Adopting Bitcoin Cape Town: Insights from VALR CEO, Farzam Ehsani
This post is an adaption of an article originally published on Yahoo.
Farzam Ehsani, VALR’s CEO, took the stage to deliver the opening keynote at Adopting Bitcoin Cape Town, a Bitcoin conference held at the CTICC.
Ehsani's speech, titled "Integration vs Disintegration: Bitcoin Adoption and Human Progress", gave insight into some of the key drivers of VALR's success in advancing the adoption of Bitcoin in Africa, and offered important reflections on principles such as unity, service and truth.
The talk centered on the broader theme of the forces of disintegration and integration unfolding at every level of society, while also exploring the significance of the emergence of Bitcoin as a unifying force and important technology to align global finance with the needs of this age.
In particular, attendees were able to learn about the efforts made by VALR to help establish Bitcoin as a viable method of payment, such as through its recently announced partnership with Visa, which is set to allow VALR customers to use Visa’ network to send and receive payments from any location in the world. As part of that collaboration, VALR is planning to launch a number of innovative payment and card products that will enable users to leverage Visa's network in their transactions.
Directing his comments on the topic of Bitcoin adoption directly at the Bitcoin community, Ehsani said:
"We need to look into the mirror sometimes as the Bitcoin community. There are times when we sow division in our discourse. When we talk about us versus them, when we talk about the Bitcoiners versus the bankers, about Bitcoiners versus the no coiners, sometimes, while we're having fun and it's enjoyable, we're actually retarding the progress of our own cause."
"If we truly believe that Bitcoin is here to progress humanity, to move us forward, then it's not just for Bitcoiners, it's for the world. We cannot disparage those that don't quite understand it yet, we have to welcome them because Bitcoin really is for everyone" continued Ehsani.
In addition, attendees were able to learn about VALR's partnership with CryptoConvert, enabling users to spend their Bitcoin via VALR Pay on groceries and various other products at Pick n Pay stores throughout South Africa.
Adopting Bitcoin Cape Town is the latest in a series of global crypto conferences that explore the unique overlap between Bitcoin and the emergence of other so-called parallel institutions that service and empower humanity amidst widespread socio-economic disintegration. The event welcomed dozens of top local and international crypto entrepreneurs and influencers to discuss the latest advances in Bitcoin's development and the impact it is having on the world in the context of real-world economies and institutions.
If you were unable to attend the conference, you can catch up and watch the talks here:
VALR CEO, Farzam Ehsani, and CMO, Ben Caselin, with Jimmy Song, a well-known Bitcoin expert and author in the Bitcoin community.
