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Top Tech Players Weigh In On 'The B Word' During Crypto Conference  

Not everyone knows exactly how “The B Word” works, but a cohort of top technology and finance moguls hoped to change that during a highly anticipated conference hosted by the Crypto Council for Innovation.

Among some of the conference’s participants were Cathie Wood, the CEO of Ark Invest, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Motors and Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter. The trio spoke at length about their hopes, expectations and prognostications regarding “The B Word,” which in this case is Bitcoin, of course, and together helped “demystify” some of the common misperceptions regarding the cryptocurrency.

“The ₿ Word is a Bitcoin focused initiative that aims to explain how institutions can embrace Bitcoin and how we all can support the network,” according to promotional materials for the conference.

Elon Musk 2Perhaps the highlight of the kick-off panel came as Musk, who has notably embraced joke-crypto Dogecoin and publicly lamented the environmental impact of Bitcoin, confirmed he personally owns Bitcoin, Dogecoin and Ethereum

Musk said, in general, he supports Bitcoin from an ideological standpoint, but reiterated he does have some reservations about the coin and its viability as a default global currency. In favor of the digital currency, he said it has value because it is so difficult to manipulate and because there is a great potential for demand. “Bitcoin, per se, is mostly solving for scarcity, or rather solving for… having no throat to choke, [it’s] decentralized.”

On the other hand, he added, it is not yet in position to take its place as the world’s de facto currency. “Transaction volume is low, transaction cost is high. And usability for the average person is not yet very good,” said Musk. “But it has a lot of potential.”

From Twitter:

InvestAnswers @invest_answers

"Takeaways from #TheBWord “I pump but I don’t Dump” “I own TSLA, SpaceX and #Bitcoin, but the #Bitcoin I own is worth significantly more than my #Ethereum or #Doge.” “Bitcoin is becoming more renewable... most likely Tesla will resume accepting Bitcoin.” - Elon Musk @elonmusk"

Wood said she is hopeful that key players can get over some of the confusing or misleading information surrounding Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, and she argued that there is great value in its continued adoption. She said Bitcoin is a useful “hedge against confiscation of wealth” and can help combat “hyperinflation in emerging markets.”

During the panel she pointed out that Bitcoin shares a lot of similarities with other forms of currencies, although with some notable differences. Wood explained that there are three primary roles of money: a store of value, a means of exchange and unit of account, which means that goods are priced and measured in terms of said units. Bitcoin, like other forms of currency, checks all those boxes, although she points out, it does so to varying degrees.

From Twitter

Bloqport @Bloqport

"Cathie Wood says “I really do believe that #bitcoin will be much more environmentally friendly certainly than gold mining or the traditional financial services sector. In many ways, it already is,” – The B Word Conference"

Dorsey also spoke highly of the potential for Bitcoin, especially with respect to its ability to improve the global economy and reduce costs to send money across borders. He used an example of someone trying to send money from Ghana to their family in Nigeria, in which traditional exchange fees would cut off 10% to 30% of the total.

“Bitcoin solves so many of those problems today, instantly, without having to go through any intermediaries or any slowness or complicated systems that a corporation or a state created,” Dorsey said.

Among some of the other topics covered at the conference were:

  • Bitcoin as a Tool for Economic Empowerment
  • Supporting the Developer Ecosystem
  • Securing the Bitcoin Network
  • Regulating Bitcoin
  • Preserving the Bitcoin Ethos
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