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For two days, the stars aligned at Engelnest Coworking space in Berlin. The tiny sliver of overlap between the enthusiasts of cryptocurrency and the political left was, for a fleeting moment, not just a construct of online discourse. Crypto and web3 have long captured the ire of many in progressive circles. Without a doubt, much of this criticism is well-earned. But the Breadchain Popup at Funding the Commons Forum Berlin not only provided respite from these narratives, but showed us a glimpse of a future we could put in place. A Web3 future beyond speculation and extraction.
For a community used to building in isolated pockets, we came out in force. Every corner of the space was packed, bringing infectious enthusiasm. The stage was set for big ideas and the toil it would take to see them come to fruition. The theme was absolutely representative of the turbulent times we live in, centered on adaptive resilience. Many obstacles have been overcome to bring us this far, and the challenges that lie ahead will be our own to take on. We cannot wilt, but adapt to persevere.
The significance of our gathering didn't go unnoticed. Liam Kelly, a reporter who's been covering the crypto space since 2016, documented in this article for DeFi Llama News how we "made the case for blockchain technology as a tool for social good, rather than profit-taking." His observation that "the gathering's lefty vibe was bracing given the steady alignment of many in the space with right-wing politics" spoke volumes. Plenty of progressives are deterred by crypto because of this baggage, so wider validation of our unique position was welcome.
But beyond external recognition, what we built together over those two days offered concrete answers to the economic realities most of us face daily. You can find all the recordings we were able to take during the event here on our YouTube channel.
In the same Liam Kelly article referenced earlier, we've got a quote by Breadchain co-founder Josh Dávila that summed up the vision of our entire event:
"I'm interested in crypto stuff as it provides tools that we otherwise would not have access to in the past that I think shift certain power dynamics."
There's been enough abstract theorizing within leftist circles about what we would like to see. These ideas are well-established, and have been revisited aplenty. Our next step was exploring how we implement these visions to deliver tangible benefit.
BREAD holders routinely participate in our small contribution towards enacting these changes. Baking BREAD in our crowdstaking app, and the accrual of yield within each voting cycle, are meaningful implementations of these ideas. Among our numbers were many who, in their own way, were doing the same. Some of the initiatives that were represented in our programming include a talk by Martin Köppelmann on Circles, panels with the founders of BailBloc, Brussels Pay, Protocol Guild and SMART Coop.
No talk of adaptive resilience is complete without studying how society organised in the face of immense oppression, namely the stain on our times - the genocide in Gaza. The powerlessness we feel in affecting change makes it all the more painful. But even in times as dire as these, there's room for hope through mutual aid. Ibrahim is one such example, where he oversees the wellbeing of 26 individuals across multiple displaced families in Gaza. Our community is raising funds to assist Ibhrahim and the people under his care. We have established 2 channels - on Chuffed for people who want to send with fiat, while Ethereum or stablecoins can be sent to the ENS address casinoberlin.eth. We are still working towards the funding goal, and every dollar can help people in need. Where systems fail, we can now put a semblance of alternatives in place to meet immediate human needs.
Within this wider theme of Adaptive Resilience, we identified five tracks that warranted deeper exploration. Each presented unique challenges and perspectives, made even more valuable by our event's context. With people from all over the world and every walk of life in attendance, we had a golden opportunity to embrace this diversity and bring effective solutions to the fore. What follows is a brief overview of topics that generated hours of rich discussion.
The Network States track critically examined neo-colonial aspects of venture capital-backed "network states" claiming territory through exotic narratives. While positioned as grassroots initiatives, we explored how they often reproduce extractive patterns under progressive language.
Local and Bioregional Resilience explored community empowerment tied to ecological regeneration, asking practical questions: How do we fund the commons and build resilience against climate shocks while centering community wellbeing?
Labour and Adaptive Solidarity addressed unprecedented worker precarity exacerbated by digital economy uncertainty. We explored tech-empowered organizing built from cooperative rather than extractive principles, moving beyond traditional union models.
Political Economy of Blockchains positioned distributed systems as political artifacts that reshape power structures, not neutral technologies. These discussions examined how blockchain tools navigate existing political economies while creating new ones.
Human Resilience tackled humanitarian applications when traditional institutions fail - from aid delivery in sanctioned regions to crisis response infrastructure when other systems break down.
Josh was quoted in the recent Network Cultures paper, and his words captured our pragmatism. Rather than creating "totalising metaphors about blockchain's purpose," our focus was squarely on "small units of use and capacity" to "build the tech that we use to be together." This demonstrated that resilience isn't resistance to change but capacity to adapt with integrity under uncertain conditions.
We want to thank everyone who made the trip to Berlin! This includes all attendees, speakers and those who helped make this event possible. And a truly special thanks to Funding the Commons for the invitation and platform. This collaboration enabled two incredibly aligned communities to join forces and create something truly memorable. Distinct identities united by compatible goals; long may this spirit continue!
The format itself proved something important about how movement organizing can work. The sessions promoted genuine dialogue rather than passive consumption. The decentralized approach meant speakers drew their own audiences, modeling the distributed organizing we believe in.
What struck us most was the authentic engagement - people stayed for full sessions, asked thoughtful questions, and continued conversations during breaks. The sustained energy across both days validated that there's real hunger for these conversations and demonstrated a scalable approach to participatory knowledge sharing.
Each track brought fresh perspectives to longstanding issues that leftists have been trying to address for generations. There are many ways to improve the current systems that govern our world - pick what aligns most with your vision. Crypto is still in its infancy, and there's still so much untapped room for expression and solidarity.
It was evident from the attendance and enthusiasm that our perma-online crypto culture could benefit from a greater physical presence. That is, after all, where the change we wish to see will be implemented. We're not trying to convince anyone that crypto is inherently good, but we are here to demonstrate that these tools can serve solidarity when wielded by communities committed to justice. We invite you to keep exploring, sharing, and engaging with these ideas within the wider spaces that you inhabit.
As a closing note, we urge you to donate to Ibrahim's initiative if you are able. Let's make crypto work for our own values and ideals especially as a genocide continues to rage on. Donate to the Chuffed page, or send crypto to casinoberlin.eth to any EVM chain so they can keep going while in some of the most inhuman conditions possible.
The isolation is over. We found each other, and we're just getting started.
Solidarity Forever🍞
