Focus on BTC fundamentals, says Edward Snowden - Bitcoin Amsterdam

cointelegraph.com:

“We’re contorting ourselves to pass through the keyhole of tyranny.” Edward Snowden’s words ring out in the packed Genesis Stage hall at Bitcoin Amsterdam, stressing 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 hosted in Amsterdam, driving home the role of decentralized protocols like Bitcoin and Nostr in handing individuals some semblance of control over their wealth and privacy.

Cointelegraph spoke to prominent Bitcoin developers, investors, builders and supporters attending the two day conference at the picturesque Westerpark. In the midst of the ongoing cryptocurrency bear market that has tested the wider industry, the event managed to attract a couple of thousand event-goers looking for the latest news and insights from the BTC industry.

While these prominent figures highlighted the value proposition of Bitcoin as a store of value against diminishing purchasing power of fiat currencies, Snowden was critical of the continual focus on the value of BTC over its importance as decentralized tool:

Snowden’s address attracted arguably the biggest gathering of visitors during the conference, as he revisited the role that Bitcoin played in his own journey rebelling against the hegemony of the U.S. government and its wanton surveillance of its citizens.

In 2013, Snowden used Bitcoin to pay for the servers that hosted classified information that was sent to journalists that would reveal the overreach of the National Security Agency. As Snowden elaborated, Bitcoin’s increasing prominence has led to increasing opposition from