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The third Satoshi Roundtable retreat once again brings together industry leaders at a private resort for deep discussions on bitcoin and blockchain technology. The gathering, limited in size to approximately 100 industry members and known as one of the key events in the blockchain world, takes place at a resort in North America later this month.
This month, top developers, executives, and influencers will explore various topics and issues facing the industry. Attendees include Dr. Adam Back, CEO of Blockstream, Dr. Patrick Byrne, CEO of Overstock, Johnathan Johnson, President of T0, Erik Voorhees, CEO of Shapeshift, Roger Ver, CEO of Bitcoin.com, leading developers like Peter Todd and Eric Lombrozo amongst many others.
The members include a variety of leaders working with Bitcoin, Hyperledger, Ethereum, other blockchain apps, digital token and coin sponsors, advocacy groups and others from the broad blockchain ecosystem. Participants include C-level executives and founders of Netki, Decentral, Unsung, ConsensSys, Ledger, Bitfury, Open Bazaar, C4, Polychain, Civic, Bitt, Bitgo, Storj, Ethereum, Dash, Bitfinex, Circle, Monero, Genesis Mining, Auger, Bitstamp, Align Commerce, Veriblock and others. Senior blockchain executives from larger organizations such as Fidelity Investments, IBM and the World Bank also participate. Jerry Britto, Executive Director of leading cryptocurrency policy group, Coin Center will lead a discussion on regulation which will include a talk from US Congressman Cynthia Lummis, on how the industry can most effectively avoid harmful regulations. Confirmed attendees also include Alan Cohn of the Blockchain Alliance, Llew Claasen, Executive Director of the Bitcoin Foundation, subject matter experts such as attorney Carol van Cleef, investors such as Ben Davenport and Simon Dixon, academics such as Emin Gün Sirer of Princeton, various early adopters, authors and influencers.
Aside from the all-star attendee list, the retreat also breaks from other events in its format and design. Using "open space technology" or a decentralized "unconference" format, the Roundtable has few formal keynote style talks, or even scheduled sessions, and instead focuses on participant-driven discussion and organic content and scheduling. "Since everyone is qualified to be a speaker, we don't differentiate between attendees. The seats are arranged in circles and the group together decides the direction of the sessions based on what is most useful to them.", said Bruce Fenton, CEO of Atlantic Financial and the event's host. "One thing people enjoy about conventional conferences most, is side discussions in the hallway or at meals. At The Satoshi Roundtable we design the entire event to foster and facilitate this type of deep, meaningful discussion among peers whether it's the whole room, a dozen people, or a breakaway with three people who share a very specific common interest." Since attendees are carefully selected, participants are more comfortable and can jump into advanced conversations more quickly. Media interaction is off the record and entrepreneurs are encouraged to move out of "pitch mode".
The schedule includes several group meals, two full days in the Roundtable sessions, coffee meetings and cocktail parties, as well as significant time for breakaway discussions, informal gatherings and entertainment. Activities such as golf, water skiing, yoga, tennis, and optional evening poker, strategy and tabletop board games are also organized. Families and children are also welcome to attend the event and the venue offers childcare and numerous activities.
To receive an invite, prospective attendees typically must be founders or C-level execs of funded startups, senior blockchain focused executives at major corporations, active investors, accomplished developers, or leading academics, notable authors and influencers. Interested parties can request a waitlist or invitation from the hosts.
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Hi all,
It's been a thrill to have a front row seat in this amazing space for the last several years.
I'm working on a book to both explain the tech and also tell the stories and the people behind this.
There is a lot more room for some good books on the topic and I think that some of the new wave of blockchain books are very weak without much substance.
For style, it's going to be something like Liars Poker or The Big Short crossed with The Road Ahead or What Will Be (Dertuzos) : character driven but also primarily a work to explain what the tech really is, how it works and what this means now and for the future.
This can be something good for the industry. Your help would be appreciated.
1) Do you have any great photos of Bitcoin history? Early meetings, speeches etc?
2) Are you an early adopter, dev or CEO or some other person with an interesting insight to the tech or some stories that should be told?
3) If the Bitcoin and blockchain industry was a book or movie, who would be the main characters?
