BUIP068: (passed) Satoshi's Vision 2 - Conference

[Mengerian]

BUIP068: Satoshi's Vision 2 - Conference
Submitted on: 1 November 2017
Amended on: 05 December 2017

Summary

This is an Operational BUIP requesting Bitcoin Unlimited (BU) membership approve the allocation of USD $60,000 of BU funds, to sponsor the next Bitcoin Unlimited conference: "Satoshi's Vision 2".

The conference will build on the success of the previous conferences "Satoshi's Vision", held in San Francisco in September 2016 [1], and The Future of Bitcoin Conference, which was sponsored by Bitcoin Unlimited by BUIP 047 [2], and was held in Arnhem June 29 - July 1 2017.

We may seek outside partners, or hire a professional conference organizer to assist with planning and running the conference.

Location and Date

Proposed location: Tokyo, Japan

Proposed date: 23-25 March 2018

Both of these particulars may be subject to change if deemed necessary by conference organizers.

Objectives

The purpose of the conference is to bring together noted Bitcoin figures, developers, academics, miners and enthusiasts to overview, discuss, critique and prioritize many of the leading enhancements to develop Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash into the future, including improvements which enable a far higher capacity for transactional throughput on-chain.

Goals for the conference include:

1. BU will assist by sponsoring and helping to organize the conference, but the intent is for the conference not to be BU specific, and open and welcoming to other groups.
   
   
2. One of the themes of the prior conference was Bitcoin’s multiple implementations. This was very successful and provided a technical focus for the conference. This conference will broaden to include other topics, but the intention is to keep a primarily technical and research focus.
   
   
3. Attendance will be targeted to be similar to the size of the Arnhem conference (140 attendees). The duration of the conference may be extended to three days (Arnhem conference was two days).
   
   
4. Intent is to provide high-quality video recordings and live-streaming of the presentations and panel discussions, similar to the last conference [3].
   
   
5. There will be an open “call for proposals” for presentations. The conference will do its best to make the program be inclusive and representative of various groups in the Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and wider cryptocurrency community.
   
   
6. Funding to pay expenses for key-note speakers/attendees. Partial expenses may be offered on a case-by-case basis.
   
   
7. Publicity for Bitcoin Unlimited itself as a growing center of excellence for Bitcoin research and full-node software development.

Note: Due to recent changes on the plan for the conference, we may need some flexibility in the particulars of how the conference happens. BU organizers may change some of the details, while still retaining the spirit of this BUIP.

References

[1] Satoshi's Vision Conference: https://medium.com/@peter_r/satoshis-vision-bitcoin-development-scaling-conference-dfb56e17c2d9

[2] BUIP 047: https://bitco.in/forum/threads/buip047-passed-the-future-of-bitcoin-development-scaling-conference.1848/

[3] Videos of talks from Arnhem conference: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLW5YLgBF2qh_1NKB3hW24cg26KSTCsTjY

 

[Windowly]

Looks awesome. Very much enjoyed watching the Arnhem conference presentations last time online!

 

[torusJKL]

I really liked The Future of Bitcoin Conference in Arnhem. The organizers did a great job.

I'm looking forward to experiencing the next one (either in person or through the live streams).

 

[lunar]

Arnhem really was a seminal event, it's going to be hard to top. Looking forward to this, hopefully irl but, if not, you can be sure i'll be tuning in.

Back to the Future of Bitcoin.

 

[theZerg]

Great let's do this!

 

[Bagatell]

Count me in.

 

[Christoph Bergmann]

Oh, Tokyo is so far away from me ... but I guess it's just fair to change places ...

if someone wants to sponsor journalistic presence, I'm open for it

Edit: Molecc and other Europeans: Do you have plans to travel to Japan?

 

[Mengerian]

Important Note:

I have amended the BUIP.

We recently learned the people behind "The Future of Bitcoin", who did the bulk of the work for the Arnhem conference, have decided not to take on the organizing role for this conference. So we will have to either look for another organizer, or do more work ourselves as volunteers.

I have changed the wording of the BUIP to reflect this.

I personally cannot devote too much time to take on the organizing role, so making the conference actually happen will depend on finding more volunteers, finding partners, or hiring a professional conference organizer. There is a also a good chance we may have to push the date back so we have time to reorganize. So don't book tickets yet!

 

[Norway]

I'm going!

 

[AdrianX]

@Norway, I'm going too, even if it's just the two of us drinking Sake in the shade of cherry bloom trees.

