Now that my first week of blogging about crypto is over, I want to answer the most frequently asked questions I've received. One smart-aleck asked, "why would anyone be waiting for the opinion on crypto and nfts from someone who sold all his Bitcoins years ago for way too little and doesn't own any nfts himself? I answer that question last.
The most frequently asked question I received was: why did you start blogging about crypto?
I have been following the crypto news for years and talking about it with colleagues and friends. In fact, I've learned the most from their opinions and tips. I now hope to accomplish the same on a larger scale, by hearing feedback from readers/followers, although that will certainly take time. Setting myself the task of writing something about crypto and nfts every business day forces me to stay sharp and look a little beyond my own work at Blue City Solutions and our crypto project Bluenote. I do not expect to ever become as good and relevant as Fred Wilson, but I do hope to inform and preferably inspire those interested in the crypto and nft sector, if you will allow me to be so immodest.
You wrote that you don't buy Bitcoin because it emits too much CO2. That argument has been debunked for years, you really need to learn more about it.
Ok, that's not a question and I'll answer it with a sincere counter question: what percentage of all Bitcoin mining is currently done with renewable energy? I am very interested in researching the energy mix of Bitcoin miners, but solid research still seems to be lacking. I would love to hear any tips and read any links to studies!
By setting aside Bitcoin, you suggest that Proof of Work has no value. But there are many situations where PoW is valuable, or do you think all PoW projects are irrelevant?
I really like the distinction between the energy-hungry aspect of Proof of Work (PoW) and the need for a well-functioning consensus mechanism. The relevance of PoW and the actual status of Proof of Stake (PoS) are two topics I try to follow keenly. And I do find Bitcoin fascinating as a concept, as an investment and as a pioneer of decentralized currencies. Satoshi Nakamoto, the author of the Bitcoin white paper, deserves to get a Nobel Prize in economics someday. But I also think there will be better blockchain projects and crypto-tokens. Only, those will always be conceptually indebted to Bitcoin.
Is it true that you once thought Bitcoin was nothing at all?
Yes, there is even evidence of it, unfortunately 😉 More than 10 years ago, Bitcoin kept coming up on the BNR Digital radio program of tech journalist Herbert Blankesteijn, the Dutch Walt Mossberg, where I was a regular guest. At the time, I lacked the elementary interest to delve into Bitcoin enough, and in my mind I compared it conceptually too much to Linden dollars, the currency from the computer world Second Life. The Mount Gox hack didn't help much. My wrong conclusion then was that a central entity, such as a central bank, is needed to prevent this kind of misery. But Mount Gox had nothing to do with Bitcoin; rather, it was a hack of a single point of failure: an exchange. A central entity.
I had never read the Bitcoin white paper until 2015. Although I wonder if I would have been able to distill the most important aspect of blockchain technology from it: decentralization. Of all the special elements of blockchain technology, I find decentralization the most fascinating.
Incidentally, since then my regular checking question to know how to value someone's opinion on crypto has been, "have you read the Bitcoin white paper?" (And if someone answers that question in the affirmative but you suspect they haven't, it pays to ask the trick question, "did you find it such an impractically thick book too? After all, the Bitcoin white paper covers only 9 pages including 1 page of references).
Did you really sell all your Bitcoins after the Mount Gox hack?
Even though I had never read the white paper, I did buy 1000 Euros worth of Bitcoins about 10 years ago. Actually because of the radio program with Herbert Blankesteijn. Mount Gox was not the only reason I sold the Bitcoins again: I had major knee surgery, people I knew had died aboard MH17 and I was embroiled in a lawsuit with the Dutch government that required time, money and energy. It was simply a rotten time. I think I had something like 30, maximum 35 Bitcoin. I sold them for less than 10,000 Euros. There is a reason I say: I NEVER give investment advice.
Although a former head of trading of a large bank once said to me, 'don't whine, because you still had 10 X returns, more than fine. But: you should only have sold half, not all.'
It wasn't until 2016 that I started looking into blockchain and had to completely revise my opinion of Bitcoin and blockchain. There is proof of that too 😉
So you develop crypto (BNOW, the token of the Bluenote protocol) and put together a portfolio of PoS layer 1 tokens, but own no Bitcoin and no nfts: why should I read what you write?
True, I do not own Bitcoin because of its associated carbon footprint, although I remain hopeful that this problem will be solved. For me no gaming assets or nfts, they are still too difficult and time consuming for me to understand properly. I believe enormously in the potential and transparency of nfts, but I would develop them myself rather than buy them from others. Simply because it takes too much time to properly assess their value and then it still remains a huge gamble.
I have been involved in crypto for over 6 years now from Blue City Solutions and Bluenote is our first crypto project, which is still developing; but only this year I think I have enough to say about it in a way, that other people might have some interest in it. The first signs are positive and it is nice to see that serious media like BNR read my blog. Nevertheless, I'm sure I know a lot more I don't know about crypto, decentralization and nfts, than I do about them. My ambition is to share with others my journey of discovery in this fascinating world.