4). What do you think are the key defining moments for this tech? Was there an "ah ha" moment or a moment when you thought this has made it or would make it?
5). What are the amazing/ interesting/ funny stories that need to be told?
6). I'm interviewing people in the industry: who should I be sure not to miss and what should I ask them?
7) There are so many interesting things that should be covered. Do you have any thoughts on good and clear ways to break this down? Do you think sections by topic or people or events or by timeline might be more effective?
Any other thoughts?
Thanks very much!
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I came aboard to do a turnaround and think we did as well as possible. The Bitcoin Foundation is in the best position it's been in a long time and this new leadership will be a big positive.
What does the Bitcoin Foundation do and why does it exist? Today is a great example - as we speak today in Toronto we are running another DevCore event this one organized by board member Michael Perklin - hundreds of people are attending to hear from speakers like Petwr Todd, Andreas Antonopolous and others to learn technically advanced topics related to blockchain.
PRESS RELEASE: Bitcoin Foundation Appoints Llew Claasen as Executive Director (Monday, June 20. - Toronto.). Today, at the Blockchain Training Conference / DEVCORE Toronto, the Bitcoin Foundation announced the appointment of Llew Claasen as Executive Director, effective July 1. Llew brings many years of international tech experience and project management skills. He was elected by a board of directors vote on June 14.
Claasen said, "I'm looking forward to leading the Bitcoin Foundation going forward. There is an amazing opportunity for the organization to help the Bitcoin ecosystem. In the coming weeks I'll be working closely with the board, membership, transition team and various stakeholders to create the best plan for success possible." Llew Claasen is a venture capitalist based in Cape Town, South Africa and Managing Partner of Newtown Partners. He is a technology startup go-to-market strategist with deep expertise in designing, building, merchandising and marketing Online & Mobile software products and services (B2B, B2C, B2B2C).
Outgoing Executive Director Bruce Fenton stated, "I'm thrilled that Llew was appointed to this role, we think his skill set is exactly what is needed now." Last month Fenton had informed the board of a desire to close out his term, he will remain as a board member. "The foundation is in a great position and in great hands. I look forward to supporting Llew however I can in this exciting new chapter." Board Member Vinny Lingham said "I've known Llew for many years and have worked with him in several capacities. I think he will be a perfect fit for the organization as we build on the significant progress we have made." Due to his long business relationship and friendship with Claasen, Lingham recused himself from the board vote. The remainder of the board was present and voted unanimously to approve his appointment. The board also thanked Fenton for his work in adding transparency, financial controls and initiatives like DevCore. Board Chair Brock Pierce echoed Lingham's statements and said "Llew's project management skills, geographic location and emerging markets experience are all huge advantages and we are all very happy that he has accepted this position. The Bitcoin Foundation is in the best position it has been since I joined and we are just getting started."
Claasen will begin his work on the transition immediately with an official term start date of July 1. He has said that he looks forward to speaking with individual members, corporations, developers and the community as he begins the role. The Bitcoin Foundation is a 501c6 organization and the oldest and largest industry group focused on Bitcoin and has a variety of corporate members, individuals and international chapters. The primary focus areas of the Bitcoin Foundation are on increasing adoption, fostering more Bitcoin development such as through the DevCore event series and encouraging global decision makers to seek technical over regulatory solutions for Bitcoin related matters. Board members include Brock Pierce, of Blockchain Capital (Board Chair), Bobby Lee, of BTCC (Board Vice Chair), Elizabeth McCauley of Coinsecure, Vinny Lingham of Civic, Michael Perklin of C4 and Francis Pouliot of Satoshi Portal.
