“We’re contorting ourselves to pass through the keyhole of tyranny.” Edward Snowden’s words to the audience at the packed Genesis Stage hall at Bitcoin Amsterdam stressed the preeminent cryptocurrency’s ever-increasing importance in a world beset by creeping government surveillance, devaluing fiat currencies and restrictive policies.
The renowned whistleblower’s address summed up a recurring theme during the conference, driving home the role of decentralized protocols like Bitcoin and Nostr in giving individuals some control over their wealth and privacy.