'We Do not Settle for Shady Cash' - Baltic Honey Badger Convention [Interview]

This ain’t your typical Bitcoin and Blockchain convention. Bitcoinist spoke with the organizers of the Baltic Honey Badger Convention who defined what makes this occasion particular and what to anticipate at this 12 months’s occasion in Riga. 

Bitcoinist caught up with Max Keidun and Roman Snitko, CEO and CTO of HodlHodl, the organizers of this 12 months’s Baltic Honey Badger convention that might be held September 22-23 in Latvia’s capital, Riga.

Keidun and Snitko clarify that because the Baltic Honey Badger occasion attracts a few of the brightest minds in Bitcoin because it doesn’t settle for ICOs, shady cash or blockchain snake-oil salesmen.

Max Keidun

Bitcoinist: What makes the Baltic Honey Badger convention completely different from different Bitcoin/blockchain conferences? 

HodlHodl: We don't settle for ICOs, shady cash or blockchain initiatives as sponsors. However a very powerful level, we wished to seize that cypherpunk spirit, collect all the perfect folks within the trade to share their data, knowledge, and concepts. It’s not a promotional occasion. We do have some sponsors, however not too many.

Bitcoinist: How did the concept for a “convention pushed by the cypherpunk motion” come about? Who was answerable for it? 

HodlHodl: It was simply me and my co-founder. We had been sitting within the kitchen collectively and I used to be telling him about how cool the 2013 San Jose Bitcoin convention was and that there’s nothing prefer it anymore. We thought why not have it in Latvia? Absolutely it’s a small nation nevertheless it’s proper there within the center, between Europe and Asia, it’s lovely and never costly. And so the Baltic Honeybadger was born.

Bitcoinist: Did you anticipate final 12 months’s inaugural occasion to be such an enormous success? 

HodlHodl: Probably not, took us unexpectedly it was so effectively obtained.

Bitcoinist: Who was your favourite speaker? 

HodlHodl: Favourite speaker? Don’t assume there’s a favourite, nevertheless it was very thrilling to have all these folks, whom you largely know from Twitter and YouTube, come to the convention and speak to them and see what they’re like in actual life. There are all kinds of attention-grabbing particulars to study them: a few of them solely eat meat whereas a few of them are vegetarians, for instance.

It’s very cool that it’s not simply Bitcoin that defines us all, however there are at all times so many various dimensions to an individual which you could solely see if you meet head to head.

And we're grateful for this opportunity to satisfy all of them.
Bitcoinist: What adjustments can we anticipate this 12 months in comparison with final 12 months? 

HodlHodl: Day 1 and a couple of might be held on the similar venue. It’s not downtown, nevertheless it’s a lot bigger to accommodate a bigger viewers. We additionally realized our lesson from the afterparty final 12 months, the music was too loud, in order that’s not going to occur this 12 months. And, in fact, it’s going to be a lot a lot hotter this 12 months, as a result of it’s September and it’s actually the perfect time to go to Riga.

Bitcoinist: Why is Riga the host metropolis for the second 12 months in a row? Do you've gotten plans to host it some place else sooner or later? 

HodlHodl: Why change the situation that completely labored final time? I believe the present thought is that we’re going to carry (or hodl, actually) Honeybadgers in Riga completely. In spite of everything, it’s a Baltic Honeybadger.

Bitcoinist: How bitcoin-friendly is Latvia usually? Would you advocate utilizing BalticAir, for instance, which was the primary airline to just accept bitcoin instantly? 

HodlHodl: I wouldn’t say there are loads of retailers however there are a few locations downtown you possibly can pay with BTC. And there’s definitely fairly a variety of Bitcoin initiatives that originated in Latvia and the Baltic nations.

Some residences in Riga settle for BTC and sure, Airbaltic accepts bitcoin instantly. I might advocate utilizing both AirBaltic or CheapAir although as a result of AirBaltic doesn’t cowl all flight locations. There aren't any Bitcoin-accepting resorts, however there are few residences that settle for BTC.

Bitcoinist: There’s in all probability much less sponsors for an occasion like this given the absence of altcoins, blockchain snake oil salesmen,  ICO shills, and banking establishments. Is it troublesome to fund such an occasion? Who're the sponsors? 

HodlHodl: The sponsors that now we have are all listed on the web site. It was harder to fund the even final 12 months. This 12 months it’s barely simpler as a result of we already knew the demand for tickets was there and we truly bought our first 100 tickets within the first couple of days after the announcement.
Bitcoinist: Are you able to give a sneak peek of what the agenda might be? In different phrases, what are probably the most urgent points that needs to be in focus at this 12 months’s occasion? 

HodlHodl: The total agenda was simply printed on the web site.
Bitcoinist: What speaker(s) do you sit up for probably the most this 12 months? 

HodlHodl: I believe Saifedean Ammous and Eric Voskuil might be attention-grabbing to look at, they've some opposing views on the concept that Bitcoin will turn out to be the brand new reserve foreign money and each are very good and clever folks, albeit coming from completely different backgrounds. And their talks are scheduled on the primary day within the morning, one after one other.
Bitcoinist: Do you assume the everyday ‘blockchain’ conferences frequented by financial institution reps, ICOs, and blockchain ‘influencers’ have been useful or detrimental to Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies? 

HodlHodl: I believe it’s wonderful. Individuals who go there understand, eventually, it’s all ineffective. Form of a studying expertise.

You possibly can pitch your ICO or your blockchain initiatives to different ICO guys or blockchain guys, however hardly anybody is all for something apart from their very own undertaking.

At Baltic Honeybadger we truly discourage pitching. That’s not what the convention is about.
Bitcoinist: Your occasion strives to be informative and academic to new Bitcoin customers. What's a very powerful factor that newcomers ought to perceive about Bitcoin earlier than the rest? What do you inform folks to get them all for Bitcoin? 

HodlHodl: My private expertise is that completely different individuals are all for Bitcoin for a lot of completely different causes. If you wish to get somebody , discover out what actually issues to them and if Bitcoin can provide one thing that would change their life for the higher, then that’s what you want to clarify.
Bitcoinist: The rest you’d like so as to add? 

HodlHodl: Sure. We nonetheless have scholar tickets which go at 100 EUR. When you’re a scholar, you get a big low cost, so come be part of us and study Bitcoin.

Will you be attending this 12 months’s Baltic Honey Badger convention? Tell us under!

Pictures courtesy of Shutterstock

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