Bitcoin supporters can come from the most unusual places.
Bitcoin is a disruptive technology, and has the power to turn the establishment on its head. Naturally, as a result most bitcoiners assume anyone with any power wants to destroy Bitcoin.
But that’s not necessarily the case.
Here are some of the good things powerful people have had to say about Bitcoin, and its potential.
Bill Gates
The famous head of Microsoft has been the wealthiest man in America for 21 years straight, according to Forbes. He’s currently worth $81 billion dollars.
In a recent interview at the annual Banking and Financial Conference in Boston, he talked about the Bill And Melinda Gates Foundation’s initiative to help the world’s unbanked access financial tools. Naturally, the question of Bitcoin came up.
Bitcoin is exciting because it shows how cheap [moving money] can be. Bitcoin is better than currency in that you don’t have to be physically in the same place and of course for large transactions currency can get pretty inconvenient. The customers we’re talking about aren’t trying to be anonymous. You know they’re willing to be known so the Bitcoin technology is key and you could add to it or you could build a similar technology where there’s enough attribution that people feel comfortable that this is nothing to do with terrorism or any type of money laundering.
While this statement might make some bitcoiners’ tails ruffled, it shows that Bill Gates is at least interested in the technology. He’s also called Bitcoin a “techno tour de force” in the past.
Ben Bernanke
If anyone has the right to fear Bitcoin, it’s Ben Bernanke.
As former chairman of the Federal Reserve, the central banking system of the United States, Bernanke knows the organization he used to head stands to lose quite a bit from Bitcoin if it grows in power and influence.
Nevertheless, he’s expressed interest in the technology, and said that virtual currencies, like Bitcoin, “may hold long-term promise, particularly if the innovations promote a faster, more secure and more efficient payment system.”
Many bitcoiners dislike Bernanke, but it’s hard to argue with that statement there.
Google is certainly one of the largest organizations in the world. Having risen to power in the age of the internet, Google is everywhere.
And while Google doesn’t necessarily stand to lose when Bitcoin becomes more prominent, it would have a lot of work to do in order to adapt.
And besides, Bitcoin is a competitor of Google Wallet, the world’s largest online payment processor. So you’d think Google would have some negative things to say about Bitcoin.
But Google CEO Eric Schmidt has praised Bitcoin’s technology, calling it “a remarkable cryptographic achievement and the ability to create something that is not duplicable in the digital world has enormous value.”
And Paul Buchheit, the creator of Gmail, has said “Bitcoin may be the TCP/IP of money”.
PayPal
Speaking of online payment processors, PayPal is the second largest after Google Wallet.
PayPal has a useful system, but with a few major drawbacks. One of the biggest is the fact that they control the monetary flow. With a centralized system of money, PayPal can block anyone who they deem unfit to receive money (or who the government forces them to block).
Wikileaks suffered from this sort of monetary censorship. And since Bitcoin makes money censorship exceedingly difficult, you’d think PayPal would be against it.
But Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, has praised Bitcoin, saying “I do think Bitcoin is the first [encrypted money] that has the potential to do something like change the world.”
PayPal CEO David Marcus was equally ready to praise it.
I really like Bitcoin. I own Bitcoins. It’s a store of value, a distributed ledger. It’s a great place to put assets, especially in places like Argentina with 40 percent inflation, where $1 today is worth 60 cents in a year, and a government’s currency does not hold value. 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.
Why Are These People Into Bitcoin?
Maybe all these influential people realize how powerful Bitcoin is. Maybe they see the writing on the wall, and understand that this technology is unstoppable.
As tech entrepreneurs, most of them must understand how difficult it is to stop a powerful idea once it hits the internet.
As John McAfee said, “You can’t stop things like Bitcoin…it’s like trying to stop gunpowder.”
What Are The Wealthy Saying About Bitcoin?
No comments:
Post a Comment