resistant — a crucial advantage in today’s world. Recent examples like the deletion of the Simply Bitcoin YouTube channel (for which there is a decentralized alternative with zap.stream) or the arrest of Telegram’s founder and CEO Pavel Durov highlight the growing importance of censorship-resistant platforms.
NOSTRIGA was a real “orange pill” moment for me when it comes to Nostr. Although I’ve been more or less active on Nostr for about 1.5 years (almost not at all until four weeks ago), I’ve now decided to use it more intensively. From now on, I’ll be posting regularly on Nostr alongside X, with exclusively English content. My goal is to support the platform until it reaches critical mass and network effects bring everyone from X onto Nostr.
Baltic Honeybadger
The first time I attended the Baltic Honeybadger was in 2019 — a phenomenal Bitcoin-only event. Five years later, I returned for the second time, and it was even better:
Even though I’ve attended both BTC Prague events, I have to say that the Honeybadger was significantly better for me. There are several reasons for this:
- More Intimate Atmosphere: Instead of 10,000 participants, there were about 600.
- Higher Quality: The speakers, panels, and audience were top-notch.
- Stronger Bitcoin-only Focus: While BTC Prague is also a Bitcoin-only event, it’s still of interest to non-Bitcoiners. Honeybadger, on the other hand, is even more focused on the Bitcoin community.
- Access to Industry Leaders: Whether it’s Jack Mallers, Jack Dorsey, Adam Back, Peter Todd, ODELL, Preston Pysh, or many other Bitcoin OGs, you could easily strike up conversations with them.
- Better Side Events: NOSTRIGA, BTCPay Day, afterparties — everything was at a high level.
- Outstanding Atmosphere: The vibe was electric.
After attending the Honeybadger, you don’t just leave more “orange-pilled” — you’re also more bullish than ever. This time, it’s not just about Bitcoin, but also about Nostr!
PS: Bitcoin-only events make you happy! Join me on my journey to the Americas: In November, I’ll be heading to LABITCONF in Buenos Aires, Argentina 🇦🇷, SatsConf in São Paulo, Brazil 🇧🇷, and finally Adopting Bitcoin in San Salvador, El Salvador 🇸🇻.
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Philipp J.A. Hartmannsgruber holds a master’s degree in Finance & Accounting. He is a Founder of the Bitcoin Bundesverband. In 2019 he founded PJAH Consulting, a bitcoin-consultancy.
