The past year has seen multi-million dollar NFT sales, dogecoin drama, cryptocurrency price uncertainty, bitcoin-paid ransomware hackers, and growing concerns about the environmental impact of cryptocurrency mining.
There was a larger movement taking place behind these headlines. Cryptocurrency and the blockchain that supports it are being developed as a powerful, decentralized alternative to the dominant fiat system of money and banking.
As with many aspects of technology and society, the emergence of
cryptocurrencies has accelerated during the pandemic. But how exactly and what is
next? We asked many people who deal with cryptocurrencies in various
capacities. Here's what they said.
IT IS PANDEMIC MONEY
Athan Slotkin, CEO Consultant, NFT maxi Says:
The fact that everyone was stuck at home and fully digital only
intensified people's focus on digital development and specifically crypto and
NFTs. As a result, this technology and these currencies, which have been around
for years, have further increased in size. Crypto is already here to stay, but
COVID has accelerated that journey.
Kosala Hemachandra, Founder and CEO, MyEtherWallet Says:
I'd like to think that cryptocurrencies are perfect for
situations like a pandemic, and that's why cryptocurrencies have thrived
throughout 2020. It's borderless. It doesn't matter if the airports are open or
closed, or if people can or can't. Many financial institutions had to be
closed, reducing the value associated with them.
Sole Cánepa, Technical Operations Manager, BitGive Foundation Says:
I don't think the pandemic has affected where Bitcoin is going
or where it is now. Bitcoin may be affected by corporate and government
adoption, the search for greener options for the mining industry, current
Taproot improvements, and leveraged behavior (using brokerage money to make
bets). Bitcoin is just going through a natural evolution as we have seen from
the beginning. No surprises here for long-term bitcoiners.
CRYPTO IS GOING MAINSTREAM
Brent Johnson, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Bluefin Says:
The large-cap cryptocurrency has hit all-time highs in the past
few months; including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Binance Coin, and Cardano to name a
few. We are now seeing athletes being paid in crypto, card brands allowing
crypto to be settled, major investment firms adding crypto to their portfolios,
and even governments accepting crypto as legal tender.
Brianna Martyn, Blockchain Consultant Says:
Ethereum and NFTs have gone from buzzwords used by traders and
technologists to digital assets known around the world. Discussions about money
supply, inflation, digital rights, proof of ownership, and smart contracts are
now part of the financial world and are likely to grow in the coming years.
Bitcoin went from a white paper concept to an official reserve currency in just
12 years. We feel like once-in-a-lifetime changes unfold before us. I can't
wait to see what kind of innovation and growth the next decade will bring to
the digital world.
Kathleen Breitman, Co-Founder, Tezos Says:
What is interesting about the growing popularity of NFTs in the
cryptocurrency space is that they have managed to attract newcomers to the
technology. In March, press coverage of the environmental impact of the Ethereum
platform managed to dampen the enthusiasm of many famous people who were
looking at NFTs as a way to monetize some aspect of their creativity. It was
the first time I saw people who were skeptical of cryptocurrencies look at them
as a potential solution for their business and care about the technology
underneath in a meaningful way. To me, this has been the most transformational
change I have seen in the industry to date.
FEAR OF INFLATION FACTOR
Brian Mosoff, CEO, Ether Capital Says:
Before 2020, cryptocurrencies were largely driven by tech-savvy
retail investors. Institutions and traditional investors have largely written
off software or algorithmic monetary policy. As concerns about inflation arose
due to the pandemic, the group began looking to an alternative asset class as a
hedge.
Tegan Kline, co-founder of Edge & Node Says:
The pandemic has accelerated cryptocurrencies. The monetary
policy response has encouraged investment appetite for alternative stores of
value. Stay-at-home orders unleashed a recreational appetite to engage in cash
farming, which ushered in a defiant summer.
Hossein Azari, former senior researcher at Google and founder of mqre Says:
The pandemic has amplified some of the value propositions of
crypto and decentralized finance. We learned that our original financial system
would do better if it sent stimulus money to American businesses and
individuals. With decentralized finance, we remove/reduce dependence on
centralized and legacy financial systems and modernize to maintain leadership
in the economy.
