Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong: We Should Focus More on Bitcoin and Sidechains, Less on Altcoins
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has articulated his stance on where the future of cryptocurrency lies:
Ripple, Stellar, and Altcoins are all a distraction. Bitcoin is way too far ahead. We should be focused on bitcoin and sidechains
— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) February 23, 2015Three of the biggest players in the business, namely Coinbase, BitPay and Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Read this Term.info, are all bitcoin-centric. None cater to altcoins such as Litecoin in any way, nor have they seriously considered doing so. The thinking is that Bitcoin is currently by far the most prominent of cryptocurrencies, so it stands the best chance of thriving in the future.
The assumption is that in the future, there will likely be only a single dominant cryptocurrency. Therefore, devoting resources to altcoin ventures is unproductive and distracts the crypto world from its main mission.
As one would expect, many in the altcoin communities--whose members have occasionally been equally vocal to Bitcoiners--have what to say on the matter. Previously, altcoin founders have diplomatically argued that their coin may not be the chosen one, but it is certainly a worthwhile experiment toward discovering the ideal cryptocurrency.
Armstrong's comment didn't only refer to altcoins, for which it can be argued, in many cases, that they are merely clones of Bitcoin with trivial modifications. He also included Bitcoin 2.0 technologies like Ripple and Stellar, whose codebases are reportedly not based on Bitcoin's. Steve Beauregard, CEO of GoCoin--which supports Litecoin and Dogecoin Payments Payments One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl Read this Term--replied to Armstrong:
@brian_armstrong We are just entering the Blockchain 2.0 era many exciting new developments. Too early to declare #Bitcoin the winner IMHO
— Steve Beauregard (@GoCoinCEO) February 23, 2015Armstrong's comment elicited much reaction, both supportive and critical.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has articulated his stance on where the future of cryptocurrency lies:
Ripple, Stellar, and Altcoins are all a distraction. Bitcoin is way too far ahead. We should be focused on bitcoin and sidechains
— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) February 23, 2015Three of the biggest players in the business, namely Coinbase, BitPay and Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Read this Term.info, are all bitcoin-centric. None cater to altcoins such as Litecoin in any way, nor have they seriously considered doing so. The thinking is that Bitcoin is currently by far the most prominent of cryptocurrencies, so it stands the best chance of thriving in the future.
The assumption is that in the future, there will likely be only a single dominant cryptocurrency. Therefore, devoting resources to altcoin ventures is unproductive and distracts the crypto world from its main mission.
As one would expect, many in the altcoin communities--whose members have occasionally been equally vocal to Bitcoiners--have what to say on the matter. Previously, altcoin founders have diplomatically argued that their coin may not be the chosen one, but it is certainly a worthwhile experiment toward discovering the ideal cryptocurrency.
Armstrong's comment didn't only refer to altcoins, for which it can be argued, in many cases, that they are merely clones of Bitcoin with trivial modifications. He also included Bitcoin 2.0 technologies like Ripple and Stellar, whose codebases are reportedly not based on Bitcoin's. Steve Beauregard, CEO of GoCoin--which supports Litecoin and Dogecoin Payments Payments One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl Read this Term--replied to Armstrong:
@brian_armstrong We are just entering the Blockchain 2.0 era many exciting new developments. Too early to declare #Bitcoin the winner IMHO
— Steve Beauregard (@GoCoinCEO) February 23, 2015Armstrong's comment elicited much reaction, both supportive and critical.