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This weekend, 70 leaders in the Bitcoin and blockchain industry are meeting for a retreat. What do you think should be covered? What is the best use of the time and having this group in one room? What would you like to see come out of this meeting? / What document(s) would be a good goal? What are some goals you think sensible for the meeting? Other thoughts? Thanks Confirmed attendee list for Satoshi Roundtable II taking place this weekend (alphabetical order): Gabriel Abed, CEO Bitt Gavin Andresen MIT / Bitcoin Foundation Adam Back, President, Blockstream David Bailey, CEO, yBitcoins Patrick Byrne, CEO, Overstock Michael Cao, CEO, zoomhash Dave Carlson, CEO, Mega Big Power Daniel Castagnoli, CCO Exodus Sam Cole, CEO, KNC Miner Matt Corallo, Core Dev Luke Dashjr, Core Dev Anthony Di Iorio, CDO-Toronto Stock Exchange, Founder-Ethereum/Decentral/Kryptokit Joe Disorbo, CEO, Webgistix Jason Dorsett, Early Adopter Evan Duffield, Founder/Lead Scientist, Dash Bruce Fenton, Atlantic Financial Andrew Flilipowski, Partner, Tally Capital Thomas France, Founder, Ledger Jeff Garzik, Founder, Bloq David Johnston, Chairman, Factom Alyse Killeen, Partner, (new fund) Jason King, Founder, Unsung Mike Komaransky, Cumberland Mining Peter Kroll, Founder, bitaddress.org Bobby Lee, CEO BTC China / Board member Bitcoin Foundation Charlie Lee, Director of Engineering Coinbase/Litecoin Eric Lombrozo, FOunder, Ciphrex Corp Marshall Long, CTO Final Hash Matt Luongo, CEO Fold Raj Mehta, Founder Kilowatt Capital Halsey Minor, CEO Uphold Neha Narula, Director of the DCI, MIT Dawn Newton, Co-Founder, COO, Netki Justin Newton, Founder CEO, Netki Stephen Pair, Co-Founder/CEO, BitPay Inc. Michael Perklin, President, CryptoCurrency Certification Consortium Alexander Petrov, CIO, BitFury Francis Pouliot, Director, Bitcoin Embassy, Board Member Bitcoin Foundation JP Richardson, Chief Technical Officer, Exodus Jamie Robinson, QuickBt Jez San, Angel Investor Marco Santori Partner, Pillsbury Scott Scalf, EVP/Head of Tech Team, Alpha Point Craig Sellars CTO, Tether Ryan Shea, Co-Founder One Name Melanie Shapiro, CEO Choose Case Greg Simon, CEO & Co-Founder Ribbit! Me / President, Bitcoin Association Ryan Singer, Entreprenuer Paul Snow, CEO Factom, Texas Bitcoin Conference Riccardo Spagni,Monero Nick Spanos, Founder Bitcoin Center NYC Elizabeth Stark, Co-Founder & CEO, Lightning Marco Streng, CEO Genesis Mining Nick Sullivan, CEO ChangeTip Paul Sztorc, Truthcoin Michael Terpin, CEO Transform Group Peter Todd, Core Developer Joseph Vaughn Perling, New Liberty Dollar Roger Ver, CEO Memory Dealers Shawn Wilkinson, Founder Storj Micah Winkelspecht, CEO Gem note to Bruce Fenton:
it might be worth when reading the posts to summerize the thoughts people have and then edit the OP Great suggestion Franky How about a livestream and/or recording of the whole meeting? Bitcoin should not be about closed meetings.
When people are playing for the media and social media they sometimes focus more on the need to win than compromise....some other benefits of privacy include ability to speak more frankly about industry concerns, competitors etc....see full answer in thread. ways to make Bitcoin more user friendly and accessible for the nontechnical average user before more VC money is lost backing overzealous inexperienced kids.
the 2mb code inplace in aprils release with a 70 day trigger (10,000 blocks instead of 1000) and a 6 month grace period. giving atleast 8 months before active. rather then 16month core has proposed(july2016 code and atleast july 2017 active)
sidechains and liquids.. no premine. so the altcoins are created at the swap into.. and destroyed at the swap out the only time they are not destroyed is in private trades between 2 people..
1) a detailed plan, of how to proceed with the agreement reached of how Exactly it will be rolled out.
2) incentives, can we somehow increase the incentives to run a full node?
3) Make peace, it's obvious we need a competing impl. ,the overall goal should be to get everyone on the same page. BIPS
I'll make every effort to share these at the meeting
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EDIT: Not sure why it would be unclear but these are 2014 expenses incurred by people no longer with the foundation.
