#11 - Bitcoin's true potential, with Andreas M. Antonopoulos [Part 2]
From The Kevin Rose Show & Summarised by Untethered.email - capturing the uncaptured
This is part 2 of Kevin Rose’s great interview with Andreas M. Antonopoulos on the “The Kevin Rose Show” You can find [Part 1] Here
TL; DL (Too Long; Didn't Listen)
“The innovation is happening in a completely distributed way so that people who are not part of that cohort can build the applications that serve their needs without asking for anybody’s permission.” -Andreas M. Antonopoulus
“The day we achieve transaction parity with Visa, and we will, will be six months before we achieve TenX Visa and two years before we achieve a HundredX Visa.” -Andreas M. Antonopoulus
“We have to get used in a world in which there are now thousands of currencies, there will be tens of thousands, then hundreds of thousands, then millions, then billions of digital currencies.” -Andreas M. Antonopoulus
“Cryptographic Algorithms are actually the ones that secure our banks so all of the concerns one may have about Quantum Computing on cryptocurrency apply equally to banking.” -Andreas M. Antonopoulus
Insights
The tipping point that could make bitcoin a national currency?
Having this decision on a per country basis is not the right way of looking at it.
The right way at this is if this becomes an individual choice for each and every individual.
A little percentage of the global population is already opting out of traditional banking systems and exiting that system.
Use Bitcoin as a day to day currency?
While there are people who looks at Bitcoin as an investment where they hold and wait for it to grow in value in a certain amount of time, there are people like him who use and spend Bitcoin on a day to day basis.
Most of the payments he makes are in Bitcoin.
While some might argue that it’s not the smart way to do because those who hold into Bitcoin probably already made millions behind it while he didn’t.
He was able to build an interesting business around it.
If you don’t engage in economic activity with this, you don’t fully experience the power of digital currency.
Will Bitcoin market cap reach trillions?
there is a distinction between the Bitcoin that we have today and the broader concept which is one or more completely decentralized open, borderless, censorship resistance digital currencies that exist on the internet in whatever form.
We may end up with the same technology with the same name or the same technology with a completely different branding.
The idea of network-based open and decentralized currency and all of the other applications that has happened.
It is needed so much that he has no doubts in his mind that it will be wildly successful and that it will completely transform the way we do commerce in the next twenty years.
Issues with clearing time?
Clearing time
It is the 10-minute time for a Bitcoin confirmation.
It is the time it takes to clear the transaction and settle it.
How do we fix the delay in clearing time?
By comparing the clearing time of Bitcoin to the Visa Network where the clearing time is 30 days.
In which case, there isn’t really a problem in Bitcoin’s clearing time.
The two completely different development curves that is being followed by Visa and Bitcoin
Visa has grown its transaction per second in a linear fashion for the last fifty years while Bitcoin is growing in an exponential.
How many hedge funds and day traders are out there?
The simple answer is it is impossible to tell.
The interesting things happens when you are able to open up new levels of scale which creates a possibility for new types of applications.
What is re-decentralized web
It is the idea that payments systems themselves have become the nexus for centralization around web services.
Where do Andreas buy his Bitcoin and where does he recommend for people to go and buy Bitcoin
Andreas haven’t bought Bitcoin since 2013 but he hasn’t been holding on his Bitcoin, he’s been earning it.
Most of the people right now will just go and buy their Bitcoin and consider it an investment, by buying Bitcoin, you’re only getting a part of the Bitcoin experience.
Also, there is a lot of additional risk involved with approaching Bitcoin from the perspective of buying because you have to worry about the timing, the market, and how you’re going to hold and not to panic.
You should also consider that when you buy Bitcoin from these third parties, you are doing it with a lot of privacy invading involved.
