BPUK Newsletter September 2023
We’re doing this by breaking our work into three initiatives:
Policy
Mining and Sustainability
Next Gen
These groups focus on positioning Bitcoin at the forefront, providing information where needed, and being a representative for Bitcoin in the UK.
The leaders of the initiatives are Bill Aronson, the CEO, Freddie New, the head of Policy, Susie Violet Ward, the head of Mining and Sustainability; and Krista Edmunds, the head of Next Gen.
What BPUK has been up to:
We’ve interviewed and finally appointed our CEO – welcome to the team, Bill Aronson!
Bill writes, “With the three pillars covered so well by the teams led by Freddie, Susie, and Krista, my role is to support them in achieving their goals. To this end, we will look at any new initiatives using two acid tests. “Will this make BP UK financially sustainable?” and “Will this increase understanding of Bitcoin beyond Bitcoiners?”
Over the coming months, we will be exploring ways to generate recurring revenue. This will support our goals of influencing government policy, encouraging a UK mining industry, and helping the next generation understand what money is so they can make smarter decisions.
We also want to create conversations beyond the Bitcoin community. Everyone is being squeezed by taxes and inflation. If you don’t understand the root cause, that money is broken, and why it is broken, you are condemned to clutch at band-aid solutions.
We will support projects that demonstrate how Bitcoin offers an alternative and positive road map.
Policy
Freddie, Bill, and Susie attended the Bitcoin Collective meetup in Wandsworth with Dominic Frisby as a guest speaker. You can read some further details here.
This month’s key policy work centered on the upcoming changes to the regulatory approach the FCA is taking towards promotions in social media. The team researched and wrote feedback for the FCA, which can be found here.
Late in the month, Chase Bank announced that as of mid-October, they intend to decline all crypto-related payments that customers attempt to make from their accounts. Their actions sparked a significant reaction online from many key industry players.
This is further alarming evidence of financial censorship creeping into the UK, and the team prepared and sent an open letter to the City Minister, Andrew Griffith MP, and to Lisa Cameron, Chair of the relevant All Party Parliamentary Group, on the matter. The letter is available to read here. You can also find it on Twitter, and LinkedIn.
There has been a considerable response to our letter, as seen here, which is encouraging evidence that there is widespread support among the public at large for pushing back against financial censorship of this kind.
Russell personally gave Clive Lewis, a Labour MP, the first book purchased with donations from our Geyser fund series, Progressive Bitcoin, at a Labour Party meetup (thanks to everyone who has donated to the book fund thus far). The team included a personal note to Clive and an offer to discuss the environmental and social benefits of Bitcoin with him and his team. Hopefully, he gains insights into the environmental and potential benefits for the UK outlined in the book.
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
Susie visited Chainergy to tour their mining facilities, which use excess electricity from an anaerobic digester. Chainergy mines bitcoin using surplus renewable and stranded energy, cutting costs and CO2 emissions. A game-changer for UK innovation.
In the lead-up to the Amsterdam Bitcoin Conference, Susie took part in a Bitcoin Magazine Twitter Spaces.
We’re currently crowdfunding with our Mining Geyser project and are very close to our goal!
Next Gen
We hosted our first session exploring Bitcoin companies and the skills needed to work in Bitcoin with Neil Woodfine, founder and CEO of Dustup, who recently graduated from the Wolf NYC accelerator program.
Neil provided some insights into his experience transitioning into the Bitcoin industry and what he looks for when making hiring decisions.
Events and Media Appearance
Krista was a guest on The Ro Show, discussing the UK landscape and how BPUK is helping out.
Susie was a guest on the Nephos Group Podcast, discussing crypto accounts with Myna.
Freddie attended an event at the East India Club, hosted by Banque Syz , presenting Bitcoin as an investment asset and emergent money to clients of and investors in the bank.
Articles
September was a busy month for the BPUK team, with the publishing of many articles and reports.
Susie has started writing for Forbes and has penned several articles covering Bitcoin ETFs, the Lightning Network and China’s strategy around Bitcoin. You can access the full list of articles here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/susievioletward/?sh=fb08c5794330
Freddie has penned a response to the recent actions by Chase UK, which you can read on our website:
Open Letter to the City Minister re Chase Bank https://www.bitcoinpolicy.uk/post/open-letter-to-city-minister-re-chase-bank
Upcoming Events
Susie Bitcoin Amsterdam conference
Freddie - Bitcoin Amsterdam conference
Susie - CryptoAM - Top Secret Panel
Bill - CryptoAM - Mining & the Environment
We’re Hiring!
Bitcoin Policy UK is hiring for a volunteer Social Media Manager.
Are you passionate about Bitcoin and its transformative power? Do you have experience in social media management?
Bitcoin Policy UK is looking for a dedicated Volunteer Social Media Manager to join our mission-driven team.
Apply here: https://bitcoinerjobs.com/job/1239482-social-media-manager-volunteer-bpuk-limited-trading-as-bitcoin-policy-uk
To follow BPUK and contact the team:
Email: contact@bitcoinpolicy.uk
Website: https://bitcoinpolicy.uk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bitcoinpolicyuk
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bitcoin-policy-uk