Crypto And The Uber Moment: Crypto Briefing Connect in San Francisco
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Investors and companies have poured billions into the crypto industry, from developing Blockchain technologies to building digital exchanges. So what do we have to show for it? Is crypto any closer to mass adoption?
A group of experts will offer their thoughts on these questions Thursday night at OKCoin headquarters in San Francisco. (Register here)
The panel includes Cecilia Li, investment director of OK Blockchain Capital, Ronghui Gu, co-founder of CertiK, Bryan Myint, Managing Director, Republic Crypto, and SharesPost’s own Greg Wolfson, director of strategic partnerships.
Jon Rice, Managing Editor of Crypto Briefing, will moderate the discussion.
Bitcoin and Uber both debuted in 2009. But that’s where the similarities end. Uber almost immediately disrupted the established order and quickly expanded. Today, cars driving for Uber and its many competitors are a common sight on streets throughout the United States and throughout the world.
“Why isn’t crypto doing this?” Rice said in an interview. “Perhaps the industry bit off more than it can chew.”
Despite its vast potential, crypto is still trying to gain traction. Part of the problem is the technology is hard to understand. But Rice suspects that crypto does not solve obvious problems for the average person.
For example, Uber tapped into consumers’ frustration with the taxi cab industry, especially when they can’t get a ride in a bad storm. When it comes to crypto, “nobody is really standing out in the rain,” Rice said. “What are the people using crypto revolting against? Overdraft fees?”
In an interview, Myint of Republic Crypto agrees that crypto right now might be a solution in search of a problem.
“There is not really a dire need for these technologies right now,” he said.
However, companies and engineers are creating new applications every day that, at the very least, are improving existing technologies like supply chain management and money transfers.
Myint thinks a better comparison for crypto is the Internet. When the Internet first seeped into public conscious in the 1990s, we would never have predicted that one day, we could use a small computer in our pocket to wirelessly summon a car to our exact location, he said.
“We don’t know what’s possible,” Myint said.
People use the Internet every day but the average person doesn’t understand how it works, he said.
“We’re not at the moment where the general public is ready to adopt crypto,” Myint said. “Once it does, people won’t actually know what they are using. The benefits will not be seen to the user.”
Tickets are free, and all are welcome. Please register here.
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