Critiquing Bitcoin with Angela Walch

Mr Obnoxious - Un pódcast de Peter McCormack

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Interview location: San Antonio
Interview date: Thursday 21st March, 2019
University: St. Mary’s
Role: Professor of Law

Bitcoin is defined as decentralised, a critical feature which stops any individual or group control or destroy it, but a closer look at decentralisation opens many questions of how decentralised it is. Do pockets of power exist in Bitcoin? Are lead maintainers a centralised pocket of power? Is this dangerous?

As people push to build products that integrate Bitcoin with the legacy financial system, Angela Walch has raised key concerns as to the implications for this, believing that The SEC is not paying attention to the aspects of Bitcoin where it could be argued as centralised.

In this interview we discuss her paper, Deconstructing Decentralisation, pockets of power within Bitcoin, the risks of integrating Bitcoin with the legacy financial system and conflicts of interest.

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Transcription:

00:03:22: Introductions
00:04:11: The three notable critics of Bitcoin
00:07:44: The confusion around impartiality in cryptocurrencies
00:10:07: Angela’s background and her current work at St Mary’s
00:11:55: Clarifying Angela’s perspective on Bitcoin and crypto
00:18:52: Exploring the concept of dencentralization in crypto
00:22:50: How decentralization complicates legislation
00:26:29: The grey area surrounding crypto standards from the SEC
00:31:20: Debating the veil of decentralization
00:33:52: How creating code is an exercise of power
00:35:04: Exploring whether developers are fiduciaries
00:42:28: Whether practises behind open source software is suitable for money?
00:46:00: Assessing the implications of governance in Ethereum
00:49:33: The need to slow down to ensure that the right path is taken for crypto
00:52:52: Drawing parallels between crypto assets and subprime mortgages
00:57:06: Should Bitcoin sit outside of the legacy financial systems?
00:59:40: Final comments and how to stay in touch

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Helpful Links:

Connect with Angela:
- On Twitter @angela_walch
- On Medium
- On LinkedIn
- At St. Mary’s University
- Her Website

Angela’s papers:
- Deconstructing 'Decentralization': Exploring the Core Claim of Crypto Systems
- In Code(rs) We Trust: Software Developers as Fiduciaries in Public Blockchains

Mentioned in the interview:
- Senate testimony hearing
- Coin Center
- The Digital Chamber of Commerce
- Tony Sheng: Let's ditch "decentralized"
- SXSW with Jimmy Song

Other relevant WBD podcasts:
- WBD054: VanEck's Gabor Gurbacs on Bringing a Bitcoin ETF to Market
- WBD050: The SEC's Hester Peirce on Regulating Cryptocurrencies
- WBD049: Coin Center's Peter Van Valkenburg on Preserving the Freedom to Innovate with Public Blockchains
- WBD039: The B Foundation and Nouriel Roubini's Testimony to Congress with Giacomo Zucco
- WBD035: The SEC, ETFs, XRP and Crypto Regulations with Jake Chervinsky

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