Dogecoin creator Jackson Palmer doesn’t think the blockchain’s progression is anything like that of the Internet, in a tweet from Wednesday.
Palmer said it’s “dishonest” to compare the two, citing the “user demand” and “market fit” of the Internet after 10 years of development.
Jackson Palmer Says Bitcoin Adoption Nothing Like the Internet
It’s plainly dishonest to liken blockchain technology to the advent of the internet, which after 10 years had obvious product-market fit and user demand.
— Jackson Palmer (@ummjackson) February 26, 2019
Of course, web historians might disagree with Jackson’s timetables. The Internet technically existed as far back as the 1960s. It had some strong university usage in the 1970s. In the 1980s the rise of the personal computer and BBS systems fomented the cypherpunk revolution that led to Bitcoin. If you only trace back to the beginning of the Hyptertext Transfer Protocol or the days of AOL, however, then Bitcoin is lagging.
Really, Though?
It should be noted that e-commerce was uncommon on the web until the 2000s, largely in part due to the lack of security involved with transmitting money. Many of the early e-commerce sites simply required you to call in with your payment information, or mail payment. The first time this reporter bought anything from Amazon, he mailed in a money order. Same thing with most purchases on e-Bay.
Which is to say, like the Internet, Bitcoin could take decades to find its “user demand” and “market fit.”
Like the web, Bitcoin adoption hasn’t been as fast as some would like because it’s not required to do much. The increasing reliance of educational systems on web technologies can be attributed with the later widespread adoption of the web as much as anything else. In truth, though, the Internet didn’t become ubiquitous until the advent of smart phones. For many lower-income people, mobile computing was their first time having a personal computer of any kind. It’s no surprise that mobile users now dominate the web.
Twitter user Conor Ham responded to the tweet, clarifying that he might agree with Palmer’s assessment if “blockchain technology” means everything besides Bitcoin. The tweet is a bit of a sleight at Palmer, who invented Dogecoin.
If “blockchain technology” = all of the useless BTC copycats out there then I agree with you completely.
— Conor Ham (@conor_ham) February 27, 2019
Palmer, for his part, responded that his statement does include Bitcoin.
Joke’s On You, Jackson
Dogecoin is the 26th most valuable cryptocurrency by market capitalization. It has nearly a quarter-billion in assets invested into its infrastructure. Palmer created it as a joke, but the joke has consistently been on him. Dogecoin sees wide use in the cryptosphere, with acceptance by various payment processors as well as gambling sites.
In a couple follow-up tweets, Palmer has further elucidated his opinions.
Apparently Bitcoiners don’t know what product-market fit or demand are.
TCP/IP was powering networking for universities and gov. agencies soon after its introduction… value prop. was very clear and many wanted to onboard (hence why its usage grew organically) https://t.co/7yteaQCQab
— Jackson Palmer (@ummjackson) February 27, 2019
Meanwhile, after 10 years Bitcoin doesn’t have a real use case outside of illegal activity, gambling or supposedly being useful if we enter some Mad Max-like dystopia.
— Jackson Palmer (@ummjackson) February 27, 2019
The above tweet spurred almost twice as much discussion as the first. People disagreed with Palmer on various grounds, primarily the use cases for Bitcoin. In one insightful tweet, Ari Paul points out that asset seizure is a reality everyone has to deal with, not just criminals.
The “mad max dystopia” hedge is a stylized version of the real answer. There’s a $20+ trillion market for seizure resistance that plenty of BTC holders make use of. It’s not an application. Holding wealth securely *is* the use.
— Ari Paul (@AriDavidPaul) February 27, 2019
Paul leaves out the recent push by radical members of the center-left US democratic party to dig deeper into the pockets of Americans. As Bill Gates said, such policies will lead to “tax dodging.” As a result, privacy coins like Monero and Zcash could see renewed interest in the coming years, as the popularity of “progressive” tax policies grows.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article are solely those of the author and do not represent those of, nor should they be attributed to, CCN.
Featured Image from Kevin Rose/YouTube
