The Porcupine Freedom Festival, or PorcFest, {might be|may be|could be} {the most|one of the most} Bitcoin-friendly {festival|celebration} {in the world|on the planet|worldwide}. The week long {festival|celebration}, {put on|placed on} by the {libertarian|liberal} {non-profit|charitable} {organization|company} the Free State Project, {just|simply|merely} {wrapped up|concluded|finished up|completed} its 13th {annual|yearly} {installment|installation} last Sunday

1. Steven L. Rhyner
Bitcoin Heaven on Earth – 13th Annual Porcupine Freedom
Festival in Lancaster, New Hampshire
teamsteverhyner.com/bitcoin-heaven-on-earth-13th-annual-porcupine-freedom-festival-in-lancaster-new-hampshire/
The Porcupine Freedom Festival, or PorcFest, might be the most Bitcoin-friendly festival in the world. The week long
festival, put on by the libertarian non-profit organization the Free State Project, just wrapped up its 13th annual
installment last Sunday. It took place at Roger’s Campground in Lancaster, in the far north of New Hampshire.
PorcFest serves as both an outdoor camping festival and as a political conference. Registration staff estimated its
attendance as high as 1,400 over the course of the week.
CoinTelegraph was present at PorcFest to observe events and interview attendees.
A growing crypto-anarchist trend
Unlike other similar conferences and festivals, PorcFest has a strong crypto-anarchist and pro-Bitcoin vibe.
Carla Gericke, former president of the Free State Project and current president of the regional pro-independence
Foundation for New Hampshire Independence, has seen the trend towards crypto increase every year.
Gericke said to CoinTelegraph:
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2. “I think it’s been growing year over year. It’s amazing to see. The Free State Project started accepting
Bitcoin as payment for our events back in 2010, I believe, so we’ve been taking it for a long time.”
Over a dozen crypto-dedicated talks and activities
PorcFest XIII included 15 listed separate events dedicated to Bitcoin, cryptocurrency, and decentralized tech over
the course of the seven day fest. There was a daily Bitcoin-only happy hour hosted by Token Labs, and an update
on the Silk Road trial by Lyn Ulbricht and the Free Ross Legal Defence effort. Additionally, there was a presentation
on the decentralized online marketplace OpenBazaar, and an update from the decentralized content platform LBRY,
including the screening of films via Blockchain, touted as the first in history.
Matt Welch, editor at large of the libertarian publication Reason, commented on the distinct crypto-anarchist focus of
the festival:
“I assume just from being here for a grand total of four or five hours and hearing conversationally at
least five references to Blockchain technology (and importantly it not having Bitcoin be the word, it’s
actually Blockchain), that crypto-anarchy remains fundamental to the current libertarian sense of
itself. It is a wing, that wing is with us, it’s growing, it’s interesting, it’s throwing off some of the more
interesting activities, and tonight we’re going to see the first Blockchain movie at 8 o’clock, here on
this compound. So it’s clearly an arena for great creativity.”
Agora Valley’s decentralized, pro-Bitcoin marketplace
The crypto bent of the festival extends far beyond official programming, according to Gericke.
She said:
“This year, of course, people could buy their tickets with Bitcoin. But then, in Agora Valley, which is a
fully-decentralized marketplace, you see a lot of the vendors accepting Bitcoin.”
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3. Steven Zeiler, Software Architect at Zen Software, observed how vendors in the Agora Valley area of the festival
have become increasingly turned on to Bitcoin, nearing total acceptance.
He explained to CoinTelegraph:
“Everyone wants to use non-Federal Reserve notes, because basically everyone since Ron Paul
happened knows about the Federal Reserve and how it’s a screw job. People were doing silver a lot
more last year, and I think that alternative money is a very core part of the Porcfest community and
the Free State community. But this year it’s like 95% plus have taken Bitcoin, and there’s only two
places which only do silver or FRNs. So it’s definitely grown.”
Zeiler also notes that the Bitcoin-friendly nature of Agora Valley was not planned, but rather sprung up
spontaneously.
He concludes:
“I don’t think anyone said like “this is an official Porcfest thing that everyone needs to be doing” or
anything. It’s really just a market response for people asking for better money.”
New Hampshire’s Free
State Project
In addition to hosting PorcFest, the
Free State Project has brought
thousands of movers to New Hampshire seeking to congregate and bring greater human liberty to the area, creating
one of the most robust Bitcoin communities in the world.
Participants have pushed pro-Bitcoin legislation, founded Blockchain startups like LBRY andArcade City, and
inspired projects such as the Humanitarian Blockchain and Cell 411. According to Welch, crypto-anarchy is
“perfectly in line for the Free State Project.”
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4. Re-posted from www.cointelegraph.com by Joel Valenzuela June 29, 2016
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