In a new interview with the team at cryptocurrency trading platform SFOX, Bitcoin investor, entrepreneur and CEO of Bitcoin.com, Roger Ver, says he’s a fan of any cryptocurrency that performs.
“Bitcoin used to be the only cryptocurrency. Now, there are thousands of cryptocurrencies. A lot of people accuse me of attacking Bitcoin, but I have no problem with Bitcoin whatsoever. I’m a fan of absolutely anything that works.”
As an early investor in Bitcoin and blockchain fintech startups such as Ripple, Kraken and Bitpay, Ver has spent the past several years bucking the monetary establishment, and says early Bitcoin adopters viewed cryptos as products designed to compete against the dollar.
“They wanted to see people have a choice as to what sort of money they get to use and have control over money. They wanted to see competition in the marketplace of money.”
Being on board with Bitcoin, however, and bringing it to the mainstream, is really about endorsing a state of mind and explaining how Bitcoin can bring about radical change. That mindset challenges the establishment, existing systems and everyone who’s in charge, and not everyone wants to challenge authority. According to Ver, he hears people say, “Oh my god, these people are trying to do things without permission from other people.”
Says Ver,
“If you go back to the early Bitcoin community, that was the entire point of Bitcoin.”
Ver, who turned his attention – and support – toward Bitcoin Cash after Bitcoin transaction fees became exorbitant at the end of 2017, says he doesn’t care which crypto prevails.
“At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter which cryptocurrency winds up being the dominant one, so long as it’s a cryptocurrency that actually puts people in charge of their own money and their own destiny. If it’s some cryptocurrency where transactions are monitored and controlled and spied upon by the NSA and whoever else, that’s a horrible thing for the world.
But, if it’s a cryptocurrency in which individuals have control of their own money and privacy over their own money, that’s a fantastic thing.”
Here are more highlights from the interview.
According to Ver,
- Satoshi gave the crypto community the gift of mystery – “a really fantastic way for Bitcoin to spread.”
- Censorship in the Bitcoin community is real, “jaw-dropping” and “heart-breaking.”
- Bitcoin’s “giant network effect” isn’t enough to maintain its edge.
- Bitcoin Cash will come out on top thanks to fast, cheap and reliable transactions.
As for Bitcoin’s greatest challenge, Ver says it’s the politicians and the regulators. They have the power to delay a platform launch, stifle innovative solutions and drive entrepreneurs out of regions that have poor legal frameworks.
“I think the biggest challenges are getting the politicians and regulators to get the heck out of the way of the entrepreneurs who are going to make the world a better place. So the biggest challenges are dealing with politicians, sadly, but I hope to build the tools to make it so that the politicians no longer have control over people, and people will have control over their own lives.”
You can read the full interview here.
