How open-source won in fiat land.
Completely lost in time, I finally landed back in Berlin after a month in Buenos Aires and a week in Las Vegas that felt like an entire lifetime compressed into a few days.
A year ago, I barely knew how to spell NOSTR, didn’t have a Lightning wallet, and had only vaguely heard of Bitcoin. I had no idea what this movement was about — what it could mean, or where it might take me. Fast forward to now: I found myself in Las Vegas, at the biggest nostr:nprofile1qqsphtcc46rrelvptfm4c2y58k85alnam0lfu773mgwdmtynka0zspsql7emy in the world, surrounded by thousands of people.
For those who haven’t been yes, Vegas is exactly like in the movies. It is Disneylands for adults. Casinos pumping cold air at 4 am to keep you awake, fake skies, fake rivers, fake cities. You walk from one hotel to another and somehow land in a version of Rome, Paris or Venice. It’s bizarre and overwhelming and… kind of amazing in its own twisted way. Who are we humans to build a neon wonderland in the middle of a desert?
And yet, even there, in peak fiat land, there I was: in a casino lounge at 4 in the morning onboarding random people to Nostr with the entire team.
But let’s rewind — how did I even end up here?
After a slightly rocky start Derek and I began the year with a mission: to bring Nostr to Las Vegas. A booth? Way too expensive. So we tried something else — applying for a grant from the Human Rights Foundation. Because the Oslo Freedom Forum was happening at the same time, nostr:nprofile1qyf8wumn8ghj7cnfw3ehgctrdvhxzursqythwumn8ghj7cmp9ehhyctwvajhq6tvdshxgetkqqs0rxy6jmt44guxkny8z4pkym9mxckqxfytygxuntjn6l80hj409sggjrzcm decided to support six fellow Nostriches and gave us the green light to build something different: the Nostr Lounge.
To the entire HRF team ( nostr:nprofile1qyg8wumn8ghj7nn0wd68ytnhd9hx2qg4waehxw309ajkgetw9ehx7um5wghxcctwvsqzpsnz9jgkmxusuy9grv46v7cehh7966lzdsjh2mglnyxn0pwwzdsmyyrj62 especially) thank you. Thank you for trusting us, for believing in the vision, and for playing such a crucial role in making this happen. Located in Open Source area far from the main exhibition hall, away from the noise and flashing lights we were not sure if anyone even come?
But the space turned out to be perfect — cosy, carpeted, warm. A real contrast to the intense chaos of the main hall. It gave us space to breathe, to onboard, to connect.And of course the plebs did come. And the energy? Unreal. People were genuinely curious, eager to learn, and ready to go deep. No suits, no fluff — just people who care.
Of course, there were suitcoiners too — and yes, I’ve written about them before, especially after my experience at Bitcoin investment Week in New York (if you missed it, I wrote about that here earlier this year — and Vegas brought a strange kind of déjà vu).
This was — and is — a team effort. It wouldn’t have happened without the incredible crew of volunteers who came from all corners of the world. Developers, builders, creators, idealists. People who understand what freedom of speech really means. nostr:nprofile1qy88wumn8ghj7mn0wvhxcmmv9uq3qamnwvaz7tmwdaehgu3wwa5kuegqyq4dj8caegku6h7gneeq3509qk0shtqgwrtrlsa6cgw84yuglgv06n28laj nostr:nprofile1qy28wue69uhnzvpwxqhrqt33xgmn5dfsx5cqz9thwden5te0v4jx2m3wdehhxarj9ekxzmnyqqswavgevxe9gs43vwylumr7h656mu9vxmw4j6qkafc3nefphzpph8ssvcgf8 nostr:nprofile1qythwumn8ghj7cmjv4shgu3wdehhxarj9emkjmn9qythwumn8ghj7erfwfjkxar0wfuju7tpvf6jumt9qqsftzm4fgwnmed4ajs0uvwj642lg5fjt7zf32pa5xvhkl7dtsu73rq6udlsx nostr:nprofile1qyt8wumn8ghj7cnfw33k76twv4ezuum0vd5kzmqpz4mhxue69uhk2er9dchxummnw3ezumrpdejqqg8wvqeg8l4ufscmpxgr8yjq3ghl78d0dxkzy399ujks0m9rh3uaaswwmf6z and so many more. And even those who weren’t physically with us — following along on Nostr, sending support from afar — you were just as much a part of it.
