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What Silicon Valley's Elite Say About the Future of Crypto

Leading tech figures in Silicon Valley outline their visions for the future of cryptocurrency.

The high-tech industry continues to aggressively advance in the blockchain industry, proposing and developing new solutions that improve and make Web3's goods more usable by both general consumers and sophisticated industry participants.

1. Block CEO Jack Dorsey: Bitcoin Bull

Dorsey remarked on a panel with Cathie Wood and Elon Musk at the Crypto Council for Innovation's "The B-Word" conference in 2021, “It’s deeply principled, it’s weird as hell [and] it’s always evolving. It just reminded me of the Internet as a kid.”

You could say that the Twitter, Block, and Bluesky network pioneer supports Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, as per Cryptopotato. The Silicon Valley whiz child founded Block (previously Square Payments) shortly after launching Twitter.

Furthermore, his payments processing company acquired CashApp. It began providing users with simple, hassle-free Bitcoin custody, allowing them to buy BTC with a credit or debit card on their phone.

Just a few days ago, Twitter's Dorsey announced that Block had completed the construction of its unique Bitcoin mining chip.

It is an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) created at the hardware level in nanometers to be optimized solely for Bitcoin mining. “Our mining chip will utilize the most advanced semiconductor process currently available and will deliver the performance required for mining operators of all types to survive and thrive in the fifth mining epoch (the period following the recent fourth halving of the block subsidy) and beyond.”

Furthermore, in Block's Q1 earnings report to investors, Dorsey stated that going forward, the Oakland, California-based Web3 company will invest 10% of its income from all Bitcoin-related operations in monthly purchases.

“Historically and moving forward, our investment in bitcoin transcends technology; it is an investment in a future where economic empowerment is the norm. This commitment drives our business into new territories, unlocking novel opportunities for our customers and securing enduring value for you, our shareholders,” Dorsey stated.

“What really drove my thinking and drives my passion behind it is, if the Internet has a chance to get a native currency, what would that be? To me, it’s bitcoin because of those principles, because of its resilience,” he went on.

2. PayPal Founder Peter Thiel: Cautious Bull

Peter Thiel, the founder of PayPal and the most successful investor in Silicon Valley, is a Web3 guru. His Founders Fund has owned and sold large amounts of Bitcoin for years. In 2014, his Thiel Foundation provided a $100,000 grant to Vitalik Buterin, the inventor and founder of Ethereum.

Bitcoin's price soared to a floor above $60K per coin in February after the SEC approved spot Bitcoin ETF issuers in the United States in January. The last time BTC exceeded $60,000, Thiel issued this cautiously positive advice while speaking at an event in the Bitcoin Mecca of Miami, Florida.

“I don’t know that you should put all your money into bitcoin at $60,000 a bitcoin right now. But surely the fact that it is at $60,000 is an extremely hopeful sign. It’s the canary in the coal mine. It’s the most honest market we have in the country,” he stated.

“I feel like I’ve been underinvested in it,” Thiel added when every Bitcoin investor felt that way. In the debate over whether investors are still early or too late to Bitcoin, he said, “I think the answers are still to go long… maybe it still is enough of a secret.”

Since 2021, Thiel's Founder's Fund has demonstrated exceptional timing for big entries and exits onto and off the Bitcoin network. At the start of 2023, the corporation announced that it had abandoned a big position in Bitcoin that had grown over the previous eight years, shortly before the crypto market collapsed in 2022 after the Bitcoin price fell. Several large cryptocurrency exchanges and other organizations went bankrupt after failing to manage the new currency's rapid market swings over its four-year cycle.

According to Reuters sources, the fund has reinvested over $200 million in Bitcoin and Ethereum over the last year.

3. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg: Bitcoin Maximalist

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's creator and CEO, has his hands full with Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. But that hasn't prevented him from dabbling in blockchain and virtual reality headsets and rebranding his company Meta to better reflect its future in cyberspace.

In reality, in 2019, Zuckerberg planned to introduce Libra Coin, a cryptocurrency that would have added a blockchain-powered payments function to Facebook's apps. However, significant allies withdrew as worldwide regulatory agencies pressured Facebook to halt the project.

Regardless, Facebook's CEO avidly supports cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. He may even be a Bitcoin maximalist (someone who believes Bitcoin will become the world's largest global reserve currency).

His goats are called Bitcoin and Max.

4. Microsoft's Bill Gates: Impressed but Bearish

Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, stated in 2022 that he is not enthusiastic about Bitcoin. "If you have less money than Elon, watch out," he stated. Gates is also recognized for his frugality and prudent, controlled risk-taking in the high-tech industry.

However, he once commented, "Bitcoin is a technological tour de force," so he admires Bitcoin's inventive use of several Internet techniques to create digital scarcity in a world where manufacturing copies of digital objects is nearly free.

5. Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai: Blockchain Supporter

"Anytime there is innovation, I find it exciting," Pichai said in response to a question about the technology during an Alphabet earnings call in 2022. I think it's something we want to support the best we can."

Later that year, the Alphabet CEO remarked, "We are definitely looking into blockchain. It's such an interesting, powerful technology with broad applications."

6. X owner Elon Musk: Doge's Father

Elon Musk has been a long-time proponent of blockchain technology.

In 2021, he stated, "It (cryptocurrency) bypasses currency controls... Paper money is going away." And, without a doubt, cryptocurrency is a vastly superior method of value transmission than paper."

Musk has long been a lover of cryptocurrencies, particularly Dogecoin. He calls himself "The Doge Father" and constantly tweets and speaks highly of Dogecoin. His most recent mention corresponded with a 14% increase in Dogecoin's price and market capitalization.

Photo: Microsoft Bing

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