Bitcoin: Choosing the Path Forward. Wall Street or Main Street? by Tracey Leonard

  I know I’m not the only one who is sick and tired of hearing that Bitcoin is dead, damaged, destroyed, ad nauseum.  It isn’t.  And everyone within the community already knows that.  The myth has been put to bed.  The thing I was most impressed by during the last week was the ability of an entire group of people to jump in, analyze, dialogue, offer support, and work together in order to get as much valid information out and to dispel the mainstream media misinformation storm that seemed to never end.  This was done, for the most part, for free.  It was done because we all believe in something enough to want it to move forward.  The reasons for this are varied.  Some of us want to see Bitcoin succeed to build new businesses or industries or markets.  Some of us see the opportunity to overhaul a dinosaur of a financial system that benefits almost no one.  Some see the potential to change the lives of those living in poverty and oppression all over the world.  All are important.

Who Knows, Maybe Nakamoto Was A Woman...?

I was always a tomboy – gapped smile, jean shorts and trainers, climbing trees and exploring haunted houses. My nursery teachers learnt first hand what trying to put a dress on me meant. What really annoyed me was that girls were supposed to do particular things – like playing dolls  and boys – all the fun stuff. Thankfully, my parents didn't mind that much that I wanted to be called Derek and out of curiosity tried to pee standing up ( this might have come handy then). What wasn't allowed or appropriate for a girl instantly got my attention. I have always been feisty and rebellious. Computers, cars and DIY interested me more than pink nail polish. At the age of 16 I got my driving licence.10 years later I packed my old Vauxhall Astra and traveled alone 1500km from Katowice in Poland to London, the place of my second biggest passion – English (I know sounds boring). Since motorcycle is the best mean of transport here, I bought my first bike (Yamaha Virago) and worked as a nanny. Funnily enough I never liked children very much and thought I'd be a terrible mother. I still prefer dogs.

My Bitcoin story begins at the Porcupine Freedom Festival in Lancaster, New Hampshire.  I have attended this event five years in a row, each year witnessing the practical application of alternative currencies for trade.  First it was silver, then Bitcoin.

At the inaugural Bitcoin Fair, an evening of bitcoin evangelizing held this month in a packed-to-capacity Japantown ramen joint in San Francisco, the absence of one

thing stood out.

"I invited lots of women," bemoaned the event host, QuickCoin co-founder Nathan Lands.

They apparently had not accepted.

Sarah Blincoe, founder of the Santa Cruz startup Bitcoin Beauties, wants to address this problem in the bitcoin community, one plainly obvious to anyone who has eve

attended a bitcoin conference, Meetup, or even scrolled through bitcoin forums on the Web.

Part of her strategy is to appeal to women through their own beauty. Her logic: Helping women feel beautiful might also help them dive into the emerging digital currency.

"For me to feel empowered and beautiful in a community is really important," said Blincoe, 26.

The company's slogan is "Beauty, Brains, Bitcoin." Its logo is a sketch of two voluptuous, nude women, posing pin-up style beside the stylized bitcoin "B."

The company website, yet to be completed, is now a photo collage of women, some topless, silhouetted against a beach sunset. Blincoe refers to members as "our

beauties."