This was the question posed to the audience on at least two occasions during the 2nd annual NYC Inside Bitcoin Conference. It came in the form of multiple choice by a show of hands to gage the crowds opinion on the answer. Some of the choices were things like Security, Ease of Use, Government Scrutiny, and one or two more choices, but because the list was not shown in advance, my hand never went up because the word I was waiting to hear was “Misinformation”.
Yes things like Security and Ease of Use are important, and of course Government Regulation (though hopefully lack there of) will play a big part, but public perception and sentiment will always be the primary driver of any new technology. In the early days it was somewhat understandable to associate it with websites like Silk Road, but even now 6 months since its demise the question always comes up: “Isn’t that the currency people only use to buy drugs?”
This ‘Misinformation’ is everywhere, and a more recent example is the death of First Meta Exchange CEO. Stating it that way does not seem to make it sound like head line news but even RT, who are respected globally and have been covering Bitcoin for over 3 years, reported the news as “Bitcoin CEO found dead in Singapore, suicide suspected”. As someone who has been following Bitcoin for almost 2 years seeing headlines like that is incredibly frustrating. Most people do not read beyond the headlines and in my NYC Bitcoin circles the company First Meta was never mentioned and I highly doubt more than 10% of the community even knew it existed. Yes several media outlets reported it correctly but the only reason I found out about the news is that people were asking the question “I heard the CEO of Bitcoin is dead?” As a Bitcoin enthusiast, all you can do is shake your head smile and walk away. The analogy of “The CEO of the US Dollar has died” does not even come close because as you say those words people like the FED Chair, Head of the Treasury or perhaps a CEO of a major Bank like JP Morgan Chase come to mind. A better analogy would be proclaiming, “The CEO of Music has died” the next time there is an incident with a Record Label. The headline we all need to see on the front pages is “Bitcoin is NOT a Company”
A similar situation was also in the news lately with everyone hearing the news about the $400 Million in bitcoins lose to those trading on the Mt. Gox Exchange. This comes up frequently in discussions with those that have not yet embraced the Bitcoin ecosystem but so far not a single person referenced the following headline from last week “US Lawyer: Mt. Gox Settlement Proposal Could Make Former Users Whole”. I don’t really see how this can happen if the bitcoins were lost or stolen, unless private investors will use their own money to pay back the funds. The point remains that not many Main Stream Media outlets will be following up on this and hence the perception remains that nothing good ever happens within the Bitcoin Protocol.