This event has been ended!
Bitcoin je RETRO!
Bitcoin is RETRO!
Event by: Paralelná Polis
Location: A4 - Zero Space, Karpatská 2, Bratislava - Staré Mesto
Tickets: Get tickets
Concerts, Talks & discussions
About event
lineup:
MAIN STAGE
12:00 – 13:00
Juraj Bednár – How the cypherpunk dreams came true (EN)
13:20 – 14:00
Mário Havel – Decade of blockchain research the retro tech missed (EN)
14:30 – 15:30
Juraj Karpis & Juraj Bednár – How to Beat Fiat in a Not So Free Competition (live podcast) (SK)
16:00 – 16:30
Pavol Trávnik – I Lost My Job as a Software Developer and You Will Too: Future of Jobs & Self-Learning Machines (SK/EN)
16:50 – 17:50
Pavol Lupták – The Impact of AI on Cryptoanarchy (EN)
18:30 – 19:30
Frank Braun – Talk on Zcash (EN)
20:30 – 22:00
4xSuper – Experimental electronic music performance
WORKSHOP COFFEE HALL
12:30 – 13:00
Michal Kodnár – Health Sovereignty: Your Body Is Not Custodial (EN/SK)
13:15 – 13:45
Pavel Šimon – Decentralization of physical life. Incomplete list/guide (SK)
14:00 – 14:30
Sodomák – From Cypherpunk Dream to Compliance Machine (CZ)
14:45 – 15:45
Habo – How I made a Bitcoin transaction that is in its entirety an image file (EN)
16:00 – 16:30
Dorže – Proxy merchants (SK)
16:45 – 17:15
Marko Zelman – Safe BTC or BTC yield? Can we have both? (EN)
17:15 – 17:45
Kocúr – Vexl (SK)
18:00 – 18:30
Peter Horvath – From sound money to honest odds (EN/SK)
***
SK:
For the first time since 2017, we are returning to Bratislava with the Bitcoin je Retro 2026 conference, and this time we will look not only at Bitcoin, but also on Zcash and zero-knowledge proofs technologies, which enable truly untraceable transactions - money like cash, without supervision and censorship,
The conference will take place on Saturday, April 25, 2026 in A4 - zero space on Šancova Street in Bratislava. The historical memory of Central Europe and the experience of systemic unfreedom provide a context for the values of freedom and privacy that technologies such as Bitcoin and Zcash represent today. The original conference in 2017 was held in the legendary Luna Bar, where parallel systems symbolically existed on Kamenny Square - agents below and moneylenders above on the square.
Bitcoin's name is Retro! it comes from Honzo Hubík's message on the Jan Krause Show, when Hubík during the morning era (2017) unpacked Bitcoin spectacularly on TV and added that he no longer mines bitcoin because Bitcoin is Retro and mines Zcash :) It was a funny message then. Today, almost a decade later, we return to it. And this time we took into our arms not only classic Bitcoin, but also Zcash, among other technologies. It is the combination of security, flexibility and anonymity that makes Zcash today one of the closest tools to the vision of crypto-anarchists – unstoppable, private money that works like cash.
The visual identity of the conference is inspired by the Bratislava vaporwave, the retro-futuristic aesthetic reminds us that what is revolutionary today can become nostalgic tomorrow, and at the same time reflects the atmosphere of the time in which we are moving. Symbols such as the UFO statue from Podunajské Biskupice or old computers remind us of the economic centralization of the past, which today we can overcome with privacy protection technologies.
Frank Braun, Juraj Bednár, Martin Habovštiak, Mário Havel, Juraj Karpiš, Marianna Sádecká and other guests will perform at the conference, there will be a Bitcoin Way of the Cross, a music program and massages throughout. Bitcoin is Retro 2026 brings together generations of freedom and privacy advocates and shows that cypherpunk values such as anonymity, resistance to censorship and individual sovereignty are more relevant today than ever. zero-knowledge proof technologies, which enable truly untraceable transactions—money like cash, free from surveillance and censorship and other technologies.
