Rodolfo Andragnes on LaBitConf in Buenos Aires

0:00are you ready for the longest standing Bitcoin conference I'm Ashton Addison from Block West capital for investment pitch media and today on the Crypto Coin Show we have Rodolfo andrognace founder of lab bitconf Rodolfo welcome back to the show it's a pleasure to see you again thank you Ashton it's a pleasure to be here again you're very welcome and

0:21another year goes around and another edition of the highly coveted La bit conf I'm excited to hear about the conference this year and just on your insights into what's happening with Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies across Latin America as well so let's just dive straight into it for those who haven't heard of La bit conf let's just start off with what's love why is it so

0:46amazing and you know about your story on how you've been working on it but it's been the longest it is the longest running conference in the world big and Conference in the world it started in 2013 and this is our 10th edition and we are playing it like like the time you see yeah amazing yeah it's about week before the World Cup so we did all these the crypto

1:11themed football stuff yes the honey badger and the paintings and whatever and it's a it's a very special active conference it's not just a conference it's like an experience itself and we've done last year we've done the big conference in El Salvador it was the recently announced and stuff like that and it is the number one event in Latin America a problem in America

1:36yes but it's from Latin America is the number one event where most three layers of the region can down join and most International Players yes connect also with the local with the local communities so it's a it's a it's if you are thinking about why Latin America could be an option for your company or something like that it's the place to go it's where you will get more

2:02contacts and network of the of the region incredible and I was at the ninth edition of lab.com in El Salvador and it was an incredible conference so thank you for putting that on and it was amazing to see Bitcoin Beach and the president you know just hyping up Bitcoin and it was just like everyone was happy and it seemed like it seems like you know the country as a whole has

2:26really benefited from from Bitcoin and having the conference there and like the GDP is up the sentiment is up actually today in this year we have like the one year after what's happening you know I mean you listen a lot of fuzz in the in the media and stuff like that you know and eventually also the expectations the initial expectations wrong initial expectations yes are not

2:50the same that what's happened finally today but it's an all everything in Bitcoin is a long term when we started there we always said the main concern is taking this like a short a shortcut to a success it's not a shortcut it's a long-term investment decision from the normal and it's it is setting the basis yes for a big impact in a

3:18Salvador it has done a big impact the GDP as you said the tourism we did have a very digital but it's a it's a long term investment as a country yes you're going to bitcoin so it's interesting to know which for the expectation which is what's happening today but which is the long term the thoughts on this and this is part of this will be discussed obviously in the

3:43conference amazing guys we have 15 guys of the big beach coming down and enjoying the event also we like like we sponsor them to come amazing and from what I understand every year you're moving to a different country in Latin America what is the where is it taking place this year and you know sort of what's the tone set

4:10for the conference actually it started in Argentina in 2013 so we thought that during the intent event you know made sense but the Regina is that it's one of the main countries in Greek development in the region and it has like very big projects like the Central and open circling

4:41rsk I mean several of the big projects also in the space started here in Argentina and there is a big development per community so it makes sense as for us because being the 10th it makes sense as for us because we are doing these football related we always think of a theme and try to make it a cultural event even though it's a crypto conference so this year the football the

5:05soccer for Americans it's it's the theme of it's in the debate on but being in Argentina soccer and one week before the world yeah all made just to do it here and promote it definitely and you know I saw a picture recently of somebody trying to pay their bills in Argentina and like the amount of cash that they needed with the Argentinian

5:32dollars was like ridiculous and I know that you know at it seems like some of these countries in Latin America could really benefit from from Bitcoin as we've seen in El Salvador are you seeing trends of cryptocurrency inclusion Financial inclusion into web 3 in Argentina you know surrounding like the conference area yeah I mean yes yes you see adoption

5:58though when you when you see this amount of money that you need to take for doing some payments it's it's it's the start of irrelevant why do I mean this because if you are going to pay White things I mean if you're going to pay something that is already known that you need to pay you can use your bank and that's it if you go with cash sort of strange going I can pay the

6:26taxes come on where does that cash come from no so I mean you can most people base I pay a lot of cash and I even pay taxes and just but it's not the most common situation so it's more for them or what how much I will put it I don't see but you have lots of tools to the two index and also in Buenos a city which is where we're hosting the event you can pay your taxes with

6:52Bitcoin so I mean I guess I don't I haven't seen that picture but I guess it's more showing off but you have this information social Venezuela another in other places big bunch of cash yes but I want to get through like oh this is important because this being said inflation rate in Argentina is going

7:19up to 100 so it is relevant to savior money in some stable asset yes being stable asset not foreign country with more dollars in the world with more paper dollars in the world so usually people will go into into dollars and we with these conferences and with my NGO or the engeo and

7:49lots of other activities we try to convince them why eventually a stable point if you want yes but why that makes more sense in the long term yes and for the short operating term also now getting a lot of companies taking big constraints as you see in the salon no no because it makes no sense who's playing with me I mean who wants to be