For me personally, it meant everything to finally meet so many beautiful humans in real life. Especially the women: nostr:nprofile1q9n8wumn8ghj7enfd36x2u3wdehhxarj9emkjmn99ah8qatzx93hxctddd4ns7n4xcmh5mpe0g68w6ms8ycxzdpkxfmr2vm3xumn2ct3dc6hzdnc0f4xg6mcde4hvcmsvsmhxun50g68swflvfex7ctyvdshxapaw3e82egpzamhxue69uhkuenyvghxummnwa5x2un99e3k7mgqyrzrhw6cutntctu5246cy4lkhffjjyrm6n5zwsrgc2fkc6wenq9h68p38q9 nostr:nprofile1qyxhwumn8ghj7mn0wvhxcmmvqywhwumn8ghj7mn0wd68yttsw43zuam9d3kx7unyv4ezumn9wsqzp87w8t4r9v6kx7pcldzmwklryk2hgtskhvlywskvs2an658epplxwsm38g nostr:nprofile1qyw8wumn8ghj7mn0wd68ytnrdpjk2um9wfhkymm59ehhyee0qythwumn8ghj7mn0wd68ytn8d3jk27n99e3k7mf0qqsr6u8vr6jcveg2q36ddpvy2ssf6g3ptr6q085dhqr0q9l0tccwwecum8ga0 nostr:nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7etyv4hzumn0wd68ytnvv9hxgqgdwaehxw309ahx7uewd3hkcqpqdg6es53r3hys9tk3n7aldgz4lx4ly8qu4zg468zwyl6smuhjjrvsm58xhx nostr:nprofile1qythwumn8ghj7ct59ehx7um5wfmk7untwvhxxmmdqyghwumn8ghj7mn0wd68ytnvw5hxkegqyqplg5tmwhsmqfse2ccstvmhuhtsd7frjyq6cef3c7ka02lnze03733gwzs you give me strength and hope. It reminded me why I’m here — why we’re all here. There is a better world worth fighting for, and this community helps me believe in it.
The Nostr Lounge was for the plebs — and so was our side event at We All Scream. Away from the overpriced conference afterparties, NosVegas was a wild, joyful celebration. Sponsored by nostr:nprofile1qqstn5pvhr7aavv3wq0vqeywxlk376hm5f37qps0cpsfnf3g28f9upq6qgre4 and The Space, it was the perfect mix of education and dance floor madness. The vibes were lit. The artists such as nostr:nprofile1qy28wumn8ghj7mn0wd68yt3cxumnwtnrdqhszfthwden5te0dehhxarj9e3k7mt4de5kgctyv43kzmnrv9hkummkvyhxxmmd9uqzpufnkfr0qa3nlhs639qn8tp8p2u82pgzke9fw7wqhtpujg5pnrw6g4xedt , nostr:nprofile1qyxhwumn8ghj7mn0wvhxcmmvqythwumn8ghj7mn0wd68ytnxd46zuamf0ghxy6t6qqsgsp3h9t6329dlfthcqu53h9jg06scymykdf2ed09gv6tmtk9j80qlr90st on fire.
If there’s one thing I would change? I wish we’d had more stage time. As nostr:nprofile1qy88wumn8ghj7mn0wvhxcmmv9uq37amnwvaz7tmwdaehgu3dwfjkccte9ejx2un9ddex7umn9ekk2tcqyqlhwrt96wnkf2w9edgr4cfruchvwkv26q6asdhz4qg08pm6w3djg3c8m4j said in the only fireside chat: "Every Bitcoiner should be on Nostr." If we have an entire lounge dedicated to it, let’s really go for it. Because people do care. They do love it. Oh — and while we're dreaming — maybe one day the WiFi gods will finally smile on us.
One more highlight: The 2nd Annual Bitcoin Golf Championship and Kickoff Party. nostr:nprofile1qqs09gkak5l0tferxnknegj3nfyr3uanm0dvrr6xn02j9rt2rfy4ucsj8d92z , the organiser, gave us a tiny table with Nostr banners. We used it to onboard and chat — and of course, it became the busiest little corner of the event.
All in all, I feel deeply grateful — and also completely behind on processing it all. A full recap will follow soon from Derek (bless him), but this was my personal take, straight from the heart.
And if I forgot to mention anyone by name — I’m truly sorry. So many of you made this experience what it was, and I carry that with me.
And one thing I’m especially thankful for — having someone by my side through all this. Someone who grounds me, who gets it, who quietly keeps me steady while the world spins fast. You know who you are.
Next stop: nostr:nprofile1qqsd0f68dvf98gvs9am9dp0lu0f4r7xzu2k89rm9tt448axf5tu6wlgphpy4c