He is very careful to mention that he doesn't think BTC will be the one. More and more I get the feeling that btc is the experiment. They will watch it and learn as it fails, then make a crypto that fixes everything that is wrong and copies everything that works, put their billions into marketing and infrastructure (or hop on btc's existing infrastructure) and go from there. Like he says - most don't care about anonymity, they want security and convenience.
Not good news for btc imo
Actually, bollocks. Neither you nor Bill Gates have a clue what your talking about.
For a start, Bitcoin is not a centralised money issuer, so who is "they" in the phrase "They will watch it and learn as it fails" ? There is no "they" other than the flotilla of alt coins that has emerged and consistently failed to get anywhere near Bitcoin's market cap. Not a single one of them has made the merest dent - apart from maybe Litecoin which for a few weeks managed to reach a paultry 5-10% before falling back into oblivion.
Secondly - hashrate. The bitcoin network hashing power is now measured in "Peta" hashes. That is a phenomenal amount of network power that dwarfs everything else into insignificance. That kind of network power doesn't appear overnight. JP Morgan, Goldman, Microsoft, the NSA could spend as much money as they like and never get near that hashrate and level of redundancy. What that means for holders is **security**.
Thirdly - network effect. It takes years for the kind of infrastructure that Bitcoin has (and is evolving) to be built up. Just looks at the latest Circle offering for example. For an enterprise like that to get off the ground takes years of evolution. No VC is going to go near a digital currency that hasn't proven itself. Bitcoin has been Hacked, Goxed, "China"d, "Malliability"'d and generally kicked to death in the press and emerged from all of that without a scratch. You can't spend your way into that kind of confidence. After 6 years it's now having a ton of investment ploughed into it and we've yet to see the half of that start to bear fruit.
Fourthly - institutions. It takes 1-2 years for an ETF to make its way through the regulators red tape. Towards the end of this year we're going to start to see the first major vehicle for institutional investment in Bitcoin. That will be a game changer and probably the final nail in the coffin for any potential contenders.
Make no mistake, alternatives had their chance and didn't even get near - Bitcoin is simply too far down the line already for any turning back. Whatever technology enhancements are needed from now on will be applied to Bitcoin itself rather than starting from scratch.
actually, you are missing my point. Maybe I wasnt clear when I mentioned btc being the "experiment" and you interpreted that as my beleif that it is doomed, this is not my belief.
I was trying to point out the bias of the reportage. Bill was careful to put out that he "doesnt think btc will be the one" right away at the beginning when asked about it. That is not a pro-btc stance imo. What he implies is that the technology is good, but the specific product of "BTC" wont make it. I want toi disagree wholly with his opinion, for sure (I back the btc) but none the less, his position is to not definitively name btc as the winner of the crypto race. Of course these type of billionaires are usually vague about the future and careful to not say anything that could be interpreted as investing advice, so he is more or less obliged to appear to not definitively support it or oppose it in any way.
That "they" are watching to see what it does is not ridiculous at all. "they" meaning tech and financial giants. They know they cant do anything about btc, they cant stop it or control it, so what do they do? they watch, they look for weaknesses, something to exploit. They hope it fails and they can replace it with their pony. Good luck. The thing is, btc could fail. Sorry to burst your bubble, but it could dwindle and fade just as easily as it could "to the moon" no one knows which way it will go, me, the banks, bill gates, or you. I am sure that "the powers that be" are paying close attantion and have duly noted the successes of btc, hoping to exploit any failures to their advantage. Not FUD, just the way it is.
That said, his words are good for the idea of cryptos in general (good for joe sixpack to hear this) but not for btc specifically. From what I can tell from his statements is he's looking towards something like ripple or similar (please, again, not me saying this but BILL!)
Its inconsequential nonetheless. I feel like I felt on New Years Eve 1999. Everyone was dancing around, partying and shouting at midnight. "Yay Happy Millenium!!!" and there's me ... "Shut up! Shut UP! The Millenium doesn't begin until 12AM January 1st 2001!!!!!"
Nobody wants to listen.
