Over the last few months, the price of Bitcoin has gotten a lot of support from public figures. This is normal as the interest of investors is often moved by endorsement. The market sentiment has been mostly positive. However, even if the price of Bitcoin has been relatively stable and a BTC bull run has been predicted, there is still the issue of privacy and security. The Bitcoin blockchain cannot be compromised but this doesn’t mean exchanges can’t be hacked or private keys can’t be stolen. Recent cases of exchange hacks have cost the world millions in BTC. This is what one of the Winklevoss twin talked about recently.
The Winklevoss Twin Talks About His Hope In Bitcoin
Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss are two Bitcoin billionaires and the founders of Gemini Trust. During a conference in Texas, they talked about the issue of cryptocurrency wallet protection and regulations. In the financial market, the price of assets is often influenced by FUD. FUD is an acronym used to describe the fear, uncertainty, and doubt from investors that influence the price of assets. It is this FUD that regulatory bodies consider when determining if an asset should be approved or not.
About ten years ago, Bitcoin was created on a technology known as blockchain. The goal was to free the people from the shackles of centralized financial institutions that have control over their funds. Bitcoin was meant to change the game in the industry. Unfortunately, there was a problem. In 2011, Mt.Gox, a major cryptocurrency exchange that held the private keys of investors, was hacked. These cost investors billions in Bitcoins. Since then, billions more have been lost in many other attacks. The most recent is the loss of more than $190 million in cryptocurrencies following the death of the CEO of QuadrigaCX. Regarding these security issues, Cameron Winklevoss said:
“There are a lot of carcasses on the road of crypto that we’ve seen and learned from. At the end of the day it’s really a trust problem. You need some kind of regulation to promote positive outcomes. With a crypto address and a smartphone, all of a sudden you are in the system. We are really just trying to extend the financial system, so you can send dollars anywhere in the world.”
The Winklevoss twin said that the blockchain and cryptocurrency infrastructure needs to be redesigned to address unforeseen occurrences. One of the things that have been put in place to provide an additional layer of protection is the multi-signature wallet system. With this kind of wallet, several individuals or companies hold different parts of the private keys and the wallet can only be accessed when they all agree to open it at the same time. Until now, this is the best way to protect assets in wallets.
After talking about security issues that need to be addressed, the Winklevoss twin, Tyler said:
“You want to have a couple of layers of checks and balances. We are here for the long haul.”
The bottom line is that even if the Winklevoss twins recognize that the industry has to make more progress on the security front, they still believe in the potential of Bitcoin, long-term.
What do you think about the reaffirmation by the Winklevoss twin? Comment below.
Max writes about blockchain projects and regulation with a special focus on United States and China. He joined Smarterum after years of writing for various media outlets.
