The biggest threats to Bitcoin. Bitcoin is not just a technology, it is also a community – which is vulnerable to injections of disinformation and drama. Every activist network eventually gets infiltrated and filled with propaganda by either idiots or people who are paid to do this as a job (Reddit, I’m talking about you). My advice is to focus on the technology, which is real. Community fragmentation slows things down. If the brightest programmers are spending their days dealing with trolls, they’re not writing code, and that’s a danger.

This talk took place on December 6th, 2016, at the Bitcoin Cologne meetup in Köln, Germany: https://www.meetup.com/Bitcoin-Cologne/events/232687726/

RELATED:
The Currency Wars and Bitcoin’s Neutrality – https://youtu.be/Bu5Mtvy97-4
Someone said “Bitcoin is dead.” What do you say?
– https://youtu.be/_osg3W7VI-Q

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

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

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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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21 COMMENTS

  4. If BITCOIN can split, that means BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY is a failure already. In the far future, we can keep FORKING as needed just like the FEDS can keep PRINTING. It doesn't matter if there are 21MILLION BTC in existence. I'm becoming to think that BLOCKCHAIN is a product of the FED!! I mean, ETHEREUM already split once, and seems like the MASS (HERD OF SHEEPS) are OK with it. Now their going to TELL you that FORKING is a FEATURE, but really it's all about CONTROL & MANIPULATION.

  5. It's the same with local community groups in cities. There are more spies for political social groups than there are local members. For every organisation there is at least one spy from each party. You can spot them because they visit every event but never participate unless it's to cheer or jeer.

  7. He makes a good point. It's important for BTC to stay together. There are 5 people with the keys to bitcoin. All changes are made by them. Bitcoin Core is the name of a company and so is Bitcoin Unlimited. What ever happened to BIP101? It would add predictability to blocksize and allow a second layer for lighting.

  8. I always find it amusing when people refer to Bitcoin as a currency, as if the term 'Bitcoin' referred to a valuable item rather than to the network protocol. I do have to admit that 'Satoshi' was pretty clever in selling it that way, though; I imagine that 'untraceable electronic cash that can be used anywhere in the world' sells a lot better than 'secure distributed accounting system' would have, even though it is a much more accurate description (and far more important and useful than any cryptocurrency could ever be).

    Unfortunately, the really important and revolutionary aspect of it – that it is an abstract valuation marker the relative worth of which is negotiated with each transaction – is undermined whenever someone talks of it having an 'exchange value'. That isn't how it works, and it really weakens the Bitcoin protocol's real importance. However, I can only assume that people aren't yet ready to actually grasp the true significance of a trade system (other than direct barter) which doesn't involve any kind of currency at all, so… shrug

    The takeaway? Bitcoin isn't money – Bitcoin is a technology demonstrator that shows that money is obsolete and has been for years. Mind you, it isn't doing anything that banks haven't been doing since the 17th century – back when it was realized by the Dutch stock brokers that it was easier to send IOUs than actual gold – but it does it in a way that requires no pre-establishment of trust between the parties, and that is revolutionary.

  11. Agree, but the heated and disinformative discussion has not come out of simple stupid desires to troll nor out of subversive intents. It has come out of intensifying scaling problems, and attendant fee increases, and potential adoption slowdown. Agree that the devs shouldn't be discussing but focusing and fixing. Get it done. Force SegWit (at least on LTC). Then focus on the next thing…

  14. For me, it's hard finding the latest news on bitcoin because I don't know what to believe. I feel like 75% of the bitcoin content I watch or read is just propaganda supporting someones views. This channel is one of the few I actually trust and get meaningful information from. Thank you, Andreas Antonopoulos for keeping us informed.

  17. Great point that applies across disciplines and communities… If the brightest minds fall into distraction traps, their talents are being wasted. If Bernie Sanders spent all day tilting at trumpmills, he'd have no time to introduce meaningful legislation.

  20. So I am glad that Bitcoin Core is writing code and not fighting trolls 😉

    THANK YOU for your always SUPER content Andreas! You have done so much for Bitcoin and you are greatly appreciated by all in the community! I hope to meet you one day realistically in LA (or San Francisco).

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