Questions:1. When and why did you become interested in cryptocurrencies?I answered that a while ago in German, so here's a translation:Actually, I've already known Bitcoin in ca. 2003.No, my name is not Satoshi Nakamoto and obviously "our" Bitcoin didn't exist yet back then.
But during my time as a student of computer science and business administration* I already had a quite decent idea of a kind of "money" comparable to Bitcoin.
I'm not sure whether my professor was especially farsighted or whether at that time it could already be regarded as "state of the art/science", but I had already learned that the development of money would tend to move in the direction of having these properties:
- peer to peer
- cryptographically secured
- value determined solely by market forces
I guess a lot of people already knew that at the time, which explains why so many already had been working on the implementation of something of the sort (e.g. David Chaum, Adam Back, etc.).
Fast forward to the end of 2010, when I remember hearing somewhere that once more a system like that had been developed, not for the first time. Being very busy career-wise at the time, I didn't really delve any deeper into it. I cannot even be sure if it was Bitcoin, but it seems pretty obvious.
(so there's my lost chance to get onboard in 2010)Early / mid 2011, in the wake of the dollar parity of Bitcoin I noticed again, and took the time to look a little closer.
With my prior "knowledge" of Bitcoin I knew within minutes that Bitcoin was a working implementation of the "money" described above.
My further prior knowledge about network effects etc. helped me assess the possibility of any realistic danger that a "successor" would be able to overcome Bitcoin, which I deny decisively to this day. That wouldn't square with empirical evidence.
I can therefore say that I became an adamant Bitcoin-believer shortly after the dollar parity and have been ever since, without hesitation and with the necessary background knowledge to dismiss any hint of a doubt.
* (in German "Wirtschaftsinformatik", a combined curriculum where you become a not-so good computer scientist as well as a not-so good business administrator)2. When and why did you buy your first bitcoin?Around that time, obviously.
I used Japanese exchange MtGox, which was a real hassle, since I had to wire the money with a paper form from my bank etc.
I didn't quite put my life savings into it, but it also wasn't petty cash.
3. How did you get on the forum?I lurked without registering for a couple weeks, maybe months, then I registered.
There basically was no option other than the forum at that time when you wanted to dig into Bitcoin.
4.1. What prevents mass adoption of cryptocurrencies?Fear.
People are (rightfully) afraid of something new that they don't understand and that comes with a lot of difficulties and dangers.
I personally still wouldn't advise the direct use of Bitcoin to the faint-hearted, non-tech-savvy (yet).
Funny as it may sound, the average Joe may well be better off buying and storing Bitcoin at a third party with at least technical support and or potential recourse to legal action.
I've always been an advocate of the idea that Bitcoin will most likely never be used by "the masses" directly, but rather through third parties, and I don't necessarily believe that that has to be a bad thing.
And yeah, that makes me a heretic within the community. 4.2. How do you think mass advertising of gambling projects has a positive effect on the development of the forum or harms the community?Gambling seems to be the only kind of "smart contract" that to date has been successfully implemented on a blockchain. Everything else you can see "out there, in the wild" is basically SCAM. Well, maybe Krypto-Kitties are legit, too (I'm not joking, but I'm also not quite sure). So, from the point of view of technology, gambling seems to be the one thing other than money a blockchain is really good for (we might see more things in the future, but I'm doubtful).
How it affects the community or the forum, well, that's a whole different story.
Gambling is about greed, and so is speculation.
I know that greed drives the interest of the people out there to the forums, which is both beneficial, since we probably always need some influx of fresh blood, but it's also bad for all the newbs, which in turn attract the scammers.
All in all, my feelings toward gambling are mixed, which is why I personally would prefer not to see it advertised too much.
4.3. How do you consider whether 2-3 years of experience in cryptocurrency is enough to successfully invest or does an investor need to receive special education?You can successfully invest once you understand three things about crypto-currency.
First and foremost:
Trading is not investing.Second:
Basically everything "crypto" is a SCAM.Third: Bitcoin might be the one exception from rule number two, but you cannot be entirely sure.
That's all you'll ever need to know.
4.4. What do you think about Shitcoins and what is your opinion about IOTA?Oh my. 1miau is a dick for bringing that up.
Everyone knows how much I hate shitcoins.
Repeat rule number two from above:
Bascially everything "crypto" is a SCAM.There's some altcoins out there that show some merit technologically, so they seem to be good playgrounds for development and admittedly, that might carry them a long way, even all the way to real-world adoption. But so far, not even Ethereum has come even close to that mark.
When you take a closer look at "real world market caps", i.e. look at the amount of Dollars invested on "real" stock exchanges into crypto-assets etc., you will see that even Ethereum doesn't even play in the same league as Bitcoin. We're talking about numbers like 95+% going into Bitcoin, with the 5-% being divided up between several of the major shitcoins.
So much for Coinmarketcrap's so-called "Bitcoin Dominance".
But the worst thing about altcoins isn't their lousy performance in real-world markets.
It's their never-ending bullshit bingo about how their simple changes and tweaks in design decisions (like "faster blocks", "zero fee transactions" or whatever) are "innovations".
They are not. They are design decisions.
