Hackers Congress Paralelní Polis

Imagine someone who knows how to send bitcoin but has started asking further questions: who can see their payments, who can read their messages, and what happens if a service closes their account? Questions like these brought people to Hackers Congress Paralelní Polis. The congress offered a place to discuss them with software developers, security researchers and people exploring different ways of living. Here, hacker included people who explore and creatively modify technology, as well as specialists who look for security flaws. HCPP was the recurring event; Paralelní Polis was the broader project behind it, with many other activities throughout the year. [2] [14] [18]

The first edition took place on 10–12 October 2014, shortly after Paralelní Polis opened. Martin Šíp was among its visitors. In a 2016 interview, he recalled how the gathering introduced him to the community; he went on to organise Bitcoin meetups and help prepare the third congress. His experience shows what such an event could change. Someone might arrive to hear a familiar name and leave with collaborators and a place to start making an idea happen. [1] [2] [14]

The programme unfolded in Prague’s Holešovice district, at Paralelní Polis on Dělnická 43 and at neighbouring La Fabrika. The three-day gathering mixed English-language talks, panel discussions, practical workshops and art. A workshop offered a chance to try something, while a talk could explain the background missing from a set of instructions. When browsing old programmes, choose a particular edition: speakers, exact dates and the locations of individual sessions changed over the years. [7] [8]

Behind the unfamiliar word cryptoanarchy lay an understandable question: how much freedom can people gain through technology without waiting for an institution’s permission? Encryption, for example, protects the contents of messages from unintended readers. Bitcoin lets people send money without a bank maintaining accounts for both participants. Those properties do not solve every privacy problem or imbalance of power. The congress connected technical possibilities with political ideas; understanding a tool does not require accepting every view held by its advocates. [2]

Money, security, science and political art shared the programme. The 2018 New Order edition hosted speakers including Jimmy Song, Saifedean Ammous and Nassim Nicholas Taleb, who joined remotely; discussions extended from Bitcoin to responsibility for one’s decisions. An annual theme gave each gathering a direction: Digital Totality in 2020 highlighted concerns about digital surveillance. These titles expressed the organisers’ view of the world. They were not conclusions that everyone attending had to share. [4] [7]

The pandemic changed the 2020 edition. The seventh HCPP was announced for 2–4 October at Paralelní Polis and La Fabrika, with the programme also available through HCPP TV. The whole event had not simply moved online: attendance in person and watching remotely complemented each other. Status was the official communication partner, and its announcement described both ways of participating. This matters when using the archive, because a recording alone does not reveal how the entire edition was organised. [7] [8]

A talk can be especially exciting when its subject is new to you. It helps to separate what a speaker demonstrates, what they infer and what they hope for. A working software demonstration establishes something different from a prediction about the future of money. Jimmy Song or Nassim Nicholas Taleb can therefore be starting points for further reading, rather than reasons to stop checking. An invitation to the congress did not guarantee every claim or recommend buying a featured product. [4]

People’s work, rent and equipment made the stage and programme possible. The congress sold tickets and attracted private partners; it also helped fund Paralelní Polis. The organisers’ emphasis on independence from the state did not mean operating without money. A 2016 announcement, for example, listed Trezor and other companies as supporters. Read a partner’s name alongside the date of that edition, rather than treating it as a permanent relationship or endorsement of everything said on stage. [2] [6]

The Paralelní Polis channel and the community archive preserve talks and discussions from individual editions. A beginner can start with a specific question, such as who receives their information when they use a particular service. Watch one talk and look up an unfamiliar concept, instead of trying to understand the entire archive at once. Check a video’s year and description. An older explanation of a principle may remain useful while application instructions, prices or legal information have become outdated. [13] [14]

The eleventh edition, HCPP24 Hardcore, ran on 4–6 October 2024 and was announced as the last. It closed the original congress series while the Prague building was becoming Second Culture. That did not mean the community stopped gathering. When checked on 17 October 2026, DARK Prague’s website listed 2–4 October 2026 at Botel Marina in Prague, and its call for speakers explicitly described a connection to the core of Hackers Congress. This documents a successor under a different name and at a different venue; simply renaming it HCPP26 would be inaccurate. [11] [12] [15] [16] [17]