Bitcoin Alaska hoping for virtual fireworks with first-ever Juneau conference during July 4 holiday weekend
- Mark Sabbatini
- Jun 24
- 6 min read
Updated: Jun 24
U.S. Rep. Nick Begich (R-Alaska) headlines about 20 speakers at digital currency convention
When Wade Hoek talks about seeing whales during the Fourth of July weekend it’s a conversation taking place in an alternate universe than the one most of Juneau occupies.
In his universe those whales are paying $800 each to attend the first-ever Bitcoin Alaska conference that’s listed as occurring July 1-6, although the first four days are a handful of recreational activities and the July 4 holiday. The conference itself on July 5-6 at Centennial Hall features U.S. Rep. Nick Begich (R-Alaska) and other speakers that Hoek hopes will offer a different perspective to attendees who associate cryptocurrency with stupendous price swings and ransomware payments.
"I'm putting this on because people have a different point of entry into understanding anything, and that's why I want to have a bunch of people who are experts in all of the different aspects of Bitcoin to give everybody the opportunity to start where they're at and to learn about this," Hoek said in an interview Saturday.
Mining cryptocurrency using increasingly vast computer facilities solving increasingly complex equations is largely a vision for prospectors with access to vast open spaces and cheap energy. Among such proposals is a startup company hoping to build a large Bitcoin mining operation on Alaska’s North Slope this year. Northern Journal reported earlier this month the operation "would use as much power as the state’s largest coal plant produces" — but with natural gas that’s currently going unused rather than coal.
Hoek said he isn’t envisioning giant Bitcoin mines in Juneau, but there is potential in smaller operations that could result in better power-generating capabilities for the city.
"Like we could throw a turbine up on Gold Creek that generated revenue for the city," he said. When asked about the necessity of permitting and other regulations he stated "there's so much mercury and cyanide in that stream that nothing's ever going to live in that stream. So it's really like the perfect-use case."
The regulatory issues of a turbine in Gold Creek (and its environmental status) are a lot more complicated than that, but there is a legitimate discussion to be had about cryptocurrency’s prospects in small communities such as Juneau, said state Sen. Jesse Kiehl (D-Juneau). A key reason, he said, is Juneau’s hydropower is the cheapest in the state.
"The challenge to large-scale crypto mining is that if you are the anchor tenant for a brand-new hydro facility, you may not be getting super cheap power," he said Sunday. "Here is, as I understand it, the opportunity: it's less for massive-scale crypto, but for small- to mid-scale hydro that fills into gaps in another project."
Kiehl introduced a bill during this year’s legislative session — which he said was originated by Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy and failed to pass during a previous session — "to do some basic safety and soundness regulation."
"That’s for not the cryptocurrencies themselves, but the companies that hold and trade them, to make sure that if they go bankrupt, they don't take your assets," Kiehl said. "This is a fast-growing field and there are a lot of people who have paid a lot of money, and there are a lot of people who lost a lot of money. I would call it a high-risk asset."
Senate Bill 86 passed the Senate by a 17-3 vote on May 2 and advanced to the House Finance Committee before the Legislature adjourned for the year. The bill will remain active during the second half of the two-year session that reconvenes in January.
Hoek has lived mostly in Juneau since the early 1980s, working for many years at various state and legislative agencies. He said he sees Bitcoin as a supplemental currency opportunity, not a replacement for the existing financial infrastructure most people are familiar with.
"I'm not setting up Bitcoin centers and I'm not going to delude myself and think that Bitcoin is going to take out the dollar anytime in my lifetime," he said. "I'm envisioning Juneau as a place where people learn about it and if businesses would like to transact in it with customers."
The promotional language at Bitcoin Alaska’s website declares "By engaging Alaska leaders, the Bitcoin Alaska Conference aims to explore the intersection of Bitcoin, sustainable energy, and economic empowerment. We envision Alaska as a leader in harnessing Bitcoin’s potential for state revenue and community development."
"As proud Alaskans, we’ve been shaped by the rugged beauty and independent spirit of our home. Growing up amidst the vast wilderness, we’ve learned the value of self-reliance and community. These principles align perfectly with the ideals of Bitcoin, which promotes freedom and independence in a rapidly changing world."
Far more widely seen than the website, however, are news stories about cryptocurrency with headlines likely to alarm readers rather than entice them. Among such recent stories and Hoek’s response to them:
• Hackers reportedly wipe out $90 million from largest Iranian cryptocurrency exchange: "Hackers with possible links to Israel have drained more than $90 million from Nobitex, Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, according to blockchain analytics firms." (PBS)
Hoek’s response: "It's horrific…We don't even like to correlate Bitcoin with crypto because cryptocurrencies are basically a privatized Federal Reserve or a centralized software company that doesn't have to register as a security and doesn't have to disclose risk. Therefore they do not have to provide reports and show people what they're actually creating. Bitcoin’s not like that. There is no central authority, there is no board, there is no CEO. It operates on a fixed set of rules." • Wealthy foreign crypto investors descend on President Trump's golf club for $148 million meme coin dinner: "Since the $TRUMP meme coin launched in January, the profits have favored big investors: more than 60 large wallets have profited close to $1.5 billion, with $48 million in profits occurring after Trump posted about the contest on social media, according to reviews by Inca Digital and crypto analytics tracker Bubblemaps, as of May 8. Meanwhile, about 600,000 other smaller wallets have lost $3.87 billion so far, with $117 million of the losses occurring after the dinner announcement." (Reuters)
Hoek’s response: -"That was fraud, in my mind. That was fraud and it was unethical. But I can't say that (Trump’s coin) specifically was, because all tokens are fraud. So is as a general statement anybody in my community who saw that — that (is) what we would call a (expletive) coin."
The pitch by Hoek for his Bitcoin Alaska conference is participants will learn the differences between good and bad cryptocurrencies.
The most recognizable conference speaker to Alaskans is likely Begich, who was elected to his first term as Alaska’s lone U.S. House member last November. In March he introduced The BITCOIN Act of 2025 which, according to Bitcoin Magazine, "stipulates that the United States government acquire 1 million bitcoin for its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and protects the right of U.S. citizens to self custody their bitcoin."
The magazine’s article also notes Begich "is a long-term bitcoin holder who believes in Americans’ right to self custody their bitcoin and understands the importance of bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset for the United States."
Kiehl, when asked what he’d want to know is listening to Begich’s presentation at the conference, mentioned environmental issues related to crytocurrency.
"There’s one advantage we have in Southeast with this concept that the guy is proposing to you and that is our hydropower is absolutely clean," he said. "It's almost carbon-free, it's fish safe and in most of the places in the world where people are doing crypto the opposite is the case. It's a large and growing environmental impact. So if they were a federal policy maker I would want to know if they were taking steps to try and get environmental responsibility from this still-growing industry."
Among the 20 other speakers listed as of Tuesday morning — names like Alex Gladstein, Lisa Hough, Gabe Lord and Dom Bei — none show up with a barrage of scandalous or otherwise suspicious links in a Google News search.
Admission to the conference is $150 for a basic "Mountain Pass" and $800 for a "Whale Pass" that among other extras includes a Tracy Arm Fjord Cruise. Hoek said there are free events before the weekend conference, such as a Bitcoin Beach BBQ at the Auke Village Recreation Area on Wednesday, July 2, where people can "come out and learn from experts and people who are changing people's lives all over the world."
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
