What is the most significant thing you’ve changed your mind on with respect to cryptocurrencies in the last five years? Making predictions with certainty in a new and fast-paced industry; under-estimating the resilience of Bitcoin; the social attack / argument surface.

If you were to make one change to Bitcoin, what would it be? I would like to see more implementations of privacy features, which is already happening. However, no one person gets to make changes to Bitcoin. There is not much else I would change in the original design; I think it would be hubris even for me to say I can do it better. There has been a “next Bitcoin” that fixed supposed fatal flaws ever year since the beginning of Bitcoin, but none have superseded its design choices aimed at security, censorship resistance, and decentralisation. (And no, market capitalisation is not a great measurement for comparison.)

This is a question from the patron-only live Q&A which took place on February 24th 2018. If you want early-access to talks and a chance to participate in the monthly live Q&As with Andreas, become a patron: https://www.patreon.com/aantonop

RELATED:
Money as a System-of-Control – https://youtu.be/FyK4P7ZdOK8
Blockchain vs. Bullshit – https://youtu.be/SMEOKDVXlUo
Investing in Education Instead of Speculation – https://youtu.be/6uXAbJQoZlE
Decentralised exchanges and counterparty risk – https://youtu.be/hi_jaw0dT9M
Fungibility, privacy, anonymity – https://youtu.be/y3s8c7YDtXU
Altcoins and the scaling debate – https://youtu.be/slbpdW-H3yk
Do altcoins threaten to replace bitcoin? – https://youtu.be/w-V_5EWyU5c
The Scaling Rites of Passage – https://youtu.be/rZi86_ovB3Y
Scaling, trust, and trade-offs – https://youtu.be/vCxmHwqyJWU
Scaling complex systems – https://youtu.be/dm9m1oQr6Ks
Governance trade-offs in decentralised systems – https://youtu.be/dtwaW79Fj7c
Governance and the transaction fee market – https://youtu.be/gdknUUVOdHU
Unstoppable code – https://youtu.be/AQx3E3F8Kz4
We all started as critics – https://youtu.be/-jvefuVRwYA
Why running a node is important – https://youtu.be/oX0Yrv-6jVs
Altcoins and specialisation – https://youtu.be/b_Yhr8h6xnA
The new experimental science of consensus algorithms – https://youtu.be/6N5XlU7Iajk
Security in proof-of-work vs. proof-of-stake – https://youtu.be/dstjlfW4-g8
Proof-of-Work (PoW), Proof-of-Stake (PoS), Delegated Proof-of-Stake (DPoS) – https://youtu.be/3W_3AQrQEOM
Directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) and IOTA – https://youtu.be/lfgMnbb5JeM
Consensus with decentralized oracles and real-world variables – https://youtu.be/8bYmK6sZL00
Intrinsic vs. extrinsic assets – https://youtu.be/KDtfFNZy9xg
What is mining? – https://youtu.be/t4p4iMqmxbQ
Energy consumption – https://youtu.be/2T0OUIW89II
Solar energy and mining in space – https://youtu.be/cusakcpa8AM
What is the biggest threat? – https://youtu.be/1-XUbH1F0Os
Immutability and Proof-of-Work: The Planetary Scale Digital Monument – https://youtu.be/rsLrJp6cLf4
Bitcoin: “Failing to Scale” – https://youtu.be/bFOFqNKKns0
Ethereum, ICOs, and Rocket Science – https://youtu.be/OWI5-AVndgk
The Lion and the Shark: Divergent Evolution in Cryptocurrency – https://youtu.be/d0x6CtD8iq4

Andreas M. Antonopoulos is a technologist and serial entrepreneur who has become one of the most well-known and respected figures in bitcoin.

Follow on Twitter: @aantonop https://twitter.com/aantonop
Website: https://antonopoulos.com/

He is the author of two books: “Mastering Bitcoin,” published by O’Reilly Media and considered the best technical guide to bitcoin; “The Internet of Money,” a book about why bitcoin matters.