POPULIST REBELLION
Jonas Rey, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Liti Capital Says:
El Salvador has just announced that its businesses are now
required to accept Bitcoin as currency. Instead of world powers, it will be small
countries that make the change first and cause a massive revolution around the
world. As more and more people transition, large countries and entities will be
forced to adapt to cryptocurrency. Like all revolutions, the global financial
revolution will start from the ground up and be driven by financial inequality
and lack of access to the tools that have historically been used to keep the
same people down.
Colin Pape, Founder, Presearch Says:
Part of this societal shift is being driven by people who see
Big Tech's far-reaching control over their digital and financial lives. In the
same way [crypto] challenged the financial status quo, decentralization using
blockchain technology will disrupt the dominance of Big Tech, giving people
access to unbiased information online, as well as greater ownership of their
data and true digital privacy.
CRYPTO AND CYBERCRIME
Betsy Cooper, Aspen Institute Says:
The pandemic hasn't changed the trajectory of cryptocurrency as
much as it has changed the trajectory of criminals. As a result of the
pandemic, more people were desperate for quick capital and more criminals had
time to figure out how to deploy ransomware. As criminal activity grew, so did
the use of cryptocurrencies for payment.
Kevin Mandia, CEO, FireEye Says:
It used to be that if you were an attacker and wanted to
monetize your hacking skills, you hacked into computers and stole credit card
information. Now you can deploy ransomware or you can steal documents and force
the fact that you publish this information. Digital currencies are anonymous
currencies, so now you can commit a crime from 10,000 miles away from the
victim and remain anonymous while collecting payment. There is no doubt that
digital currency as it exists today enables cybercrime.
Jeff Gluck, Founder, CXIP Labs Says:
NFTs represent the unprecedented creative and financial
potential for artists, but the potential for fraud, theft, and data loss has
never been greater.
Matthew Rogers, CISO of Americas, Syntax Says:
Companies that have facilitated cryptocurrency payments over the
past year will they allow individuals to become targets of ransomware attacks
as opposed to just businesses as we often see. This is likely bad news for the
industry and could lead to even more ransomware attacks on a wider range of
people and businesses.
BEHIND THE HYPE
Robert E. Siegel, Lecturer, Stanford Graduate School of Business Says:
We need to separate the recent hyper-speculative activity of the
crypto market from the fundamentals of what crypto and blockchain will bring to
society over time. In the latter, ideas and technologies have the potential to
be transformative but, the recent frenzy is not based on fundamentals; rather,
it is driven by a world awash in liquidity and zero percent interest rates from
governments. Money is sometimes made in times of speculation. Usually, the
money is lost.
Philip Gradwell, Chief Economist, Chainalysis Says:
Dogecoin gained attention from meme lords and investors alike,
bridging the gap between finance and pop culture. Dogecoin trading volume was
among the top 10 cryptocurrencies, ahead of XRP, USDC, DOT, and UNI. At first,
glance, what started as a joke. That tremendous growth showed how the power of
the Internet dumped all the rules about investing out the window. Dogecoin may
just be a meme, but it probably raised more awareness than the $19.6 billion US
financial services spent on digital advertising in 2020.
Ian Khan, Futurist Says:
The future of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, in general, will continue to fluctuate and make waves. One of the reasons is that this is a highly hype-based crypto era where influencers like Elon Musk and others will continue to play on the emotions of an already stressed investor community desperate to recover from a global pandemic.
CONCLUSION
Diogo Monica, co-founder, and president of Anchorage Digital Says:
It's a foregone the conclusion that cryptocurrencies are here to
stay, and sophisticated investors know that noise will always be a part of it.
Rob Chang, Co-Founder and CEO of Gryphon Mining Says:
I believe we will look back on this period as the point when the
general public was allowed to take a really hard look at cryptocurrencies and
learn that coins like Bitcoin are not "magical internet funny money"
but instead legitimate, decentralized ways of transacting value without the
shackles of banking institutions and government control/devaluation.
Nigel Green, CEO, and Founder of deVere Group Says:
The rapid pace of digitization of economies and our lives means that the demand for digital, global money without borders will increase from now on. With regard to digital currencies, the genie can't be returned to the container.
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