The conference will take place on Saturday, April 25, 2026 in Bratislava, Slovakia. We are organizing "Bitcoin is Retro!" in Central Europe for a specific reason. Historical memory works to our advantage—our region carries the vivid memory of 40 years of totalitarianism: central economic planning, surveillance, currency reform, restrictions on movement, and the suppression of individual freedom. Central Europe's historical memory and experience with systemic oppression provide the context for the values of freedom and privacy that technologies like Bitcoin and Zcash represent today. This spirit of decentralization and voluntary coordination is still alive.
The name “Bitcoin is Retro!” comes from a line by Honza Hubík on the Jan Kraus Show, when Hubík, during the early days (2017), grandly unveiled Bitcoin on TV and added that he no longer mines Bitcoin because "Bitcoin is Retro" and he mines Zcash instead :) At the time, it was a funny line. Today, nearly a decade later, we're revisiting it. And this time, we've embraced not only classic Bitcoin but also Zcash, among other technologies. It is precisely the combination of security, flexibility, and anonymity that makes Zcash one of the tools closest to the crypto-anarchists' vision today—unstoppable, private money that functions like cash.
The conference's visual identity is inspired by Bratislava vaporwave; the retro-futuristic aesthetic reminds us that what is revolutionary today may become nostalgic tomorrow, while also reflecting the atmosphere of the era in which we live. Symbols such as the UFO statue from Podunajské Biskupice or old computers evoke the economic centralization of the past, which we can overcome today with privacy-protecting technologies.
The conference will feature presentations by Frank Braun, Juraj Bednár, Juraj Kapris, Mario Havel, Martin Habovštiak and other guests, and will include the Bitcoin Way of the Cross, a music program, and massages throughout the event. Bitcoin is Retro 2026 brings together generations of advocates for freedom and privacy and demonstrates that cypherpunk values such as anonymity, censorship resistance, and individual sovereignty are more relevant today than ever before.
If you have a talk or a collaboration proposal, please email [email protected]
MAIN STAGE
12:00 – 13:00
Juraj Bednár – How the cypherpunk dreams came true (EN)
13:20 – 14:00
Mário Havel – Decade of blockchain research the retro tech missed (EN)
14:30 – 15:30
Juraj Karpis & Juraj Bednár – How to Beat Fiat in a Not So Free Competition (live podcast) (SK)
16:00 – 16:30
Pavol Trávnik – I Lost My Job as a Software Developer and You Will Too: Future of Jobs & Self-Learning Machines (SK/EN)
16:50 – 17:50
Pavol Lupták – The Impact of AI on Cryptoanarchy (EN)
18:30 – 19:30
Frank Braun – Talk on Zcash (EN)
20:30 – 22:00
4xSuper – Experimental electronic music performance
WORKSHOP COFFEE HALL
12:30 – 13:00
Michal Kodnár – Health Sovereignty: Your Body Is Not Custodial (EN/SK)
13:15 – 13:45
Pavel Šimon – Decentralization of physical life. Incomplete list/guide (SK)
14:00 – 14:30
Sodomák – From Cypherpunk Dream to Compliance Machine (CZ)
14:45 – 15:45
Habo – How I made a Bitcoin transaction that is in its entirety an image file (EN)
16:00 – 16:30
Dorže – Proxy merchants (SK)
16:45 – 17:15
Marko Zelman – Safe BTC or BTC yield? Can we have both? (EN)
17:15 – 17:45
Kocúr – Vexl (SK)
18:00 – 18:30
Peter Horvath – From sound money to honest odds (EN/SK)
***
SK:
For the first time since 2017, we are returning to Bratislava with the Bitcoin je Retro 2026 conference, and this time we will look not only at Bitcoin, but also on Zcash and zero-knowledge proofs technologies, which enable truly untraceable transactions - money like cash, without supervision and censorship,
The conference will take place on Saturday, April 25, 2026 in A4 - zero space on Šancova Street in Bratislava. The historical memory of Central Europe and the experience of systemic unfreedom provide a context for the values of freedom and privacy that technologies such as Bitcoin and Zcash represent today. The original conference in 2017 was held in the legendary Luna Bar, where parallel systems symbolically existed on Kamenny Square - agents below and moneylenders above on the square.