@Ken Shishido do you know any event organizers? Given the resent BTC increase I'm thinking Money is not the issue. @Mengerian if the reason for not participating is not political the previous team my be able to assist?

 

[Ken Shishido]

@AdrianX My apology for delayed response. I just saw this and I've been helping Gaby and others to compare and decide on a venue. I will be back to Tokyo in mid Jan to end of March to help from the ground.

 

[solex]

@Ken Shishido
Thanks for your help! We are excited to have an event in the city of Tokyo, which is of global interest. Our aim to raise the profile of Bitcoin Cash could not come at a better time, as there is so much enthusiasm for cryptocurrency in Japan.

 

[Ken Shishido]

@solex @AdrianX

While I am helping Gaby and others in the telegram chat group, I have some basic/random questions and suggestions:-

1. Who is the project owner/sponsor at BU? And what is the project management structure? (I know Gaby has been given a role of project manager.)

2. I would like to suggest a tagline for the event. Something like "Together we will make Bitcoin Cash the best money the world has ever seen." which appears here.
https://www.bitcoinunlimited.info/cash-development-plan

I like this but maybe it is a bit too long. So, "Together we make Bitcoin Cash the best money." or something like this? Just my random thought.

3. Do you still look for other sponsors for the event? I think there will be interests for the sponsorship from Japanese exchanges and/or other Japanese crypto businesses. Who should I talk to if there are such interests?

4. While the event itself will be of primarily technical and research focused one (to showcase we, bigblockers are not only just politically anti-core and conspiracy theorists but also we are also very technically orientated and capable), what do you think of having some side-events like having hot dogs/sushi stands for Bitcoin Cash, dancers/artists performance for Bitcoin Cash tips, etc?

Let me know your thoughts. DM me if it is more appropriate on some of the points. Thanks.

 

[solex]

@Ken Shishido
1. Antony Zegers (@Mengerian) is managing the conference overall. @Peter R and I assist when needed, especially with the financials. Several BU members have offered advice, and we also have a slack channel.

2. A tagline would be good to have, and a shorter one like you suggest. Not aware of any discussion on that yet.

3. We do have a healthy level of sponsorship, but any involvement from Japanese exchanges and other business is highly desirable. Even Bitcoin BTC ones who are on the fence and just need to have more contact Bitcoin Cash people to decide to support this currency as well.

4. Lots of good ideas for Telegram or Slack discussion.Would you like an invite to the BU slack?

 

[Ken Shishido]

@solex
1. - 3. Thanks for your reply.
4. Okay, yeah. Please send me an invite. My telegram: kenshishido and my e-mail is kenshishido@mac.com

 

[Mengerian]

Hi @Ken Shishido!

I sent you a message on Telegram!

Those are good suggestions! We are happy to have you involved!

 

[sken]

Hi, Im interested on this. What is the cost and where i can buy tickets for it? If i can get an inv for the BU slack that would be great as well!

Thanks

 

[Mengerian]

@sken the conference website is https://www.satoshisvisionconference.com/

Ticket sales have not yet begun.

 

[AdrianX]

thanks @Ken Shishido I diffident mean to put you on the spot. but knowing someone (who may be in japan) i thought you were a good contact.

it looks like everything is sorted and good progress is happening.

 

[Mengerian]

Satoshi’s Vision Conference Financial Summary – 2018-05-14

The Conference finances are almost complete, only a few more small revenues and expenses remain.

At the moment, we have a modest surplus, with enough to cover the remaining expenses. As you can see, the dollar value of the revenue is about $100,000 USD more than the expenses, but we have only around $10,000 USD worth of BTC and BCH remaining. This is because much of the sponsorship revenue was early in the year at a high BCH price, and most of the expenses were in late March and April, at a much lower BCH price. So we lost around $90,000 due to the declining price. I tried to mitigate this as much as possible by lining up revenues and expenses, deferring revenue, and bringing payments forward when possible. I also had to seek out more sponsorship money along the way when it became clear our budget would be tight.

In addition to the small financial surplus, we also have some assets that come out of the conference, including:

• A website and domain (https://satoshisvisionconference.com/)
• A Youtube channel with 1000 subscribers, and ~60,000 views of the conference talks (https://www.youtube.com/SatoshisVisionConference)
• A Twitter account with ~1,700 followers (https://twitter.com/Satoshis_Vision)
• A mailing list with ~600 email addresses.