Bitcoin.com AMA Recap: Andreas Antonopoulos, Roger Ver and Bobby Lee

The biggest Bitcoin AMA event in history is still going on over at the Bitcoin.com forums. Over the past few weeks, a lot of Bitcoin industry experts have participated in this AMA session and answered questions from the community. The time has to come to recap some of these discussions, as we will look at what Andreas M. Antonopoulos, Roger Ver and Bobby Lee had to say.

Also read: The Impact of Instant SEPA Transfers on European Bitcoin Exchanges

Andreas M. Antonopoulos: Never Forget The Core Principles



Being a prominent figure in the Bitcoin ecosystem can be a burden for some, but for Andreas M. Antonopoulos, it is a dream come true. As he focuses all of his attention of Bitcoin and public speaking at conferences, meetups and conducting interviews with the media, Antonopoulos is enjoying his work thoroughly every day. After all, he feels this is the best way he can contribute to the Bitcoin community.

Many Bitcoin enthusiasts feel there are some real threats to the future of this digital currency, which go far beyond “just” the technical side of things. When asked about these possible threats to Bitcoin, Antonopoulos used the following – aptly chosen – reply to share with the world:

“The biggest threat to bitcoin is forgetting the core principles of openness, decentralization and privacy. If we abandon those principles, then bitcoin will have to be replaced by another system that supports those principles. The national currencies and banking systems are rapidly heading towards totalitarian control and surveillance. We need a safe haven alternative to big-brother-money. “

In a surprising turn of events, Antonopoulos touched upon the subject of private blockchains and how they can be a good thing for the future of Bitcoin. Banks will be spending a ton of money on research and development of blockchain technology, which can only lead to future innovation. Additionally, using a private blockchain is not helping to defuse the competitive disruption of Bitcoin.

While there were many other interesting topics during the discussion, this comment by Antonopoulos regarding the future of altcoins stands out:

“I am not at all concerned about fragmentation of value. The market for digital currencies follows a power-law distribution (also known as a long-tail). Most of the value (90%) will be in 2-3 coins, with the other 10% divided among hundreds or thousands of coins. In fact, alt-coins benefit bitcoin. Bitcoin is the primary reserve currency that supports all alt-coins. Want to buy an alt-coin? You have to spend bitcoin! All this ends up creating more liquidity and investment in bitcoin, as much as it fragments the value.”

Make sure to browse the full Andreas M. Antonopoulos AMA thread on the Bitcoin.com forum!

Roger Ver: Privacy-Centric Altcoins Can Compete With Bitcoin



Dubbed as “Bitcoin Jesus” – a nickname he doesn’t like that much by the way – Roger Ver has achieved the rank of celebrity in the Bitcoin world. Despite being such a popular and well-respected individual, Ver remains humble and down to earth in everything he does. Plus, he isn’t afraid to speak his mind on Bitcoin and anything else going on that is related to digital currency.

In fact, Roger Ver feels that Bitcoin has one key “flaw” that needs to be addressed, and that is the lack of strong privacy. This is one aspect where altcoins can compete with Bitcoin, and Ver invested in both Moneta and Zerocoin because of their focus on privacy at the protocol level.

On the topic of transitioning Bitcoin from its “early adopter phase” to “mainstream acceptance,” Ver had the following to say:

“We need to spread the word about why Bitcoin is useful to normal people who don’t care about economics, monetary policy, or philosophy. I don’t know of a single person in the USA who wouldn’t be interested in saving 20% on every purchase at Amazon or Starbucks thanks to Purse.io and Foldapp.com. As bitcoin enthusiasts, it is our job to spread the word, so please post tutorials on your facebook and twitter about these great reasons for normal people to use Bitcoin today.”

As most people are well aware of, Roger seems to be bouncing around all over the world to spread the word on Bitcoin and digital currency. One user asked what Ver does to relax, and to no surprise, some of his entertainment comes in the form of Bitcoin videos on Youtube and reading Bitcoin news on /r/BTC. Furthermore, Ver practices and competes in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournaments.

Overall, there are too many interesting tidbits to list from Roger Ver’s AMA session. Make sure to check out the full Bitcoin.com thread here.

Bobby Lee: The Chinese Community Grasps The Full Potential of Bitcoin



Most of the Bitcoin trading volume is originating from Chinese exchanges, and Bobby Lee mentioned how the Chinese like to trade on Bitcoin prices due to its volatility. However, they also understand the full meaning and impact of Bitcoin and digital currency, as well as the long-term price potential it holds.

Lee also took the time to shed some light on his greatest worry for Bitcoin:

“My greatest fear and worry for bitcoin is for people to pre-judge it without understanding what it truly is. There’s the complex technical system that underpins bitcoin, and there’s also the very complicated use-cases and impact on society. In other words, even for many of the old hands in the bitcoin community, it took a long time for us to fully understand and grasp the revolutionary nature of bitcoin. In comparison, 20 years ago, understanding the full potential of the Internet was quite a bit easier.”

As most people are well aware, nearly every major Chinese Bitcoin exchange is operating on 0% fees. Lee mentioned how this is mostly due to fierce competition in the market, as the barrier-to-entry in China is quite low for Bitcoin exchanges. Eventually, we might see other markets gravitate to zero-fees in the future.

When asked about how Bitcoin can be improved upon further, Lee stated:

“In terms of bitcoin improvements, I think one aspect that still needs a lot of work is the management of private keys. This is not often talked about. Bitcoin technology essentially also solves the digital identity problem; whoever has the private keys, should be that real person / account-holder. And likewise, that real person should be the only one to have and sign with the private key, and nobody else! However, today, it’s still way too complicated for any average user to hold and manage their own private keys. That’s why the digital identity issue is still not yet solved. I look forward to that day, when more elegant and user-friendly solutions come to market, where even my mother can fully participate without any assistance.”

You can check out the rest of Bobby Lee’s AMA session in this Bitcoin.com forum thread.

What are your thoughts about these visions, ideas, and responses? Let us know in the comments below!

Source: Bitcoin.com AMA Forum

Images courtesy of Bobby Lee, Roger Ver, Andreas M. Antonopoulos