I have handpicked my favorite cryptocurrency quotes from the Hackers Congress conference that took place in October 2017 in Prague in the Czech Republic. It was the second year of the Hackers Congress and this time the topic Financial and Economic Freedom was chosen. This two- to three- day conference was one of the best I have ever attended. Hundreds of freedom enthusiasts, tech-entrepreneurs, activists, artists and crypto-anarchists were talking and sharing ideas about the age of digital freedom and decentralization.
My favorite quotes from HCPP2017
People will always follow money.
I really like this one. Looking back in history, there is definitely an obvious trend of people chasing money. Wall Street is an obvious example. Just consider how much power the biggest stock exchanges have? Since 1817 when the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) was opened it has gained enormous power.
There is no call center to call.
You must accept personal responsibility when using cryptocurrency. If you send cryptocurrency A to the address of cryptocurrency B, you will most likely lose your money. There is no-one to help you. You simply need to follow some technical rules such as sending cryptocurrencies to the right addresses.
When you send dollars to the wrong bank account, your bank might help you with that. But there is no central bank in the decentralized financial world. You are your own bank.
Understanding comes with doing; not just talking and thinking.
I am happy to attend blockchain and cryptocurrency conferences and read books about cutting edge technology, but the quote above speaks to me. There is a huge difference between talking and doing. When you have hands-on experience with something you automatically have a much deeper understanding of it.
When I see a speaker in front of me I always ask myself: “Does they have enough experience to actually deeply understand the issue and share their knowledge?”
You can use this while analyzing a new ICO or cryptocurrency. Look for the development team and ask yourself: “Do they have enough experience, have they built any successful businesses before? What does their marketing look like? Is it more about vision talking and sharing their plan of success or about their step by step process of development?”
Can you feel the difference?
Especially with ICOs, you should be aware of increasing numbers of scams. It is very easy to set up a one-page website, write a 30 page long white paper and your ICO can go live. If you are interested in investing into ICOs you must do proper research. You should direct your attention to the team and their past experience.
Bitcoin has not reached its maturity yet – we do not live in a world where everybody uses BTC. And that’s good!
We are still in the early stages and it will take time until widespread adoption is a reality. We shouldn’t push it so hard. I know there are many people who want to make a lot of money from Bitcoin, but trading is not what Bitcoin was built for, was it? So take it easy and keep working on the Bitcoin ecosystem that can allow for long-term growth.
The real revolution in cryptocurrency is not in the digital form of money, but the trust model. No intermediates. P2P networks will rule the world. Sooner or later, sector by sector. And the next sector is the financial system.
When you analyze cryptocurrencies you will have always some technical concerns. But that’s something that comes with tech innovation. There is no innovation without risks.
Photo credit: Eva Samšuková, Paralelní Polis
