The cryptocurrency, blockchain, and Web3 sectors have not stopped growing in recent years. Spain has positioned itself as one of the leading countries in adopting and developing these new technologies destined to change the future.
In recent months, the sector has changed a lot, and everything is happening at breakneck speed in an industry that changes almost daily. At Bit2Me, we are always at the forefront, living these changes in first person and participating in them as sector leaders in our country.
In 2022, everything has happened in the sector. If we had to describe it in a few words, we could say that it has not been suitable for the faint-hearted.
Today we want to give you a summary of the last 12 months through the vision of some of the experts who have accompanied us in our Expert Sessions; are you joining us?
Jose Antonio Bravo: “One Year in Crypto Equals 10 in Real Life”
Jose Antonio Bravo is a tax and accounting advisor specializing in cryptocurrencies. Bravo joined us at the beginning of the year to teach us a lesson on crypto taxes, leaving us with a quote that perfectly describes this 2022: “One year in crypto equals 10 in real life”.
Bravo explained the Spanish Tax Form 720, in which taxpayers must declare assets, such as cryptocurrencies, as well as in which cases we have to report and in which we don’t (for example, when we hold cryptocurrencies in cold wallets), or when we can offset losses.
Our Expert Session with Jose Antonio Bravo is all you need to be up to date with your crypto-related tax obligations.
Antonio Sotomayor: “When Entering the World of Cryptocurrencies, We Must Forget Everything We Have Learned”
Antonio Sotomayor is the Head of Blockchain at Finweg and a professor at MINT (Master’s Degree in Technological Innovation). Sotomayor is one of the leading experts in blockchain technology in Spain and is responsible for the architecture of several blockchain-based projects.
Antonio Sotomayor shared that what most caught his attention about blockchain, especially the Ethereum blockchain, are smart contracts and the possibility of creating custom economies and new systems to generate value, something new for humans and with great potential for the future.
Sotomayor also explained to us where the value of NFTs comes from and their use cases beyond “certificates of ownership“, such as:
- Supply chain traceability.
- Ownership in the real world and the metaverse.
- Music.
- Entertainment (ticket sales, VIP access…).
- Video games.
- Digital identity.
Antonio gave us a whole masterclass on the metaverse and its meaning for the future of society and entertainment.
Euge Oller: “Bitcoin Allow Us to Transfer Value in Time and Space”
Euge Oller is one of the most important YouTubers and entrepreneurs on the national scene, being featured on the 2018 30 Under 30 list. Oller has a personal YouTube channel with almost one million subscribers. He joined us for an Expert Session in which he talked about his journey in the world of cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and entrepreneurship.
When defining NFTs, Oller left us with a couple of very interesting comments. First, although NFTs have value because the user grants it to them, 99% of them can be reduced to zero, something similar to what happened with ICOs in 2017 and which, at this point, seems almost a harbinger of what has happened with a large part of NFT collections.
Secondly, we are at a very early stage in the life of NFTs, and Oller compares today’s creators and buyers to the Internet or YouTube pioneers of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Euge Oller also talked about the upcoming social platforms, which will be developed on Web3 technologies and allow decentralization.
Jiho, Founder of Axie Infinity: “The Key to NFTs Is to Create Something That People Do NOT Want to Sell”
Jiho is one of the co-founders of Axie Infinity. His goal was to create a new type of game that would give more power to its players. Axie Infinity has laid the foundation for Play-2-Earn games, which create a new dynamic where the player can earn money for the time and effort invested in the game.
The Jiho told us how he found Axie Infinity being part of the crypto community and that the idea behind it all was to create a sustainable economy based on NFTs. His vision was for users to develop emotional bonds with their digital collectibles, so they would not want to sell them.
Jiho shared his thoughts on the sustainable, community-based economy that Axie Infinity has been built on, as well as Ronin, its own blockchain created to be a HUB for all NFT games, and which has driven adoption among people who had no prior crypto experience.
Juan Nuvreni: “Bitcoin Is Inflexible by Design”
To celebrate and recap one of the biggest events of the year, the Ethereum Merge and the Beacon Chain, we chatted with Juan Nuvreni of Crypto Sheinix, a developer passionate about Bitcoin and the blockchain.
Nuvreni shared with us the differences he appreciates between Bitcoin and Ethereum; noting that while BTC is resilient, it is also inflexible. Ethereum, on the other hand, is an open network, which facilitates the development of new applications, tokens, and use cases.
In relation to Ethereum’s change in its consensus mechanism, Nuvreni also explained to us all about pools and staking nodes, how they work, how many tokens they require, and their benefits.
Nuvreni also explained to us how Ethereum intends to improve its token issuance, by burning fees and with bounties. Last but not least, Nuvreni told us how Layer 2 works and how it will change the future of blockchain.
Gael Sanchez: “There Is a Problem With the Current Financial System and Bitcoin Is a Solution”
At the end of the year Gael Sanchez, author of the book Bitcoin Changes Everything, joined us to talk about macroeconomics and the role that Bitcoin has in it, in an entertaining debate that went from history to philosophy and economics.
From his philosophical background, Gael explains the problems of the current financial, economic and monetary system, as well as the solutions that Bitcoin could bring. To do so, Sanchez analyzes the history of money, from prehistoric times to the present day.
Sanchez also explained that the current fiat money system creates great social and intergenerational inequalities. In this context, he predicts a possible crisis due to the lack of confidence in the current monetary system.
Of the solutions that Bitcoin could bring to the current system, Sanchez highlights that it has a limited issuance, which makes it a deflationary currency, as well as its Proof of Work consensus mechanism, which is much more resistant to censorship than the Proof of Stake.
Gloria Hernandez: “Facebook Could Have Affected Global Financial Stability”
To learn more about crypto regulation and, above all, about all the changes that are coming to the sector with the upcoming MiCA Regulation, we chatted with Gloria Hernandez, partner at finReg360 and expert in crypto regulation, NFTs, and stablecoins.
Gloria told us how the first regulations came about and how cooperation between traditional banking and cryptocurrency exchanges, especially after the emergence of Libra or Diem (Facebook’s stablecoin cryptocurrency project), accelerated the law-making process.
Among the topics discussed, we highlighted the role that Bit2Me has played in the regulation of the sector in Spain and Europe. Finally, Gloria provided an in-depth overview of the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, which will regulate companies in the sector and how to issue certain tokens, such as stablecoins.