This week Charles Hoskinson posted a thoughtful post on the Bitcoin Foundation and his idea that an audit would help the organization break from the past.
I'm happy to support an audit provided someone can lead it and do the work involved and/ or support the costs of one.
I do remain skeptical of the value of an audit. We all know that a lot of money was wasted and lost - I detail the basics of the 2014 spending below -- it is unlikely worse than imagined as all the funds are essentially gone. I don't think much can be done about past mistakes, the people involved are no longer with the organization.
Also this week, someone on an anti-Bitcoin sub posted this data from the 990 forms and was afraid it would be censored if posted on r/Bitcoin.
I'm happy to post it for them, minus the color commentary and a couple of minor factual inaccuracies.
They also implied that some people would want to not have this information brought to light. I'm more than glad to. I don't defend these financial decisions as I had nothing to do with them. I also had thought the 2014 990 form with this was posted once completed this summer. At that time we were going through a website and server change and I was also recovering from a car accident, so if it was posted it wasn't in the proper place. For not having the 990 form posted in the correct section a few months back , that's on me and I'm sorry.
The bigger matter is the financials themselves.
I don't defend these financials, I certainly don't apologize for them or attempt to justify them. I had nothing whatsoever to do with these decisions.
As you can see the spending / loss was caused by:
1) a large drop in Bitcoin value costing millions of dollars - the peak foundation assets were calculated based on a Bitcoin price in the $800 range -- so, had they simply held those coins it would have seen the $6-7 million fall to $2 million or so
2) ridiculously wasteful and reckless spending
3) reasonable and legitimate expenses such as Gavin and dev salaries
I have not been presented any evidence of any theft, criminal act or similar wrongdoing but would be *happy to pay a bounty of at least 10%* for anyone with information and evidence of any such act leading to recovery of any funds which were misappropriated or stolen. Those who imply that there is any wrongdoing at the foundation now or by those involved now should come forward with evidence or at least a solid and specific accusation. If presented with any such evidence I would work to have justice done.
It seems strange that so many make an effort to tie those involved now to the sins of the past.
This is the point of a turnaround; to take what an organization has and make it as useful as possible. Many people think that the change in management and new focus, combined with a new mission statement can help the organization to help Bitcoin more.
I wish that the foundation hadn't had so many problems. I did think it was worthwhile to try to help the organization.
Here are the finances:
Salaries
Gavin Andresen: $147k. Chief Scientist. Salary down from $209k (salary was higher in 2013 as it was pegged to BTCUSD)
Jodie Brady: $141k. COO of the Foundation, who also served as CFO at CoinLab (Peter Vessenes' affiliate company).
Jon Matonis: $137.5k through "THE HOLE OF ROY LLC". Salary up from $31k. Jon Matonis acted as Executive Director up to October 2014.
Patrick Murck: $115k. Executive Director of the Foundation (as of November 2014). Salary up from $57k.
Contractors:
"LOCAL PRODUCER" was paid $790k to host Bitcoin 2014 in Amsterdam.
Apple Fundraising Consultants were also paid $123k for activities related to the aforementioned conference.
THEPOLICYCOUNCILCOM INC as the Foundation's 'Global Policy Counsel', paid $114k for about 9 months of work in 2014.
And the breakdown of the functional expenses, oh, so many expenses: Office Expenses: $39k up from $8k in 2013.
Information Technology: $158k up from $67k
Travel: $159k up from $69k
Occupancy: $18k up from $7k.
Accounting: $50.5k up from $9.1k.
Legal fees: $220k up from $161k.
Other: $653k, consisting of:
Professional services: $307k
Public relations: $93k
Executive Directory Compensation: $137.5k
Professional event expenses: $115k
Other salaries and wages: $471k up from $72k
Revenues : Membership dues: $335k down from $358k Conference revenue: $584k up from $337k At the end of 2014 not much was left: $366k.
2015
The beginning of 2015 still had many expenses similar to the above. At the time I came aboard those costs reduced dramatically. There were still high outstanding legal and accounting bills as well as the bitnodes funding and Bitcoin.org funding and other previous obligations that were paid.
