2025 Australian Crypto Convention visit
November 22nd – 23rd
There was a lot of excitement at the 2025 Australian Crypto Convention (@AusCryptoCon). It’s typically hosted in Melbourne, Gold Coast or, for my first visit this year, Sydney. While I am generally interested in peer-to-peer crypto in Bitcoin Cash (which doesn’t seem very popular nowadays), I wanted to make sure I wasn’t living in a bubble and hopefully find interesting projects in the wider community. The two-day weekend conference is all about networking with dedicated tables, lounges and vendor booths to meet staff from exchanges, mining suppliers and wallet providers etc. I was a little relieved to see there were other individuals in Australia who also thought crypto was important enough to attend such an event (not just B2B). This year there were lectures running in five theatres, often simultaneously. Before the event, I advertised the conference in our BCH Australian Telegram group, so I was keen to meet some bcashers in-person.
I arrived early, unofficially selling junk food for Bitcoin Cash. Not really motivated by profit, I felt the symbol of spending crypto was important. A handful of photographers, crypto enthusiasts and even a small kid, loved the idea, although it was probably too close to breakfast to generate any sales. Sadly, after an hour or so, my entrepreneur dreams were crushed when officials told me the venue had exclusive rights to sell food. CIA conspiracy or not, conference tickets, hardware wallets and all food had to be paid in fiat currency. Credit to clothing brand, Crypto Kulture (@Crypto_Kultur3), who appeared to be the only vendor accepting crypto.
Most ads and lectures seemed to be focussed on using crypto as an investment. A handful of talks were about purchasing crypto in a Self-Managed Super Fund (similar to a 401(k) in Australia) and the many regulations involved. As is typical in crypto, there were companies with decent products while using their own blockchain/token and planned mint schedule (e.g. 3ULL, GHST). I spoke to Private Pay who seemed to be a crypto-friendly bank/custody service still in start-up phase. Well-know exchange Binance, had the biggest, most adventurous activities. Visitors who completed their five physical challenges (hodl bar, soccer table etc) entered a prize draw. Some lectures mentioned AI use, but I didn’t hear anyone explain its relevancy with crypto. Perhaps just that they are both recent technologies. Stand with Crypto (@StandWCrypto_AU), a pro-crypto policy advocacy group, were present with a both. There were also a few trading platforms (which I assumed were custodial).
Day 2 was more interesting. Charlie Lee (@satoshilite) was a keynote speaker via a remote Zoom call. He gave his usual Litecoin-is-Bitcoin’s-silver spiel, which is unconvincing. But he gave a good explanation on the importance of privacy and it’s tradeoffs on a blockchain. He also admitted to some centralisation with a Litecoin foundation. When asked about selling his LTC, he explained avoiding a conflict of interest (I’m not sure what the conflict is).
Timothy Stebbing (@tjstebbing) from Dogecoin gave an informative presentation on their approach to putting real-world assets (tokens) on Dogecoin via a side chain.
By far, the most interesting talk was from Michael Fitzgerald (@TheStoicCoiner), called The Monero Standard. Anyone that knows the Monero community, would have rightly guessed this talk was quite anti-establishment, with harsh criticism of government printing money. But it did surprise me just how well received this was amongst other lectures on tax regulations and investing. Apart from one Bitcoin maxi leaving, the lecture theatre was well populated, and a large group flocked to chat with Michael afterwards. He struck a good balance of agnosticism towards Monero, while still championing characteristics from his favourite coin.
While I was glad to attend, in hindsight, it wasn’t very informative to me. It did confirm my suspicion that there isn’t a whole lot of relevance until peer-to-peer digital cash is more common. I feel like many of these other products, as clever as they may be, are sort of a “value-add” – not the gamer-changer of permissionless sound money. Most people I spoke to about using crypto as money, immediately understood and agreed. I suspect having some good marketing material and inviting booth could draw a lot more interest. Something to plan for next year.