If you promote your altcoin under the disguise of innovation with just minor design tweaks, I personally consider that fraudulent.
Combine that with used-car-salesman-style sales tactics, wash trades etc. on exchanges, and you get from classical "Altcoins" to true "Shitcoins".
Add on top of all that a major design flaw (a "mesh-like" architecture for a highly hierarchical application like IoT), true-bred centralization, and script-kiddy design decisions like ternary without any good reason, you get to IOTA. Oh, did I mention the "coordicide", several WoTs layered on top of each other with a centralized entry point, proposed as a "decentralized" solution?
Need I say more?
5. What do you think of the current Merit system and signature campaigns? Do they harm the forum?The merit system is not perfect. But it seems to be relatively effective in reducing spam and encouraging good posts, so I consider it a valuable addition.
Signature campaigns, well, they seem to attract a lot of users, but I'm not quite sure if those are the kind of users this forum needs, so I tend to believe that they do, in fact, more harm than good.
6. The most useful forum topic? Most helpful users?The most useful topic woulds be my personal
taxation-FAQ and
Common Bitcoin misunderstandings-FAQ on the German board, obviously.
And the most helpful user, well, me, of course.
It should be pretty obvious by now that I have an oversized ego
Seriously, I don't know, there's just too much good stuff out there, and the best you can do is get into the discussions and you will see which topics will be useful for you and which users will help you.
7. 3 things you would implement on the forum?I'm pretty conservative, so I would actually leave everything the way it is.
One thing that has always bothered me, though, is the centralized control of theymos over the forum.
I don't have a good solution, but I think this is an issue that should have been addressed years ago.
8. Do you trade on exchanges or invest in projects?No.
9. Tell a story about your big profit or big loss?I had a few coins on MtGox.
And by "a few" I mean a couple.
And by "a couple" I mean a lot.
Well, we all made mistakes, and I have learned to live with mine.
10. What do you think about the DEFI ecosystem?Bascially everything "crypto" is a SCAM.This holds true for DEFI as well.
11. Is your anonymity a vital necessity or precaution?I am not anonymous, but rather a relatively highly public figure.
As a kind of "lobbyist" for Bitcoin in Germany, I have to be.
So, yeah, my name is "Bastian Lipp", I'm a board member of the "Bundesverband Bitcoin", my home address is ---, okay, that would go too far.
You can easily find my photo if you google, several even, and really cheeky businesslike ones of younger me.
12. The last cryptocurrency book you read?I'm not sure, I tend to "read them all" (nah, not really, but I generally cover a broad range).
One of the most remarkable has obviously been "The Bitcoin Standard" by Saifedean Ammous, and despite its fame, I'd like to point out a couple negatives about it, so here goes a short review
(also translated from a German post of mine):
Chapter 1-3 deliver a comprehensive overview of monetary theory according to the Austrian school of economics, but lack any description of other views.
Chapter 4 is a strange "conspiracy theory" of how the renunciation of the gold standard at the beginning of the 20th century had led to basically all the evil in the world. Wars, famines, plagues, all seem to be a direct consequence of fiat money.
Chapter 5 is another short overview of "time preference", one of economics' justifications for the benefits of capitalism.
Chapter 6 and 7 reiterate further on the conspiracy theory from chapter 4.
The author goes so far as to see his own lack of understanding of modern art as evidence for the responsibility of fiat money for the high prices of what he deems less valuable. As the reader, I almost expected to read the term "degenerate art".
Chapter 8 is a short overview over the technical background of Bitcoin.
Chapter 9 is a superficial overview over several use cases of Bitcoin.
Chapter 10 finally gets rid of some common misunderstandings about Bitcoin, in the sense of a FAQ.
Saifedean Ammous would have done a better job, had he tuned out his own preference of a very narrow reading of the Austrian school (which in this particular case seems to be a peculiarity of 90th US economics), and allowed some space for a broader view.
His personal animosity versus John Maynard Keynes, which at times borders on the homophobe, should also have better been kept his private secret, especially since he doesn't really adhere to the facts too closely (not to say that he tells fairy tales at times).
All in all, i regret that from a solid base resulted a very weak book, simply because the author just had to put forward his personal hatred for Keynes, modern art and fiat money.
Conclusion: if you take "The Bitcoin Standard", rip out chapters 4, 6 and 7, ignore the ever-present animosities towards Keynes, it's a solid book on the basics of Bitcoin economics, even though with a very narrow view.
13. Advise 3 cryptocurrencies/tokens for investment in the next 1-2 years?Bitcoin.
If you want to gamble, basically anything else, because I fully expect Shitcoins in general to rise (and fall) quicker.
14. How much will Bitcoin cost at the end of 2020?Oh, that date is too close.
I don't know where Bitcoin will be at the end of 2020, I guess somewhere in the 50K region, but only with a confidence of maybe 20%.
I am absolutely certain, though, that the next ATH will be in the 100K+ region.
15. P.S. (Optional)There's so much to say, but one thing I would like everyone to know:
If you don't understand why Bitcoin has a ten minute block time, and why faster blocks are a stupid idea, you don't understand cryptocurrency. At all.