8:16if I want to pay with my cash with my use of this cash not with my worth worthy bits so I never care really I never care too much about how many companies take crypto straight yes okay you do it but it's not that you need to have that to be successful as a currency believe that having places were to pay crypto makes it more useful than

8:45being able to change my Crypt into business and pay with pesos or whatever and I like what you said there about sort of holding on to your Bitcoins and sometimes you want to pay with cash or whatever it is because like those Bitcoins are likely to be a lot more valuable in the future for people to have a long-term vision you won't go to a coffee store and

9:08pay with Google stocks yeah who would ever do that yes so why I would pay with Bitcoin eventually because I don't have cash eventually because they're moving from crypto to cash can have a spread and then I prefer to pay the script Australia there are reasons there are lots of reasons why you will do it but it's not like oh this should be the thing to know if

9:32there's adoption no in Argentina for example you have a credit card lemon and a lot of lemon Balo and others but this one launched like one year ago and they have 1.8 million users it was a year yes and you can charge that with Bitcoin and pay with why not you pay with because it comes with pesos yes but you are selling influences immediately when you're doing

9:56this and so it's not really who takes crypto it's about being able to print the as a stereo value and whatever you want change it into a medium level of Exchange help to in another currency even even to understanding this you always discuss a currency needs to be stored of value you need to account I mean yes these are like the three elements but let's think

10:20of this in the dollar in the Argentina yes obviously if you buy a house you have this concept of dollars you don't say 11 million thousand pesos enough in dollars yes five hundred thousand dollars that's yes turning this basis is like multiplied by two thousand two hundreds so you have unit of accounting dollars yes but you won't go to the

10:48coffee store and pay 0.25 cents of dollars no one does that it's not a good unit of account for a continuous in certain spaces yes in most of Argentina economy yes you want to Industry and you won't use it as a little different exchange no one has signs of dollars to bring you back so it's not a good video

11:15let's change it could be but it's not actually today such the same comes with Bitcoin it's not like I can't pay with people I don't but no one does people prefer to spend its pesos and stuff like that so because it's useful for any of all these things yes account exchange whatever but it's not preferred as such it's prepared

11:41and it's okay with that and you know speaking of holding on to bitcoin you know I know in El Salvador there was this Initiative for Bitcoin mining and you know regenerative Mining and volcano mining and I'm curious if there you've seen throughout Latin America a positive impact on Bitcoin mining and if that's something that other countries should be

12:06increasing as well a Paraguay for example they have a lot of mining in hydroelectric yes mining you have an energy you have a huge amount of mining also being done without them in the most astral section of the world which is yes you have a lot of pain there we have people mining together with the with the governmental Gas provider which is eBay they are

12:37doing flaring there still starting yes but I mean there's there are lots of options to do also mining locally and taking for example some are developing mining in the flaring of a methane methane metangas in damp yards yes so yeah I think many is not just something of one country specific it's wherever

13:05electricity is cheap wherever there's enough like a benefit of either Renewables or guess or call or whatever I mean you will go wherever it's a good investment mining is not related to bitcoin but reminding is a self-standing investment project yes that it depends but it's not that bigger needs all such a mining that's not

13:34natural let's work to do good timing with good and creation economic equation you will do so and in these moments where where the currency it's it's in 19 and Mining a Bitcoin could be around 17 and 24. if you are good or not I know if you don't have a good equation energy question you will just drop I mean you stop Mining and or decide to keep mining losing currency during a

14:01bunch of time but this one that has been done in El Salvador it's a good example for the world yes and eventually Latin America might also but just if it's a good equation economic equation and I don't see why the Jamaica should be a better equation than other countries such as that country in which yeah and I think that there's this Vision that you know Bitcoin mining you

14:26know all Bitcoin mining is bad and uses tons of electricity but from what I'm seeing you know there's a lot of it's turning to the majority of regenerative mining or finding other ways to double up on using the heat for your home as well or using natural Hydro all of these things every year we have this mining discussions on the conference yes and this year the only discussion

14:49I'm adding is Bitcoin mining as a good I mean as as the good aspect of the meeting yes I think you'll be expanding the mining networks the electricity the energy Network yes bringing reducing the greenhouse effect because removing the methane I mean different impacts of having mining yes and it is a good and we're also having a discussion

15:20ethereums and bitcoiners about the proper steak these are like the two things that today are need to be discussed in the mining space the address is just an economic equation any kind of business yes just one common business in the world yeah and speaking of ethereum you know from they switched away from mining I saw that even vitalik buterin is going to be at the conference

15:46yep amazing yeah this is a people don't know really actually don't know much about the people and they just like Miss valued I think around the world but it's always a very high diary event yes it's it's and I think it might be the only event that really connects in this case a bit easier that connects the key players of ethereum and the key

