BPUK Newsletter

Summer 2023

Aug 21, 2023

Intro

BPUK aims to bring together the community, policymakers, environmentalists, businesses, energy producers, and Bitcoiners to explore how we might utilise this groundbreaking technology to support UK households, businesses, and our communities in a sustainable and innovative way.

Our work covers three key pillars:

Policy
Mining and Sustainability
Next Gen

Our Policy work is led by Freddie New, Mining and Sustainability by Susie Violet Ward and Next Gen by Krista Edmunds.

What BPUK has been up to this summer:

July and August were busy and eventful months for BPUK.

We met with energy, policy, environmental and data protection representatives, as well as attending several events across the UK.

BPUK Podcast

The BPUK podcast, hosted by Kaitlyn Prince, has officially launched. You can watch the first episode and subscribe here:

Policy

FCA Guidance Consultation

Freddie New, Head of Policy, held meetings with several UK Bitcoin businesses to gather direct feedback on the FCA's upcoming financial promotions regulations. These impose certain restrictions on Bitcoin businesses and their ability to market themselves.

The piece has now been published, you can read it in full here: https://www.bitcoinpolicy.uk/post/bpuk-response-to-fca-guidance-consultation-gc23-1

Ongoing Meetings

The policy team meets with policy makers, businesses and thought leaders on an ongoing basis to gather feedback and educate them about the opportunities that Bitcoin presents.

Electronic Transactions Association

The team was asked to contribute to a briefing given by the Electronic Transactions Association to provide guidance on the Bolt Card, the Lightning network, and its integration into the Nostr protocol via Zaps.

If you wish to help the Policy team, make sure to retweet our responses on Twitter or help with our Parliament Geyser project.

Mining and Sustainability

Bitcoin Beach Retreat

Susie Violet Ward, Head of Mining and Sustainability, spoke at the Bitcoin Beach Retreat in Wales, where she gave two talks. One was about BPUK’s goals and vision, and the second talk was about CBDCs and Bitcoin in general, educating visitors on how the community can help out.

Bitcoin Policy UK advisor, Russel Rukin, was also in attendance and gave a talk about home mining and how people can get involved in the industry.

We are still crowdfunding for our Geyser Mining Project

You can contribute here: https://geyser.fund/project/bpukminingandsustainability

Bitcoin Mining Articles

Susie was also busy writing about Bitcoin, the mining industry, and the power of decentralisation in her City A.M. columns. We featured all of them in our media sections below!

Next Gen

July and August were a busy months for the Next Gen team, run by Krista Edmunds.

Training the Next Generation - Mi Primer Bitcoin (My First Bitcoin)

We’re delighted to announce that BPUK has become a node for the open-source Mi Primer Bitcoin (My First Bitcoin) program that was created and launched in El Salvador.

We have committed to delivering the program to 50 kids in the first 180 days via our first cohort of UK teachers who will be teaching the program in their communities from September onwards. This first cohort of teachers will be trained by a UK teacher who has delivered the program twice. You can read the piece he wrote on his experience here.

Ask me Anything - What you need to know to work in Bitcoin

27th September, 19:00-20:00 UK, we will host a YouTube livestream AMA with Neil Woodfine, the founder of British Bitcoin eSports company Dustup. Dustup makes esports tournaments simpler and more accessible. By automating registrations, check-ins, scoring, and bracket management, organisers are free to focus on growing their communities and streaming their competitions. Integrated Bitcoin payments provide an instant and global collection of entry fees and prize distribution here.

This session is an opportunity for those looking to work in the Bitcoin industry to gain an insight into how a Bitcoin business operates and the skill sets you need to work for a Bitcoin company.