Jimmy Song is among the names in the bitcoin landscape that require no introduction. He has been involved with the btc ecosystem for about a decade, from being a developer and supporter of the network to publishing several books on the subject, trying to educate the masses on the advantages of bitcoin, whether in terms of developers or retail investors.
CryptoPotato I had the opportunity to speak with Song during the bitcoin 2023 Conference in Amsterdam, where we talked about various topics related to btc, such as Ordinals, ETFs, the future of blockchain, and others such as inflation and money printing.
‘Don’t Care Camp’ on bitcoin ETFs
Whether or not the United States will eventually have a bitcoin spot ETF has been on the minds of many, with some, like Edward Snowden, refusing to accept a possible approval for a positive development, while others believe such a product will help legitimize the cryptocurrency. especially for institutional investors.
Speaking on the matter, Jimmy Song said that he is in the “I don’t care” camp.
“A lot of people want it to mean something and just because it’s been kind of a promise for a long time. However, we have had futures ETFs in the United States for a long time. We have had spot ETFs around the world for a long time.”
He acknowledged the fact that some institutional investors will be able to have an easier entry into the btc ecosystem, but will also have the option of shorting ETFs, which “is going to be very dangerous” since redemptions from the spot product will have to be delivered in bitcoin. real.
While weighing in on another hot topic from earlier this year, bitcoin Ordinals, Song categorized them as a “regular pump and dump.” He believes these schemes generally take place in altcoins, such as the DeFi summer and the nft craze, both of which primarily developed on ethereum.
This time, it was in bitcoin, which was the unexpected part. However, the author of five btc books believes the hype around Ordinals has “already come and gone,” adding that “I don’t think it matters at all.”
Are we still in the era of the Wild West?
In his first interview with us five years ago, Song said that he uses his famous cowboy hat to show that the bitcoin industry is in the era of the Wild West, as it lacked regulations and real adoption. When asked five years later if he had seen any progress on the matter, Song, still wearing the cowboy hat, said:
“I would say we’re still in it, but maybe a little later, in the Wild West era, when there were bounties and things like that. But I think in the last five years we’ve seen so many scams, and nothing sums that up better than Sam Bankman-Fried, who is now on trial. So some of the rampage is being curbed, especially by the authorities with the processing of SBF, but also with more regulation in general.”
When it comes to bitcoin specifically, Song said, “I’ve seen a lot of regulators recognize that it’s very different from everything else.”
On the other hand, Song said five years ago that he believed many more people would seek out “freedom” assets like bitcoin in the next 15 years, which would strengthen the btc adoption curve. With governments using the COVID-19 pandemic to implement greater control over the world’s population and the imminent launch of CBDC, we asked Song if he still has the same projection for the future of bitcoin.
He admitted that most people “gave in” too easily when the pandemic broke out, and especially when vaccines were introduced. The controversial results and reports since then have people wondering if they would take the same steps as a few years ago, when everything was so new to us.
As such, Song believes that most people will look for alternatives and better education before making such important decisions. In terms of CBDCs, she said many will comply once they are fully launched, but a large portion of the population has become much more skeptical. This was exemplified by the Canadian truckers, the farmers protests in some European countries and other similar events.
He added that the entire process of searching for alternatives and a freer mentality is long:
“So maybe it’s not 10 or 20 years, but in 50 years, I think we’ll see a much more free-minded population.”
Fiat ruins everything
In trying to combat the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments around the world essentially shut down almost everything, from small and large businesses to people in their homes. In some countries this was done for weeks, while in others months and even years.
To alleviate some of the financial pressure, authorities, especially in the Western world, decided to print tons of fiat money and distribute it among their population. It is difficult to determine whether that was successful or not, but the impact on the global economy is seen with inflation soaring around the world. Of course, some governments are trying to blame it on the war between Ukraine and Russia or something else.
In his fifth and latest book focusing on the benefits of bitcoin, Song weighed in on the matter, which is evident from its title: Fiat Ruins Everything.
He stated that it is aimed at a different audience than his previous books (this one is “directly” for Bitcoiners), “the people who already own bitcoin, and to help them understand how serious fiat corruption has become and, in some ways, “So, rally the troops a little bit. This is the anthem, a way to understand what kind of corrupt system they are escaping through bitcoin.”
Featured image courtesy of YouTube
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