2024: Proof of Workforce

A Year In Review

No matter where you are tonight, on this NYE, if you are reading this, there is a great chance you learned more about Bitcoin this year, and probably helped others do the same. That makes 2024 an amazing year! Cheers to that.

As I look back on 2024, there are some great milestones to recognize. And with every milestone, there are far too many people to thank. (so if I miss you here, DM me and I’ll add you in with an edit, and THANK YOU)

Bitcoin Spot ETFs Approved: Jan 10, 2024

The Institutional Cycle was officially kicked off, with the long overdue and momentous passage of the Bitcoin Spot ETF. With names like BlackRock, Fidelity and many others, Bitcoin on Wall Street opened for business. And a few months later, a top 10 Pension Fund added shares to the balance sheet.

WRS Adds Bitcoin to Balance Sheet

Here is a thread if you need a reminder on why it was such a relevant development. Ultimately, the Wisconsin Retirement Fund is a well-funded, top 10 U.S. Pension with over 138 Billion Dollars AUM. There endorsement of Bitcoin as an asset was huge!

Another cool thing…Proof of Workforce played a role in the WRS’s momentous step.

Streamed LIVE on Sept 5th, 2023, myself along with Raphael Zagury, Joe Carlasare (both PofW Board Members), and Greg Foss hosted a few members of the WRS Board of Trustees on a show special called “The Nakamoto Gauntlet”. It was a great convo you can rewatch HERE. In following up, the convo and follow up convo played a key role in the fund’s entrance to Bitcoin!!

Lastly, for some updated research on how WRS has been managing its Bitcoin, here is a brief thread for your review. Why does this matter? Pension Funds will have a learning curve as they learn Bitcoin, and define how and why they want to hold it. After all, it IS the institutional cycle. This will be a long process, and as others such as Michigan, that followed suit, acquire Bitcoin, real-time Institutional data will be created, studied, and executed on. This is still only the beginning of Institutional Adoption, with over 99% of Local and State Pensions reporting no Bitcoin on the balance sheet. As a reminder in the U.S. alone that TAM is 7 Trillion Dollars.

Some of these insights, I was fortunate enough o share on Natalie Brunell’s CoinStories which you can check out HERE. Thanks Natalie!!

Proof of Workforce Goes Coast to Coast

Taunton Fire Local 138 put Proof of Workforce on the map Coast to Coast! Our 4th Union we assisted, Pat from Taunton was great to work with, and I’m happy for everyone at Taunton Local 138. Updates: the Bitcoin adoption within their organization is going incredibly, and they are looking to take further steps into Bitcoin. Welcome to the Proof of Workforce Family and onward to 2025!!

Santa Monica Bitcoin Office Goes Live!!

So much to discuss on this historical moment. The first Municipal Bitcoin Office in the United States was approved UNANIMOUSLY on July 9th, 2024, by the Santa Monica City Council. It was never our intention to work with municipalities, however, similar to our work with the Santa Monica Firefighters, I wanted to explore tapping the incredible value of the Bitcoin Network, in my local city, as I knew it could be a great benefit. With the support of now Bitcoin Mayor Lana Negrete, and the city council and staff, this office is now live.

We had a great Street Festival, The Santa Monica Peer to Pier Street Festival, which brought together Bitcoin vendors, educators in conjunction with local businesses on the 3rd Street Promenade.

The event was a huge success, fetching hundreds of attendees, in addition to the normal foot traffic in the area. From our live DJ, DJ Paper (irony not lost here) to our Bitcoin NA Beer Garden hosted by Aqua Locas, who accepted Bitcoin as payment (now worth more than the initial cost) the event is one I hope we can do again in the future. More to come on that. And, ultimately I’d like to thank my Board of Directors, all of our Sponsors (Fedi, Bitcoin Policy Inst, Bitcoin Magazine, Fold, KB, Bitcoin Meet Ups, NoWasteBTCSigns, Santa Monica Travel and Tourism, Outlandish, and so many more supporters both directly and indirectly) Also thanks to ALL the speakers!!

We also hosted the LA BitDevs for one of their meet-ups at the SM Chamber of Commerce Office. We have tons of work to do in 2025, including a deeper dive into mining using renewable energy in teh city of SM, more education, including an upcoming partnership with the SM Library, and a ton of other work. For those that reached out, please continue to re-reach out, as we re-engage so many of the great volunteers that stepped up.

Africa Bitcoin Conference

The Kenya National Firefighters Brigade Association put Proof of Workforce on 2 Continents!! Globally, we have now assisted the San Salvador Firefighters Association and the Kenya Fire Brigade Association in becoming the first Unions in their country to add Bitcoin to the balance sheet. We achieved this with an internationally implemented “Get Off Zero” Initiative involving donated Bitcoin, and subsequent education. Congrats to KENFIBA, who made history in Kenya, which will hoepfully lead to more interested union participants and a stronger organization. More updates on this soon!

Ultimately the Africa Bitcoin Conference was incredibly inspiring. But you know this from reading my Africa Bitcoin Takeaways Substack article right? Right?!

Looking to 2025

I feel like there is much I forgot to mention. From conferences, to meetings with Pension Funds and Unions, to meetings with legislators, 2024 went by so incredibly fast.

2025 is going to be a ride to remember. Already our organization has presentations scheduled with over 10 unions in Jan alone. We have follow up meetings with pension funds, legislators and continue to work as lead coordinator of The Santa Monica Bitcoin Office. The key word for 2025 will be delegation, as our mission will require all hands on deck to continue it’s momentum.

One of our key challenges is fundraising. After having grant applications declined by the HRF, OpenSats and other orgs providing grants, we continue to refine our applications and reapply (we can always use help in this area). To those that have donated, we are forever grateful for your support. As you can see above, our work will continue, as we believe our mission is critical to the wage-earners of the world, and in many ways, important for Bitcoin as well.

Our mission is clear: To help wage-earners and working class people all over the world, find Bitcoin, learn Bitcoin, and secure stable futures with Bitcoin. Our mission is growing stronger everyday, with incredible plans ahead in 2025! I’ll list a few more things to watch out for in 2025 in a future post soon, possibly tomorrow.

Continue to reach out to info@proofofworkforce.org, and find us at www.proofofworkforce.org

Happy 2025, wherever you are (Hopefully at Saylor’s 100k party or somewhere fun) And, trust me when I say, 2025 will be one of the greatest years for all of us. The future is BRIGHT ORANGE!

Thank You and Cheers to 2025!