As a host focused wholly on promoting freedom advocates and their technical tools, Matt Odell is integral to Bitcoin 2023.
As a champion for the Bitcoin Conference’s recurring open-source contributor ticket program and its dedication to featuring cutting-edge technical presentations on stage, Matt Odell will be an integral part of Bitcoin 2023, both on stage and behind the scenes. This year, he’ll be participating in a panel discussion, “Bitcoin’s Biggest Bulls,” alongside Blockstream CEO Adam Back and Strike CEO Jack Mallers, two of the Bitcoin industry’s most notable and influential executives.
“Bitcoin 2023 feels slightly different from past years,” Odell said in an interview with Bitcoin Magazine. “The stakes have never been higher.”
As an emcee and speaker at the Bitcoin Conference, Odell routinely advocates for projects working to advance Bitcoin privacy, security and functionality. And as an advisor to the event’s programming, he ensures that those advancing Bitcoin on a technical level have the opportunity to demonstrate the importance of their work on stage themselves.
“The industry moves so fast, it is hard to keep up, and that is beautiful,” Odell reflected. “We need these tools and we need them to be easier to use, and fortunately, we have open-source contributors around the world dedicated to building them out. It is easy to dismiss Bitcoin as tech, as code, but ultimately, it is a movement of individuals. This movement will succeed on the shoulders of those individuals who choose to stand up and contribute.”
Odell’s advocacy for the developers who make Bitcoin one of the most critical open-source protocols ever invented is well known among listeners of his popular podcasts “Citadel Dispatch” and “Rabbit Hole Recap.” He also works to highlight Bitcoin’s technical progress in person at Bitcoin Park in Nashville and through the donation platform OpenSats.
Most recently, he launched “Freedom Money,” a documentary series produced by Bitcoin Magazine as another way to showcase privacy advocates and the emerging importance of Bitcoin. The six-episode series has featured Afghan pioneer Roya Mahboob, Nigerian Bitcoin Core contributor Abubakar Nur Khalil and Uyghar human rights advocate Jewher Ilham, among others.
“My guests on ‘Freedom Money’ were particularly impressive, they all put their lives on the line to fight for freedom every day,” Odell explained. “Working with activists is truly humbling and really makes you appreciate why this mission is so important. My focus will continue to be freedom tech, forever. Our politicians are corrupt and our institutions are broken, freedom tech is the only real option we have.”
Indeed, Odell’s commitment to showcasing advocates of freedom technology has made him a rare and cherished personality within the Bitcoin space — so much so that the very idea that he would pursue selfish ends has become the stuff of satire. This is what makes him such an integral aspect of the Bitcoin Conference, an open tent where the loudest and brightest voices in Bitcoin could easily overshadow the builders if organizers didn’t advocate for them so fiercely.
And, in a year that has already demonstrated why individuals need a tool for preserving their wealth outside of government control and centralized banking promises, Odell is ensuring the Bitcoin 2023 platform showcases this way out.
“Bitcoin 2023 will celebrate the power of Bitcoin as a defensive tool for anyone who chooses to use it and should help many see they have the ability to opt out of our broken system without permission,” he concluded. “Bitcoin is a lifeboat, but it is up to individuals to get off the sinking ship themselves.”
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