Current spending is in the $8k / mo range
Current expenses:
Board salaries: $0
Executive Director salary: $0
All reimbursements for travel: in the range of $3000 - primarily for three speakers airfare and hotel (me, Gavin and Andreas) to DevCore, $600 in pizza for the attendees etc.
Aside from one economy flight to DevCore and the hotel I have personally not been reimbursed for any travel. I have paid some costs from my own credit card for web hosting etc which were also reimbursed - this is also a small amount, perhaps in the $2000 range
Current salaries include one part time bookkeeper and one almost full time ops director.
I'd love any feedback about what the organization can do to break from the past. We could close, sure. I'm not convinced that is what's best for Bitcoin and 8/10 top voted candidates from the last four elections don't think that's what the members want. What else can an organization do to move forward?
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DevCore Workshop is less than 2 weeks away!
Come join Greg Maxwell, Gavin Andresen, Charlie Lee, Michael Perklin, Matt Corallo, Jeff Garzik and Andreas Antonopolous
Tickets and sponsorships are very affordable. The event is Oct 16 at Draper University in San Mateo, CA.
Bitcoinfoundation.Org
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Hi,
The DevCore Workshop to help "Develop the Developers" will be held on October 18 at Draper University in San Mateo, CA.
This is the third DevCore event and first in the Bay Area.
The speaker list includes Charlie Lee, Gavin Andresen, Jeff Garzik and others. There are some additional very great names who we should be able to officially announce soon.
There will also be a certificate program run by Michael Perklin.
The focus is on programming and development -- with hands on, live use of laptops to do real coding.
Although not the focus, we will also have at least one section of the current blocksize discussion and we are making every possible effort to invite the most balanced and representative developers for this.
Please mark your calendars!
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Hi,
The Board just appointed me as the new Executive Director of the Bitcoin Foundation.
The organization has had its fair share of challenges but is here to stay and we all want to work hard to have it be as valuable as possible to Bitcoin.
Please share your advice, thoughts and ideas.
Some things that I'm planning to focus on is to increase decentralization, making use of crowd funding for projects, use more volunteers and member engagement and to focus on high impact, low cost activities such as a speakers bureau and educational meetings.
I'd love to hear constructive thoughts that we can use to make plans going forward.
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Halsey Minor, founder of CNet, now CEO of Bitreserve with Noah Radford, Chief Tech advisor to the Ruler of Dubai http://youtu.be/cJmaEWuRyZAErik Voorhees & Bruce Fenton fireside chat -- addressing criticisms of Bitcoin http://youtu.be/GFoC7-y25h0Follow up: Nigerian AML expert, Erik & Bruce closing statement (stsrt watching 10 min in and watch the end statement) http://youtu.be/7ndLeHjzgZQPanel on Bitcoin in the Middle East/. : Ola Doudin, Dafid El Achar, Makki al Kurdi moderated by Austin Alexander http://youtu.be/p51sE8uyZkACharlene Chen, COO, Bitpesa Kenya Africa http://youtu.be/8zSHW1iGdh4Ira Miller, CEO, Coinapult http://youtu.be/f1auVQHCAMUPaul Snow, Factom http://youtu.be/wPQMosvjz88David Johnston, Investor http://youtu.be/M2iue3J3R7cGarrett Cassidy, Circle http://youtu.be/YWeilKhWDhkGreg Simon, Ribbit http://youtu.be/ynNgr3Mhs9sCheck out the channel for more! These are Creative Commons, attribution -- so feel free to use as you'd like.
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If you are a member of the Bitcoin Foundation you must register today in order to be eligible to vote. To do so, check your mail and spam folder for an email from Membership Team at Bitcoin Foundation or try this direct link https://members.bitcoinfoundation.org/electionIf you were not a member before Feb 6 you are not eligible to vote in this election.
