Tom Gillespie Attends Hackers Congress Paralelní Polis (HCPP)

Well, folks, it’s been a ride! Tom Gillespie and his trusty cameraman Tommy Hans packed their bags and hit the road to Prague for the Hackers Congress Paralelní Polis (HCPP), a gathering of hackers, thinkers, and cypherpunks from all corners of the crypto world.

The event took place at the Institute of Crypto Anarchy – Paralelní Polis**, a place where Bitcoin runs the show, privacy is king, and the ideas of freedom and decentralised economics take centre stage.

The duo checked into a modest hostel, sharing a room in true guerrilla-filmmaking style. They found themselves resisting the seductive pull of Prague’s famous beer culture…well, most of the time. “The city’s got its charms,” said Tommy, “but what really stood out was the friendliness of everyone at the event. The staff and attendees made it feel like home.”

The Hardcore HCPP Experience

The topics weren’t for the faint-hearted: from crypto-anarchy and decentralised systems to privacy, digital freedom, and resisting state surveillance. Tom and Tommy mingled with some of the sharpest minds in the space.

Tom conducted many one-on-one interviews with an all-star lineup of speakers, including Amir Taaki – The Bitcoin pioneer and open-source advocate who helped build the foundations of privacy and decentralisation in the early days of Bitcoin. Paul Rosenberg – Co-founder of Cryptohippie and advocate for digital privacy, who shared insights into the ongoing battle for privacy in a world of increasing surveillance. Mitch Altman – Hacker and inventor, known for his work on open-source hardware, who had some powerful thoughts on how tech can be used to serve humanity.

Max Hillebrand – From Wasabi Wallet, bringing his A-game on Bitcoin privacy and mixing technologies and Rachel Rose O’Leary** – A core developer at DarkFi, she schooled the team on the future of privacy in blockchain and the “lunarpunk” vision.

Tom, ever the crypto investigator, found himself deep in conversation with these brilliant minds. And then there was that classic Tom moment where he quipped, This isn’t Degen culture! Where have you sent me? You gotta love it. Tommy, on the other hand, was soaking up the good vibes, adding that. The staff and service were top-notch, and everyone was incredibly open and friendly.

A Billion GDAYs to Tommy

But what would a trip to Prague be without a few pints? After a long day of filming, Tom and Tommy gave in to the lure of the local brews. And here’s where things got interesting. A little tipsy and feeling generous, they wandered over to the HCPP merch shop for a late-night shopping spree.

And that’s when Tom lost a bet over the value of their haul, ending up owing Tommy 1.5 billion GDAY tokens! That’s right, folks, crypto amateurs at their finest.

As if that wasn’t enough, Paralelní Polis has got this thing nailed down where everything — from snacks to drinks could be paid for with Satoshis. The entire place runs on Bitcoin, which Tom thought was just brilliant given he had quite a few to off load.

The Last HCPP, Moving towards a Second Future

This was the last event under the HCPP name. That’s right. Next year, it’s transforming into Second Future, a new chapter for the community that’s all about pushing the boundaries of technology, privacy, and freedom even further.

Big shout-out to the organisers for making this incredible event possible and giving Tom and Tommy full access to capture some serious interview material for Bitjoin Studios.

The footage they’re bringing home is gold. Expect to see these interviews rolled out on the Bitjoin Studios YouTube channel in the coming days and weeks. All in all, Prague delivered. Tom’s heading home with a ton of great content, new connections, stories to tell, and, of course, a few billion fewer GDAY tokens.

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