THE INTERNET OF MONEY, v1: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Internet-Money-collection-Andreas-Antonopoulos/dp/1537000454/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

[NEW] THE INTERNET OF MONEY, v2: https://www.amazon.com/Internet-Money-Andreas-M-Antonopoulos/dp/194791006X/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

MASTERING BITCOIN: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mastering-Bitcoin-Unlocking-Digital-Cryptocurrencies/dp/1449374042

[NEW] MASTERING BITCOIN, 2nd Edition: https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Bitcoin-Programming-Open-Blockchain/dp/1491954388

Subscribe to the channel to learn more about Bitcoin & open blockchains!

Music: “Unbounded” by Orfan (https://www.facebook.com/Orfan/)
Outro Graphics: Phneep (http://www.phneep.com/)
Outro Art: Rock Barcellos (http://www.rockincomics.com.br/)

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38 COMMENTS

  2. There is an inherent contradiction at the heart of the cryptocurrency world: people participate in this world predominantly to speculate on the price of cryptocurrencies. Yet the usefulness of a currency depends on it being a stable store of value with low transaction costs. These two ideas are fundamentally in conflict.

  9. About Bitcoin and Ripple.

    It must be understood that States borrow money from Central Banks and the States collapse without money. The Exchanges can stand up until the States (linked to Central Banks) will want to. My personal opinion…

  14. The problem is the use to which the rarity of Bitcoin will lead us. Remember, the problem with the Gold Standard was that its scarcity did not cover economic growth. And especially, as they were not consumers, to support economic growth, as the main holders of wealth, the "central banks", the money already had to be put into circulation by the "Loan". ( well also to keep the money value legit )

    These are the first two challenges. For a proper economy it is known, wealth holders ( Bitcoin minors for example ) must be able to consume…Banks do not consume, they must lend.

    I kept things very simple here. I did not even talk about the financing of public and social services. We, like the rich, pay taxes for that.

    Bitcoin will not do better than Gold, it will do worse ! A Revolution !? Someone…explain me… how can i be wrong on that ?

  16. I feel that the issue of privacy in transactions should be investigated more and discussed more. It's my understanding that Bitcoin is not completely private whereas other cryptocurrencies claim to be. What does the future look like in terms of privacy? Will we used Bitcoin to buy books from Amazon and Monero in Las Vegas? Should we compromise with governments over privacy, or completely shut that conversation down and demand full privacy? What's at stake for citizens and for governments?

  17. Thank you for all you are doing Andreas! You are the reason I became a believer in Bitcoin. Your deep insight from all of the major disciplines affected by Bitcoin (philosophical, economic, political, and computer science) is astounding and refreshing – you are a true philosopher, and an incredible teacher. The Plato of our times! Thank you!

  18. Another great video Andreas. Thanks. A little housekeeping tip: Reduce the white space above your head and raise your seat a bit so you look into the camera either horizontally or even slightly downward. You'll create a composition that tends to project more effectively.

  36. The only thing I wish BTC had, was a feature to protect against lost BTC. Let's say an address has not been touched for 100 years. If you could somehow tell the protocol, if I die, transfer the total of this address to another address (Red Cross or whatever you choose), or if there is no address, somehow let the amount go back into the pool of not mined BTC. I have no idea if this is technically possible. Also, before i get raped, I do realize that the entire world economy could run on one BTC, so this is not that important – but a lost BTC, is still lost purchasing power. Why not give it to someone in need. You would just add an address to you wallet, and it would automatically add it to all your transactions. Just something I've been wondering about. Maybe it's stupid.

  38. Hi Andreas I want to have your theoretical opinion on hashgraph technology to solve the scaling problem. In practical a technology can't resolve a scale problem untill it resolve it real world but i want to know your opinion the chance of this technology to resolve this problem in theory. Thanks

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