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Hi, The event is basically full for this year but I thought Bitcoin Talk might still want to know about it in case anyone would like to request a wait list invite as well as to plan for next year. Satoshi Roundtable is a private Bitcoin and crypto retreat taking place Feb 6-8 at a private resort in the Caribbean. Invitation only and limited to 60 attendees. http://satoshiroundtable.orgConfirmed attendees include: Steve Beauregard, CEO, GoCoin Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum Michael Cao, CEO Zoom Hash Dave Carlson, Mega Big Power Nic Cary, CEO Blockchain Reeve Collins, CEO, Tether Tuur Demeester, Bitcoin Economist Anthony DiIorio, Bitcoin Decentral, CrytpoKit, Ethereum Bruce Fenton, Atlantic Financial / Bitcoin Association Paige Freeman, Co-Founder, Women in Bitcoin David Johnston, DApps Fund, Mastercoin, Factom Charlie Lee, Coinbase/ Creator LiteCoin Vinny Lingham, CEO Gyft Marshall Long, CEO Final Hash Trace Mayer, Author, investor, early adopter Ira Miller, CEO, Coinapult Patrick Murck, Executive Director, Bitcoin Foundation Joel Monegro, Union Square Ventures Brock Pierce, Crypto Currency Partners Elizabeth Rossiello, CEO BitPesa Matthew Roszak, Tally Capital Marco Santori, Pillsbury Winthrop Craig Sellars, CTO Mastercoin Paul Snow, Texas Bitcoin Alliance and Factom Nick Sullivan, CEO ChangeTip Peter Todd, Core Developer Roger Ver, Memory Dealers Erik Voorhees, Coinapult And many others … Sorry it is full. If you want to be placed on the wait list in the case of a cancelation you can send an email to members@satoshiroundtable.org
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A business associate knows I'm involved with Bitcoin and said that he and his son bought some bitcoins to use to pay for items in World of Warcraft quite some time back....perhaps 2010 or so.
They forgot about them until last year as they realized they could conceivably have hundreds of coins somewhere.
They don't recal any other details other than that they bought Bitcoin.
I told them to search the hard drive for wallets etc.
I'd like to give them a list of files to search for or other clues.
Also -- does anyone recall an early Bitcoin platform involving wow?
Please list any ideas and exactly what might help them search the hard drive.
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My company is considering doing some extensive research on how Bitcoin and Blockchain / related technologies can help the world's poorest people.
I'm personally very interested in how this technology can change our global economy. When I refer to poor people I mean people who are in the most poor economies and who earn less than $1-10 a day.
We are talking about specific, high level and actionable things that understand the complexity of how things work in the poorest places.
Examples would be looking at SMS based services for money transfer, backing deeds on Blockchain tech or systems which lock value for remittances. (There are many other examples)
WHAT I NEED HELP WITH:
Not so much ideas and thoughts for the research but the best PLAN of how to approach.
I know a lot of people in Bitcoin and with my staff could do a lot of one hour interviews. We could video tape and transcribe them for example. Would this be a good start in your opinion?
Should we publish findings on GitHub based in sections by solution type?
What's a good methodology to use for a research project like this? Which experts should we speak with beyond the obvious?
In an ever changing space how helpful is academic research summary versus new info and what are the best ways to get that new info other than interviews?
If you were in my office and I asked for ideas on how to create the best, most comprehensive research on Bitcoin and crypto tech and how it can help the poor, what would you say?
(Note I'm super active in Bitcoin and also have worked with financial and development clients, nothing I say about bitcoin should ever be construed as speaking for or being related to my clients.)
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The Dubai Bitcoin Conference is coming right up.
Some great speakers in a neat venue and a place where Bitcoin is just starting.
Please register at
Dubaibitcoinconference.Com
To get a limited Free ticket use Code
CIRCLEDUBAI
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The Dubai Bitcoin Conference registration is open.
DubaiBitcoinConference.com
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If anyone has a use for these videos, feel free to take, use, edit and repost provided it's Creative Commons attribution license
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Dubai Bitcoin Conference
DubaiBitcoinConference.com - please visit the site to be kept up to date.
Roger Ver, Vitalik Buterin, Erik Voorhies and many others.
Join us for one of THE premier Bitcoin events of the year.
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The Bitcoin Association - bitcoinassociation.org has pledged to move to a decentralized model with open and fair and transparent elections with no special privileges for founding members.
You can join for free using coupon code FreedomB
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