Richard Byworth

Bitcoin is no longer just a savings technology—it’s becoming the foundation for a new era of financial engineering. In a world where monetary policy is fixed and transparent, traditional models of credit, liquidity, and risk must be redefined. This session dives into how innovators are leveraging Bitcoin’s properties to design new financial instruments, infrastructure, and systems.

In 2017, the crypto boom pulled in millions with promises of fast gains, flashy whitepapers, and endless innovation. ICOs exploded, coins pumped—and then most of them vanished. Along the way, people lost not just money, but precious Bitcoin.

This panel revisits the 2017 cycle with fresh perspective:

What were the traps that even smart people fell into?

Why wasn’t it obvious at the time?

What makes Bitcoin fundamentally different from crypto then—and now?

We’ll explore the patterns that repeat every cycle, why "crypto" continues to distract from Bitcoin’s mission, and how to protect yourself and your community from the same mistakes.

Because history doesn’t repeat—but it does rhyme.

There are 25m SMEs (Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises) in Europe. There are only 21m Bitcoin. If every SME wanted to buy just 1 BTC, it wouldn’t be possible. As inflation rises and confidence in the Euro weakens, more businesses are turning to Bitcoin as a store of value. With an estimated €12 trillion in assets held by SMEs, a massive upward pressure on Bitcoin’s price could lie ahead of us. In this talk, I’ll explore why SMEs are at the core of the next major wave of Bitcoin adoption in Europe.