Top 10 insider commentaries on Bitcoin and Blockchain
#1
We have elected to put our money and faith in a mathematical framework that is free of politics and human error.
#2
PayPal had these goals of creating a new currency. We failed at that, and we just created a new payment system. I think Bitcoin has succeeded on the level of a new currency, but the payment system is somewhat lacking. It’s very hard to use, and that’s the big challenge on the Bitcoin side.
#3
Bitcoin is a technological tour de force.
#4
[Blockchain] is the biggest opportunity set we can think of over the next decade or so.
#5
I really like Bitcoin. I own Bitcoins. It’s a store of value, a distributed ledger. It’s also a good investment vehicle if you have an appetite for risk. But it won’t be a currency until volatility slows down.
#6
Bitcoin is a remarkable cryptographic achievement, and the ability to create something that is not duplicable in the digital world has enormous value.
#7
Whereas most technologies tend to automate workers on the periphery doing menial tasks, blockchains automate away the center. Instead of putting the taxi driver out of a job, blockchain puts Uber out of a job and lets the taxi drivers work with the customer directly.
#8
Every informed person needs to know about Bitcoin because it might be one of the world’s most important developments.
#9
Anything that can conceive of as a supply chain, blockchain can vastly improve its efficiency- it doesn’t matter if its people, numbers, data, money.
#10
Bitcoin actually has the balance and incentives right, and that is why it is starting to take off.
What did we learn?
Blockchain is awesome technology. “It’s a mathematical framework that is free of politics and human error”, as Tyler Winkelvoss states. And Eric Schmidt calls Bitcoin a “remarkable cryptographic achievement”. Leon Louw adds that Bitcoin might be one of the worlds most important developments.
Blockchain technology does not often stand by itself but is usually mentioned in conjunction with crypto currencies. Tyler Winkelvoss mentions that they invest their money in Bitcoin, but David Marcus sees Bitcoin as an investment instrument as well. Julian Assange also refers primarily to the value of Bitcoin as he mentions that Bitcoin is currently taking off. Finally, Peter Thiel adds that Bitcoin was successful at the level of a new currency.
Blockchain has disruptive power. Ginni Rometty mentions that Blockchain can vastly improve the efficiency of a supply chain. The co-founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, is even more explicit: Blockchain will make middlemen obsolete and therefore replace companies like, e.g. Uber.
Blockchain still has a long way to go. Especially when we look at Peter Thiel’s statement that Bitcoin is still very difficult to use, it becomes apparent. On the one hand, this shows that Bitcoin is anything but perfect. On the other hand, it also shows that, despite the recent hype, there is still a lot of room for improvement. We can remain curious to see in which areas the blockchain will become more relevant in the long term.
