On Wednesday, November 19, The King's College Programming Club hosted a digital currency round table debate in conjunction with NYC-based CoinApex. The debate, moderated by PaymentsSource reporter Bailey Reutzel, illuminated some of the major concerns, roadblocks, and advantages of Bitcoin for an audience of students, faculty, and New Yorkers with an interest in digital currency.
Participants were Alex Waters, CEO of CoinApex; Ryan Strauss, chair of the Payments Practice Group at Riddell Williams P.S. in Seattle and commercial lawyer; and Robert Adler, who is building one of the first Bitcoin hedge funds.
The discussion started with a question submitted in advance: "Is Bitcoin going to the moon?" The prompt, as quaint as it was poignant, allowed the panel to begin their discussion by considering the possibilities for Bitcoin as it continues to develop. It's only reasonable for us to wonder how great digital currency is going to be—and if it is going to the moon, we might want to get in on it.
The idea of wanting a piece of Bitcoin and its success transitioned the conversation into one of regulation. The debate stayed on regulation for a while, and there was some resistance from Adler regarding the utility of a regulation discussion: he argued that the panel would better serve the audience by discussing the possibilities that Bitcoin allows, so that the students specifically could see digital currency as a means to experience and create cool things. While there is certainly something to be said for the possibilities of Bitcoin, Waters and Strauss countered Adler's comments by arguing that a conversation about the possibilities of Bitcoin is useless without also discussing the regulation in place. What someone has to do with Bitcoin inevitably informs what someone can do with Bitcoin.
The discussion, I think, was most well-suited for audience members that had at least a small working knowledge of Bitcoin technology. Occasionally, the speakers would ask the audience if they needed an explanation of certain point—like the Blockchain, for example—and audience members would shout, "yes!" and the speakers would explain. Those moments were informative for listeners who entered the debate as novices to Bitcoin, but the majority of the content was interesting to people who came because they already knew about digital currency.
Participants were Alex Waters, CEO of CoinApex; Ryan Strauss, chair of the Payments Practice Group at Riddell Williams P.S. in Seattle and commercial lawyer; and Robert Adler, who is building one of the first Bitcoin hedge funds.
The discussion started with a question submitted in advance: "Is Bitcoin going to the moon?" The prompt, as quaint as it was poignant, allowed the panel to begin their discussion by considering the possibilities for Bitcoin as it continues to develop. It's only reasonable for us to wonder how great digital currency is going to be—and if it is going to the moon, we might want to get in on it.
The idea of wanting a piece of Bitcoin and its success transitioned the conversation into one of regulation. The debate stayed on regulation for a while, and there was some resistance from Adler regarding the utility of a regulation discussion: he argued that the panel would better serve the audience by discussing the possibilities that Bitcoin allows, so that the students specifically could see digital currency as a means to experience and create cool things. While there is certainly something to be said for the possibilities of Bitcoin, Waters and Strauss countered Adler's comments by arguing that a conversation about the possibilities of Bitcoin is useless without also discussing the regulation in place. What someone has to do with Bitcoin inevitably informs what someone can do with Bitcoin.
The discussion, I think, was most well-suited for audience members that had at least a small working knowledge of Bitcoin technology. Occasionally, the speakers would ask the audience if they needed an explanation of certain point—like the Blockchain, for example—and audience members would shout, "yes!" and the speakers would explain. Those moments were informative for listeners who entered the debate as novices to Bitcoin, but the majority of the content was interesting to people who came because they already knew about digital currency.
Because the debate ended only because it had to—we ran out of time, but not out of conversation—I think there's good reason to assume another event like this would be well-received. I'm sure that everyone who left the debate took an opinion about Bitcoin's future. Maybe it is going to the moon.
—Lauren Schuhmacher
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