Exiled American whistle blower Edward Snowden has weighed in on the conversation surrounding bitcoin, stating that whereas the market lodestar will be eventually dissolve, the utilization of cryptocurrencies won't finish with bitcoin.

Speaking in an interview with Ben Wizner, Director of the ACLU Speech, Privacy and Technology project, Snowden mentioned that the belief that supports bitcoin acting as a worldwide currency can merely transfer itself to different cryptocurrencies instead of dissipating.

Scarcity and Belief

Responding  to an issue from Wizner regarding whether he believes bitcoin has long-run intrinsic value, Snowden compared bitcoin to paper fiat money and pointed out that the only difference between fiat and monopoly money is the belief generated by state backing, which essentially boils down to “men with guns.” In his view, whereas bitcoin and different blockchain-based crypto assets have a severely restricted quantity of fundamental worth, two things, specifically, ensure that bitcoin remains viable in the near term.

The first he said, is scarcity, that is caused by bitcoin’s limited provide of 21 million BTC. This scarcity engenders competition to mine the remaining few million bitcoin, which alone provides it a measure of value. The second and a lot of vital factor in his view is the fact that large segments of the overall population view it as a bona fide means of exchange. According to Snowden, this belief in cryptocurrency frameworks as a technique of transferring real-world monetary value outside of banking networks is transferable and can survive the death of bitcoin.

In his words:

“That belief is how cryptocurrencies move enormous amounts of money across the world electronically, without the involvement of banks, every single day. One day capital-B Bitcoin will be gone, but as long as there are people out there who want to be able to move money without banks, cryptocurrencies are likely to be valued.”

“Great Utility, Poor Implementation”

Snowden, who lives in Russia once claiming asylum there in 2013 also disclosed that despite his prediction of its impending ending, he likes bitcoin due to the opportunities and potentialities it has created around the world. Using himself as an example he said:

“Let’s say Bank of America doesn’t want to process a payment for someone like me. In the old financial system, they’ve got an enormous amount of clout, as do their peers, and can make that happen. If a teenager in Venezuela wants to get paid in a hard currency for a web development gig they did for someone in Paris, something prohibited by local currency controls, cryptocurrencies can make it possible. Bitcoin may not yet really be private money, but it is the first “free” money.”

Going more, however, he criticized the present blockchain hashing paradigm, stating that neither of the two main hashing strategies are great and new ones should be developed. Without mincing words, he described Proof of work as an environmentally damaging activity slanted in favor of the rich, and Proof of Stake as a direct handout to the rich within the hope that their greed can keep the system running.