3 lessons from the Oslo Freedom Forum: Bitcoin as a tool – Mallers, Roem, Fang
The Oslo Freedom Forum has delivered some of the most thought-provoking insights into what makes bitcoin special and valuable beyond just price. And luckily, the organizers cut those one-minute videos for us to consume said ideas. And even luckier, Bitcoinist decided to echo them and paint a different picture of the asset our post is named after.
We have already featured people from all over the world – a, of them, Three — and this new trio is no different. Everyone will make a surprising point about the bitcoin network that will now seem obvious. The Oslo Freedom Forum gave bitcoin thought leaders a different perspective. Let’s read what they found.
BTC price chart for 07/05/2022 on Binance | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com
Oslo Freedom Forum: Jack Mallers on Bitcoin As Rails
Strike CEO and bitcoin whiz Jack Mallers explained before the possibilities offered by an open network like bitcoin. This time, however, it adapts to the Oslo Freedom Forum audience and elaborates and deepens the censorship-resistant qualities it has.
“We see it as the global payment standard for the world. Think of it this way. There is an open and accessible set of instructions which, if you integrate these instructions, you are interconnected with the entire planet. To adjust the value at the speed of light and at no cost. And no one can tell you otherwise. And no one can destabilize you. And if you want to use it, you have all the rights. If you don’t, you don’t have to. But if you need it, you can. And that is the tremendous property that Bitcoin allows.
11/ Privacy Defender @J9Roem on why money for the world has to pass the test of censorship: pic.twitter.com/P7kvCq3ZGr
— Alex Gladstein 🌋 ⚡ (@gladstein) June 22, 2022
Oslo Freedom Forum: Janine Roem on resisting censorship
Janine Roem – Cypherpunk, journalist and privacy educator – elaborates on the idea of resisting censorship. She also explains the concept that bitcoin is “money for enemies” at the Oslo Freedom Forum.
“Speaking of censorship, whenever I evaluate a digital currency, or any kind of money even if it’s not digital, I look to see if it passes what I call the censorship test, that’s i.e. if you have an organization that is targeted by, for example, a nation-state or in this case specifically a group of nation-states, because they are using their speech rights in a way with which they disagree with states they disagree with, then those states may attempt to stop them by seizing their money, preventing them from receiving money, or preventing individuals from being able to send money and therefore any type of monetary system when possible, regardless of your opinion of a particular organization.
You already know that there is only one asset that meets these standards. A single asset in the history of the world.
“I think it’s important to have a monetary system where it passes that test and that’s why and that’s the main reason I’ve been interested in bitcoin because it’s passed that test since 2011. It passed this test even at a time when it was relatively small, so I would expect any type of CBDC to pass this test and if not, I say I’m not interested.
12/ @okcoin CEO Hong Fang (@hfangca) on how Bitcoin differs from the legacy financial system: pic.twitter.com/gulYsmOKby
— Alex Gladstein 🌋 ⚡ (@gladstein) June 22, 2022
Oslo Freedom Forum: Hong Fang talks about Bitcoin as a free monetary system
Hong Fang, CEO of exchange OKcoin, remembers and tells the Oslo Freedom Forum the moment she decided to join the bitcoin space. The never-before-seen features of this new asset class are a game-changer. And, given that the game was rigged to begin with, this can only be positive for the industry.
“But what I learned when I was at Goldman, especially during the financial crisis, there is an element of imbalance, an element of unfairness in the system, in the current system where we talk about free markets. There was something that wasn’t totally free, and I didn’t realize that until 2016, when I came across bitcoin, when I realized, okay, this is something that represents a free money system that has never been done before in the way It was designed Where money is not created by any government, is not supported by any government or central organization, but can in some way sort of help people form a consensus, thereby enabling the large-scale transmission of value between individuals. That in itself was unprecedented and can really help us work things out. That’s how I personally got into bitcoin. And I entered space.
That’s enough dangerous ideas for today. Join Bitcoinist soon for more philosophical action on the streets of the Oslo Freedom Forum.
Featured Image: Hong Fang screenshot from this video | Charts by TradingView
