Bitcoin miners and billionaires meet in private for the sake of transparency MAY 28 2021, 11:21 AM EDT / AMATEO RA
The crypto industry continues to be an unstoppable tour de force that doesn’t just disrupt industries such as banking and finance, crypto disrupts people’s perception and thinking.
Many crypto industry leaders, developers, and community members put their heads down over the past 10 years to just keep building, regardless of market conditions. As the industry matured, the Bitcoin network grew, and the total market capitalization surpassed $1 trillion, establishing a certain legitimacy for the digital asset class.
The anonymous creator of Bitcoin (Satoshi) famously said, “If you don’t believe it or don’t get it, I don’t have the time to try to convince you, sorry.”
As crypto’s legitimacy grows, Bitcoin and crypto skeptics are changing their tune. This week it was famous billionaire, Carl Icahn (CEO of Icahn Capital), who declared, “Crypto is here to stay.” Icahn also stated that he wants to “get into crypto in a big way.” When asked what this meant to him and his enterprises, he stated, “a big way for us would be a billion dollars.” (MSN)
Another long-time Bitcoin skeptic, investment titan Ray Dalio, officially announced that he is holding Bitcoin. Ray Dalio cautiously disclosed that he thinks holding Bitcoin is a better inflation hedge than bonds. (Forbes)
And the most notorious Bitcoin-owning billionaire was at it again this week, as Elon Musk officially announced he met with Michael Saylor and eight North American Bitcoin miners to discuss green-energy initiatives on Bitcoin mining. Musk called it “potentially promising.”
As a result of this meeting, a new group, The Bitcoin Mining Council, will be created to help shape the narrative and shift the strategic direction of Bitcoin mining toward greener solutions The Council also plans to publish transparent energy usage data to clarify just how much Bitcoin mining in North America is being powered by renewable and non- renewable energy. (CoinDesk)
While transparency around Bitcoin mining and a sustained effort to make Bitcoin greener is positive, some in the community members were concerned that this was a closed-door meeting. Closed-door meetings are often viewed as antithetical to the core philosophy of Bitcoin. In some instances, many strongly feel that we don’t need more middle-aged, white billionaires in a private room deciding our financial future. Especially regarding the future of the leading decentralized currency in the world.
There is hope that the feedback will result in greater transparency around the Council and its initiatives to lead innovations through transparency and decentralized governance via Bitcoin and blockchain. So far the intentions are good, but we know where that road can lead.
Bitcoin is currently undergoing an upgrade proposal which will make it more private and improve its capabilities. Miners can dictate their vote towards the upgrade. The Taproot upgrade is currently signaling at 81%, and will approve at 90%, which shows that the network itself can help guide its own future. (Source)
It’s this kind of decentralized decision making that makes reaching consensus among people and organizations, which was not previously possible, so powerful. It’s been historically challenging to gather voting power within a network in a trusted manner with an accurate- source of truth. Blockchain does just this, enabling communities to work together, govern themselves, and be rewarded for their contributions.
In closing, Satoshi also said, “It is a global distributed database, with additions to the database by consent of the majority.”
It’s essential that the original intent and ethos of Bitcoin and crypto is kept alive. The revolution will be decentralized.