By the way , there is a story on $1.5 million donations for the dedicated Bitcoin advocate and most eloquent speaker.Andreas is one of the most eloquent speakers on the topic of Bitcoin, but if he had invested even $300 in bitcoin back in 2012, he’d be a millionaire today. https://t.co/GU8mW8FpTe
December 5, 2017I did invest, Roger. Then I sold in 2013 to pay my rent. I didn't have disposable income to work for two years without pay and invest at the same time. I should've gone into more debt, but that would have been irresponsible towards my family who I supported
December 5, 2017Practical advice in obtaining Bitcoin
Andreas is one of the most eloquent speakers on the topic of Bitcoin, but if he had invested even $300 in bitcoin back in 2012, he’d be a millionaire today. https://t.co/GU8mW8FpTe
December 5, 2017I did invest, Roger. Then I sold in 2013 to pay my rent. I didn't have disposable income to work for two years without pay and invest at the same time. I should've gone into more debt, but that would have been irresponsible towards my family who I supported
December 5, 2017Earn it!
Start advertising that you accept Bitcoin in exchange of services.
You can also go through the exchange, jump thru all the hoops, get verified and start buying.
Buy Bitcoins from ATMs or in-person transactions.
Advice on wallets
While he recommends the wallets listed below, you still shouldn’t trust the software and you create a backup of your keys which you do by writing down some english words (seeds) and you keep it somewhere safe.
This is a precautionary measure for when you lose your phone or when your phone gets corrupted.
Jaxx
Copay
Mycelium
Bread wallet
Airbits
Samurai
Why you can’t buy Bitcoin almost anywhere with a Credit Card or Paypal
The reason for that is Paypal deposits or credit cards are very easily reversible and as of now, the banks cannot deliver that a certain amount of money is definitely yours.
For example, they can easily come back to you and say there’s been a fraud report which will then give them the capability to freeze your money.
Paypal and credit cards only delivers a soft promise for your ownership of a certain amount of money while Bitcoin delivers a hard promise.
A need for decentralized exchange
There is an absolute need for a decentralized exchange.
Part of the reason is you can do decentralized exchange between digital currencies quite easily.
However, doing decentralized exchange to fiat is almost impossible because this means you have to somehow hook into the existing banking system and that’s a single point of failure, it is not a decentralized exchange anymore.
What are Andreas’ thoughts on Ethereum
He’s been interested in Ethereum for quite some time now and he’s actually writing a book which is called Mastering Ethereum.
It’s a book that tackles almost everything about the Ethereum platform.
There is a lot of things happening across the entire ecosystem and he thinks that part of the adaptation that we’re having is the idea that we’ve grown up having monopoly currencies that are national flag currencies that exist in a zero sum due to political chess game where one only wins if it beats all the other.
The strong parallel between browsers and Bitcoin wallets
Bitcoin wallets are essentially the browsers of the Bitcoin network.
They are the protocol end-point in user interface, the node and they interpret the network protocol presented to the user in an easy to understand way and convert the user’s desires into protocol activity.
The first step on this technology is the multi-currency wallets.
The features that Andreas’ pays the most attention to in this technology
Smart Contracts - the idea of a general purpose programmable blockchain
Privacy, Anonymity, Fungibility - stronger implementation of these features across all cryptocurrencies
Resource Utilization / Markets for Resources - the idea that your hard drive, laptop, CPUs, and your bandwidth are all massively under utilized resources.
Charitable use Bitgive Foundation
How do you create decentralized storage
Cloud storage which is peer to peer entirely with no central point of failure -- that creates uncensorable storage which is very interesting with the propagation of ideas on the internet.
What are Andreas’ thoughts on Quantum Computing
It is going to be a reality and it’s not only going to be a reality for cryptocurrencies.
Cryptographic Algorithms are actually the ones that secure our banks so all of the concerns one may have about Quantum Computing on cryptocurrency apply equally to banking.
Cryptographic Algorithms are the ones that secure nuclear weapons, it also secures access and communications in militaries so it pretty much is the one that secures everything in the world.
With that said, cryptocurrencies may even be the least of our worries when it comes unequal availability of quantum computing.
Don’t worry about quantum computing at all, it is not a relevant issue in this currency.
Books written by Andreas
Mastering Bitcoin
The Internet of Money
Mastering Ethereum
Links/resources mentioned in the show:
Connect with Andreas:
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Onward, Upward and Untethered,
Untethered.email by Kevin Liu