PayPal co-founder Max Levchin credits in blockchain technology, but isn’t quite so sure about bitcoin.
“It’s a brilliant arithmetical idea, fantastic technology, interesting commodity to speculate on,” he told CNBC on the red carpet of the Breakthrough Bestows on Sunday. “TBD on whether it’s a currency or just a way to make money fast. I venture in things that I have a strong, long-term point of view on and bitcoin I’m calm trying to figure out.”
Investors are certainly making money right now. The Winklevoss pairs, Cameron and Tyler, just became the first bitcoin billionaires. Since the fellow-creatures first invested in bitcoin, the cryptocurrency’s value has increased over 9,000 percent.
While bitcoin is a sui generis cryptocurrency, blockchain is the technology that underlies it. There is an increasingly ample number of other blockchain-based currencies, including ethereum and litecoin. Approximately, benefits of blockchain are that it allows for fast, secure and anonymous monetary transfers.
“I think a form of a blockchain technology, bitcoin or otherwise desire be essential and will not go away,” Levchin said. “Not only that, it require continue advancing and being used in many different industries from monetary technology to medicine. But it’s not clear to me whether Bitcoin itself is the great long-term investment.”