In a freewheeling interview with CNBC, Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Inc. and tech geek, extolled Bitcoin as a better store of value than Gold or USD.
At the sidelines of a conference on the future of payments and currencies, Wozniak, a mathematician by training, explained why he thought Bitcoin was better than the US Dollar and Gold. Quipping that unlike Gold or the US Dollar, Bitcoin has a predictable finite supply and is tamper proof, Wozniak claimed Gold’s value will be diluted once more efficient methods of mining are invented. He also remarked that the US Dollar is ‘kind of phony’ due to the centralised control over creation and use, lending itself to abuse.
Adding that he admired Bitcoin from the very start, Wozniak said he wasn’t interested in the financial part of it but rather believed in the promise Bitcoin held as a currency. The tech geek also shared how he found it hard to buy Bitcoins in the early days after its launch. Comparing Bitcoin to a house, Wozniak said that no matter how much the price went up or the government taxed it, the house would still exist as a real stable asset, undiluted and worth what it’s made of. In the same way, he said, Bitcoin is limited in amount and nobody could ever dilute the supply, making it valuable as a stable asset.
Wozniak also expanded on the broader uses of blockchain technology as he put forth cases for use of the technology across fields ranging from financial services to mining. Citing an example, Wozniak said that tainted Gold from unlawful or criminal sources may be tracked or identified using a unique blockchain identifier unlike now, where Gold, irrespective of the source, is smelted together and loses distinction. The tech geek also touched on Ethereum, another blockchain based cryptocurrency, and claimed that it opened a whole new world, with people writing thousands of applications for the platform. He signed off with a quote that there is a lot to cryptocurrencies than meets the eye.
After breaching the $20,000 barrier a few days back, Bitcoin, the world’s most popular cryptocurrency with the largest market cap, has generated much buzz and interest in the financial world. As many as two exchanges have set up futures trade on the cryptocurrency, bringing much cheer to the Bitcoin community and investors. Bitcoin’s full potential remains to be seen as the cryptocurrency gains popularity and users by the day.
