The NYC Inside Bitcoin Conference was two days of panel discussions, and it was definitely a worthwhile educational experience. Not because there was something new to learn about Bitcoin or listening to someone with a famous name in the community talk about its valuation, its future and the inevitable regulation, but because if you listened closely you can separate those who use the protocol from those who only research the protocol.
There is a distinction between Bitcoin (the protocol) and bitcoins (the object that is transferred P2P on this protocol), but even this level of detail is not important to intelligently talk about this revolutionary technology. What is needed however, is some first hand experience with its functionality, otherwise the presentation sounds like someone from a village with no electricity talking about the Internet because they researched it with books and spoken to few people that have used it. I was lucky enough to get a question in for each of the panels that exhibited this behavior in order to fully expose this aspect during the short Q&A with the audience after the presentations.
The first such panel to take the stage were 3 members of GovLab Fellow from Deloitte Consulting who looked like recent college grads and hence provided the impression that young technically savvy voices is just what is needed to educate government officials. They discussed all the research they did in Bitcoin and other new forms of P2P payment systems for the government, but they did not talk about any specifics. The question that they had to answer was whether they have ever used bitcoins in commerce and the answers were somewhat surprising. In a not very believable way they all said they have up to a few dollars worth of coins but they have never transferred them outside their digital wallets. The biggest irony here is that the presentation was titled “How History Will View Bitcoin” which is a question only those not contributing to the Bitcoin community will attempt to answer, while the rest are too busy making it better or appreciating its usefulness.
Later that day 3 partners from Thompson Hine LLP took the stage discussing law and how it will affect Bitcoin. After their presentation there was no need to make it clear that none of them have ever used bitcoins because they did not seem to have an understanding of the semi-anonymity nature of the protocol. During the presentation one of speakers referenced the Target Data Breach and said that even if they accepted Bitcoin as a payment method they would still have to follow the same consumer protection laws and security to prevent hackers from entering the system. This required emphasis so even when it was explained in the question that had Target strictly accepted Bitcoin as payment “there would be no identities to steal”, the lawyers stuck to their guns that it does not matter from a legal perspective.
However, the biggest disappointment in this area was John Collins, Congressional Staffer for Senator Tom Carper (D-Delaware) who spent most of his speech explaining how the government is trying to learn all they can about Bitcoin in order to make the most informed decisions about its future regulation. CoinDesk covered parts of this speech in their article, but a very important aspect was once again overlooked. How can you attempt to regulate new technology without ever having used it? During the Q&A with the audience I inquired whether Mr. Collins has ever used bitcoins. The answer surprisingly, well maybe not too surprisingly was NO, and one of the reasons given was that it would be a “conflict of interest”. There was no time for a follow up but needless to say the pro Bitcoin crowd in the audience felt a similar shock as I did. This preposterous misunderstanding makes it seem like he was being asked to try Cocaine before intelligently speaking about its side effects or accepting a dinner invitation from someone about to be arrested for financial fraud (assuming someone one day would).
We want our government officials to be fully informed, but it appears neither they nor the people advising them are willing to take the time to learn the topic they claim to be curious about. Sometimes the only way to understand something is to just use it and unlike drugs, cigarettes or alcohol the only side affect is a realization that the current Financial System is one for the history books. Perhaps at the next NYC Inside Bitcoin Conference there will be a speech titled “How History Will View Fiat Economics”.