Ever since we did our recaps of the Inside Bitcoins London conference, a lot of people have been asking us to provide more details about one of the panels we got really fired up about. The panel in question was called “The Future of Altcoins”, and here is why I took offense to some of the things said during this panel.
First of all, let me make it clear that I in no way hold the Inside BItcoins London organization responsible for some of the opinions stated by the panelists. People being part of such a panel should know better and conduct themselves in a far more professional manner.
When I saw the Inside Bitcoins London schedule, and noticed they had a panel specifically about altcoins, that got me really excited. Especially considering they would have an actual altcoin developer as part of the panel. Vikram Nikkam, Co-Founder & Director Global Business Development of UnoCoin was supposed to be on that panel, and UnoCoin was supposed to have an exhibitor booth at the event. Neither of those actually happened however.
The rest of ẗhe panel talking about “The Future of Altcoins” consisted of intelligent people , or so I thought anyway. The only person who made some sense in regards to altcoins is Marc Warne, the founder of Bittylicious. For those of you unaware, Bittylicious doesn’t only deal in Bitcoin, but also a select few other coins such as Quark and BlackCoin.
Some valid points were raised though, I’ll admit that. When we talk about the scale of cryptocurrency transactions, 90% or more is being done through Bitcoin. The other 10% are made up of altcoin and Crypto 2.0 transactions. No one is doubting the overwhelming presence and usability of Bitcoin though.
Some of the things said during this panel however, really made me sick to my stomach. Not just because our site focuses more on altcoins than Bitcoin , but simply because of how oblivious some people are towards altcoins or even Crypto 2.0. Allow me to provide to you the most baffling statement I have ever heard at a Bitcoin conference :
“I have no interest in coins that aren’t Bitcoin as I think there won’t be any innovations there”
The person who made this ludicrous statement is Flavien Charlon, Founder of Coinprism and Predictious. Anyone who is involved with cryptocurrency for longer than 2 minutes can see altcoins and Crypto 2.0 coins, aka coins that aren’t Bitcoin, are bringing tons of innovative features to the table. These features will probably end up being used in Bitcoin as well at some point in time, but as things stand right now, Bitcoin is not exactly being innovative.
Considering the title of the panel is “The Future of Altcoins”, I’m not exactly sure how Mr. Charlon thinks it’s appropriate to make such a statement which basically condemns all non-Bitcoin coins to fail miserably. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion though, don’t get me wrong. It just really pissed me off on a personal and professional level.
On the other hand, a valid point was brought up by Michael Terpin, who was moderating this panel (and did a very good job doing so). He stated the following, which I don’t necessarily fully agree with, but I can see where he’s coming from :
“If anything is going to replace Bitcoin, it will be an Appcoin.”
The reason why I don’t necessarily agree is because I can’t see a need to actually replace Bitcoin any time soon. Useful coins, whether they are Bitcoin, altcoins, appcoins or Crypto 2.0, can peacefully co-exist side-by-side. Diversification is still a good way to move forward in my opinion.
As a final quote, I want to share with you some valuable insights shared by Paul Puey , CEO and Co-Founder of AirBitz :
“Bitcoin as a currency is needed in many countries, because they are in oppressed financial systems. Before we can fly, we need to be able to run first. “
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