Bitcoin's name is Retro! it comes from Honzo Hubík's message on the Jan Krause Show, when Hubík during the morning era (2017) unpacked Bitcoin spectacularly on TV and added that he no longer mines bitcoin because Bitcoin is Retro and mines Zcash :) It was a funny message then. Today, almost a decade later, we return to it. And this time we took into our arms not only classic Bitcoin, but also Zcash, among other technologies. It is the combination of security, flexibility and anonymity that makes Zcash today one of the closest tools to the vision of crypto-anarchists – unstoppable, private money that works like cash.
The visual identity of the conference is inspired by the Bratislava vaporwave, the retro-futuristic aesthetic reminds us that what is revolutionary today can become nostalgic tomorrow, and at the same time reflects the atmosphere of the time in which we are moving. Symbols such as the UFO statue from Podunajské Biskupice or old computers remind us of the economic centralization of the past, which today we can overcome with privacy protection technologies.
Frank Braun, Juraj Bednár, Martin Habovštiak, Mário Havel, Juraj Karpiš, Marianna Sádecká and other guests will perform at the conference, there will be a Bitcoin Way of the Cross, a music program and massages throughout. Bitcoin is Retro 2026 brings together generations of freedom and privacy advocates and shows that cypherpunk values such as anonymity, resistance to censorship and individual sovereignty are more relevant today than ever. zero-knowledge proof technologies, which enable truly untraceable transactions—money like cash, free from surveillance and censorship and other technologies.
The conference will take place on Saturday, April 25, 2026 in Bratislava, Slovakia. We are organizing "Bitcoin is Retro!" in Central Europe for a specific reason. Historical memory works to our advantage—our region carries the vivid memory of 40 years of totalitarianism: central economic planning, surveillance, currency reform, restrictions on movement, and the suppression of individual freedom. Central Europe's historical memory and experience with systemic oppression provide the context for the values of freedom and privacy that technologies like Bitcoin and Zcash represent today. This spirit of decentralization and voluntary coordination is still alive.
The name “Bitcoin is Retro!” comes from a line by Honza Hubík on the Jan Kraus Show, when Hubík, during the early days (2017), grandly unveiled Bitcoin on TV and added that he no longer mines Bitcoin because "Bitcoin is Retro" and he mines Zcash instead :) At the time, it was a funny line. Today, nearly a decade later, we're revisiting it. And this time, we've embraced not only classic Bitcoin but also Zcash, among other technologies. It is precisely the combination of security, flexibility, and anonymity that makes Zcash one of the tools closest to the crypto-anarchists' vision today—unstoppable, private money that functions like cash.
The conference's visual identity is inspired by Bratislava vaporwave; the retro-futuristic aesthetic reminds us that what is revolutionary today may become nostalgic tomorrow, while also reflecting the atmosphere of the era in which we live. Symbols such as the UFO statue from Podunajské Biskupice or old computers evoke the economic centralization of the past, which we can overcome today with privacy-protecting technologies.
The conference will feature presentations by Frank Braun, Juraj Bednár, Juraj Kapris, Mario Havel, Martin Habovštiak and other guests, and will include the Bitcoin Way of the Cross, a music program, and massages throughout the event. Bitcoin is Retro 2026 brings together generations of advocates for freedom and privacy and demonstrates that cypherpunk values such as anonymity, censorship resistance, and individual sovereignty are more relevant today than ever before.
If you have a talk or a collaboration proposal, please email [email protected]