Marc Andreessen, one of the internet’s foremost entrepreneurs and investors, has recently doubled-down on his pro-Bitcoin sentiment, divulging that cryptocurrency is a “fundamentally new and very important concept.” This notable nod of acceptance from such a luminary indicates that this budding industry continues to pick up steam, even whilst the crypto market continues its tightrope walk.
Tech And Venture Capital Legend: Bitcoin, Crypto Continues To Work
In early-2014, when Ethereum was a fledgling concept and Bitcoin (BTC) was far under quadruple digits, Marc Andreessen, the mastermind behind a number of the early-stage internet’s foremost startups, came out in full support of crypto via a New York Times op-ed piece. At the time, Andreessen likened Bitcoin to the Internet and personal computers (PCs), claiming that the now-world-renowned decentralized network holds “enormous promise” to usurp and re-imagine a good majority of the world’s traditional facets.
While the cryptocurrency market has seen the mother of all collapses in 2018, Marc has maintained his positive outlook on this innovation, recently sitting down with Tim Ferriss, a prominent American content creator and entrepreneur, to discuss all things business, crypto included.
Midway through the interview, likely touching on Andreessen Horowitz’s launch of a16z crypto, the venture capital firm’s decentralized technology-centric division, Ferriss brought up the topic of cryptocurrency, asking, “what do most people not understand about cryptocurrency?”
Marc Andreessen on Bitcoin, Money, and God pic.twitter.com/jtLuCDfIY5
— Matt Khoury (@MEKhoko) November 12, 2018
Seeming poised, even giddy to answer Ferriss’ crypto query, Andreessen first touched on the fact that money, like religion and the concept of a higher being, is an emotionally-loaded concept, as a result of its importance in society’s day-to-day. And as such, when Bitcoin came onto the global stage in 2008/2009, evidently, many traditionalists were quick to bash this fundamentally diverse form of money.
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However, Andreessen noted that this is by no fault of their own, as he explained that humans are “unable to just simply, objectively, dispassionately look” at how Bitcoin operates without coming to a preemptive conclusion or criticism. He quipped:
“[They may say:] ‘How dare the nerds come up with some new form of money? There has got to be something wrong with this. And I will now attempt to find the 30 possible things that could be wrong with this until I find one that, basically, proves that this can’t possibly work because, obviously, it violates the laws of nature and government and whatever, whatever.’”
He added that this sentiment isn’t limited to average Joes, noting that “bank’s CEOs are just as furious,” explaining that if one were to even fleeting mention the word “Bitcoin,” they would “just get really upset.” Again, jokingly bashing crypto’s critics, Andreessen stated:
“And I’m like did you get upset about your new toaster? It’s just a technology. It’s just a thing. And you can study it, and you can learn about it, and you can think about it.”
This, of course, clearly indicates that traditionalistic institutions, many of which are set in their ways, are wary of cryptocurrency, and what the innovation can bring to the table that legacy systems cannot. As put by Andreessen, “[cryptocurrency] is a fundamentally new and very important idea.”
Keeping this train of thought going, he explained that while everyone has “18,000 theories” why Bitcoin won’t work, against all the odds, the decentralized network has survived. Moreover, not only has it survived, but thrived, still remaining unhampered by the centralized powers that be. Andreessen explained that while other networks crash and burn, Bitcoin continues to work, further likening the world’s first blockchain to air or water before repeating the mantra “it just is.”
Seeing the promise that Bitcoin and the crypto assets that spawned off it holds, the venture capitalist concluded his comments by noting that his firm remains “very excited,” adding that a16z crypto will continue to make new investments in the industry.
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