I similarly noticed the bitcoin meetup draws an unexpected mix of people. Many will come with their own agenda and ideology, most will be at some midpoint in their bitcoin journey. What common motivation draws them is a desire to find a network of people engaging in commerce using bitcoin. This is to validate their intellectual conclusion about the value of bitcoin. What motivates one to accept bitcoin in commerce other than SoV and MoE? So ultimately people are seeking an echo chamber, a meat-space community to validate their convictions. In other words, they are looking for the bitcoin tribe.