Tech
What Silicon Valley elites say about the future of cryptocurrencies
The high-tech industry continues to aggressively advance the blockchain industry, proposing and developing new solutions that enhance and make Web3 assets more usable by both general consumers and sophisticated industry participants.
1. Block CEO Jack Dorsey: Bitcoin Bull
Dorsey noted on a panel with Cathie Wood and Elon Musk at the Crypto Council for Innovation’s “The B-Word” conference in 2021: “It’s deeply principled, it’s weird as hell [and] it is always evolving. As a child it reminded me of the Internet.”
It could be said that the pioneer of the Twitter, Block and Bluesky network supports Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, as scheduled Crypto potato. The Silicon Valley genius founded Block (formerly Square Payments) shortly after launching Twitter.
Additionally, its payment processing company acquired CashApp. It began providing users with simple and hassle-free Bitcoin custody, allowing them to purchase BTC with a credit or debit card on their phone.
Just a few days ago, Twitter’s Dorsey announced that Block had completed construction of its unique Bitcoin mining chip.
This is an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) created at the nanometer hardware level to be optimized exclusively for Bitcoin mining. “Our mining chip will use the most advanced semiconductor process currently available and will provide the performance needed for mining operators of all types to survive and thrive in the fifth mining era (the period following the recent fourth block subsidy halving) and beyond . “
Additionally, in Block’s first-quarter earnings report to investors, Dorsey said that going forward, Oakland, California-based Web3 will invest 10% of its revenue from all Bitcoin-related trades in purchases monthly.
“Historically and moving forward, our investment in bitcoin transcends technology; it’s an investment in a future where economic empowerment is the norm. This commitment pushes our business into new territory, unlocking new opportunities for our customers and ensuring lasting value for you, our shareholders,” said Dorsey.
“What really drove my thinking and drives my passion is, if the Internet had the ability to have a native currency, what would it be? For me, it is Bitcoin because of these principles, because of its resilience,” he continued.
2. PayPal Founder Peter Thiel: Cautious Bull
Peter Thiel, the founder of PayPal and the most successful investor in Silicon Valley, is a Web3 guru. Its Founders Fund has owned and sold large amounts of Bitcoin for years. In 2014, his Thiel Foundation awarded a $100,000 grant to Vitalik Buterin, the inventor and founder of Ethereum.
The price of Bitcoin rose to a level above $60,000 per coin in February, after the SEC approved spot issuers of Bitcoin ETFs in the United States in January. The last time BTC surpassed $60,000, Thiel gave this cautiously positive advice while speaking at an event at the Bitcoin Mecca in Miami, Florida.
“I don’t know if you should invest all your money in bitcoin at $60,000 a bitcoin right now. But certainly the fact that it is at $60,000 is an extremely promising sign. It’s the canary in the coal mine. It is the most honest market we have in the country,” she said.
“I feel like I underinvested,” Thiel added when every Bitcoin investor has felt this way. In the debate over whether investors are still early or too late for Bitcoin, he said: “I think the answers are still out there…maybe it’s still quite the secret.”
From 2021, Thiel’s Founder’s Fund has demonstrated exceptional timing for large entries and exits on and off the Bitcoin network. In early 2023, the company announced that it had exited a large position in Bitcoin that had grown over the previous eight years, shortly before the cryptocurrency market collapsed in 2022 after the price of Bitcoin collapsed. Several large cryptocurrency exchanges and other organizations have collapsed after failing to handle the new currency’s rapid market swings over its four-year cycle.
Second Reuters sources, the fund has reinvested over $200 million in Bitcoin and Ethereum over the past year.
3. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook: Bitcoin maximalist
Mark Zuckerberg, creator and CEO of Facebook, has his hands full with Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. But that hasn’t stopped him from dabbling with blockchain and virtual reality headsets and from renaming his company Meta to better reflect his future in cyberspace.
In fact, in 2019, Zuckerberg planned to introduce Libra coin, a cryptocurrency that would add a blockchain-based payment feature to Facebook apps. However, key allies pulled out as global regulatory agencies pressured Facebook to halt the project.
Regardless, the Facebook CEO avidly supports cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. He may also be a Bitcoin maximalist (someone who believes that Bitcoin will become the world’s largest global reserve currency).
His goats are called Bitcoin and Max.
4. Microsoft’s Bill Gates: Impressed but bearish
Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, said in 2022 that he is not enthusiastic about Bitcoin. “If you have less money than Elon, be careful,” he said. Gates is also recognized for his frugality and his prudent and controlled risk-taking in the high-tech sector.
However, he once commented, “Bitcoin is a technological tour de force,” so he admires Bitcoin’s creative use of several Internet techniques to create digital scarcity in a world where producing copies of digital objects is almost free .
5. Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet: Blockchain advocate
“Anytime there is innovation, I find it exciting,” Pichai said in response to a question about the technology during an Alphabet earnings call in 2022. I think that’s something we want to support as best we can.”
That same year, Alphabet’s CEO noted, “We’re definitely looking into blockchain. It’s such an interesting, powerful technology with broad applications.”
6. The owner of X, Elon Musk: the father of the doge
Elon Musk has been a long-time supporter of blockchain technology.
In 2021, he stated: “[La criptovaluta]bypasses currency controls… Paper money is disappearing.” And, without a doubt, cryptocurrency is a far superior method of transmitting value than paper.”
Musk has long been a lover of cryptocurrencies, particularly Dogecoin. He calls himself “The Father Doge” and constantly tweets and speaks highly of Dogecoin. The most recent mention of him corresponds to a 14% increase in Dogecoin’s price and market capitalization.
Photo: Microsoft Bing