16:13players speaking they don't they don't want please just either you're a big reference or you're ethereum governance yes and we are more like like a bonding platform yes and why because it's a very well well thought and well well well appreciated event and it's like the a Latin American space to go so I have italic and some of the key eth

16:39players in latan yes talking and I have Lisa static and Mo and Jimmy song yes and some of the key big players in the region also speaking so if you have Maxi of any side you can be anyway here and you'll have content if you don't want to listen the big Pen side of the discussion you go and do some worship on ethereum and scaling and web development

17:02years I mean why should we discuss what is what you need to focus on YouTube and this is one of the things I don't care why you come into the space I care why you stay into the space and you won't stay because of the past if you want to stay because of oh nfds I will make money you will lose money you will lose money you will lose money in the Ico you

17:26will do that in the NFP you will do you will always lose money you will lose money by returning when it goes out you will always post money so it doesn't matter it's why you come in it matters what you understand once you are in the space so for me it's an excuse if you like energy section yes and you have like 20 talks on nfts and not NFD art yes I'm in

17:50cinema guides I mean come come in you'll get amazed because of that but if you stay it's because you understand that lead to the philosophy what's been kind the opportunities inspired context that's what makes you stay yes so for me it's just the opportunity to connect everything and bringing more people into the space and they will they will always

18:15stay if they get what's really important behind I don't think that Bitcoin is the main example of what's important or why the pillars of Bitcoin are relevant for the society in the future yes but I allow people to take their own decisions I love that perspective Rodolfo and I and I agree it's it's a philosophy and you know whether the markets go up or

18:36down people don't care they continue to build on this technology because they see the future and the value that it can bring to society now last year when I was at the El Salvador Bitcoin conference there was a lot of great startups and companies that were that are building on top of bitcoin's technology and I feel like Latin America is sort of one of those key spots for

19:01building defy on bitcoin and other parts of into Bitcoin as well are you seeing an explosive growth You know despite the market conditions on more startups coming to lab at conf and building on the technology yeah again I don't Focus everything that things need to happen on bitcoin yes you have lots of things and Argentina I mean I would say Argentina has

19:29a nice focus on bitcoin development yes the moon platform for example is Bitcoin focus and we have lots of people thinking of people but you all obviously have a wide eager community building on web3 and because it's always wider because you have options to do so sometimes people is like building a bigger is like dull yes it's like boring because you can do a

19:55an exchange you can do a wallet you can do some lightning Mining and that's it that's closely between yes or you work on a side chain like rsk or League top of evm compatible servers you know but you have lots of people that really understands like holding as a way of really really relevant aspect of the

20:25cryptocurrency yes because we had a lot of experience of how our currencies were destroyed so holding is really one of the really things why people go in and that's why working on bitcoin makes more sense for several but anyway I already have more people working on these other more creative stuff than than people but yes you have lots of companies

20:48that are bringing and really things that and how many days are are you planning it and what are the exact days that it starts but this is 11th and 12th of November in Costa Salgado Buenos Aires it's our capital city in Argentina and then the 10th and 13th for those who are speakers on the payday Experience ticket we have some other complementary activities we

21:14have a very nice amazing immersive opening party in an Icelandic in El Tigre yes and with lasers and sound and a very very nice and nfts floating on a lake and stuff like that and then we have some activity at the end of the polo in Argentina is one of the main countries in Polo or horseback riding you know

21:42soccer it's Apollo and we have like we would be next to the Polo players in one of the tournaments of Polo we're having a leader there on Sunday so there are some nice activities here at VIP experience sponsor will be is bigger Etc but it's zero it's 11 and 12 which is for the general access and for all the

22:09networking yes and we have parties I mean this is as I said this is not just the conferences and the conference is okay yes we have content we have 200 speakers yes we have six stages yes okay you've got all this happening bad experience especially the Bible yes the football this year and that's part of everything and I agree and I can attest to that

22:36experience I did get to go surfing at Bitcoin Beach and partying with the president on the ocean last year at the conference it's just it makes it that much more than just talking to the speakers which were all amazing as well by the way and congratulations on the continued success you know usually let's put it this way yes that's not the differential

22:58whenever you go to conference you will have nice speakers to connect and content and everybody is similar contents yes because the topics are the topics should be discussed though and the differential is the experience yeah so Bitcoin has a huge differential on that side but for Latin America it's also a big differential the content because getting cool speakers to Europe is they

23:26just need to take a plane it's one hour plane it's getting good speakers in U.S yes if they just go from New York to or whatever it's always easy yes getting people down to Latin America is not easy so foreign because we really get to bring because they love the event the big speakers down to Latin America they travel to wherever we do the event yes so this

23:55is one of them secrets of wine level it could be so relevant also called the region and that's why you throw them for the others who are not from the region to connect with the region definitely awesome Rodolfo well I will leave the link to the website and the ticket links and more info in the description box below as well all the best with everything moving

24:16forward to the conference I'm looking forward to it and enjoy and maybe I'll see you there see you soon bye bye thank you