Author: Mai Gang, founder of Startup Factory;Compiled by: Xu An/iHeima
The following is the full text of the speech:
The most essential thing in economics is money.
Before the financial crisis, I read a book about a famous physicist. He said that we, the people of science and engineering, for example, study the length, width, weight, and time of physics, which are all constants. You people who are engaged in economics, the units you study are all variables.
For example: "How much is a McDonald's worth?"
You have to ask whether it is US dollars, RMB, or Japanese yen?
You have to ask whether it is the US dollar in 1958 or the US dollar in 1985?
After reading it, I suddenly realized that economics studies some changing things. I majored in economics in undergraduate studies, and I should look back at the most essential thing in this discipline that has been changing all the time - currency.
After that, some books, such as "Currency Wars", attracted the attention of the whole nation to currency. I have a relatively comprehensive understanding of currency, so when Bitcoin appeared, I only had one word: "Wow!"
Bitcoin has captured the essence of currency
What is Bitcoin? Two sentences to explain it.
First, Bitcoin is the property of a perfect currency simulated by mathematicians, geeks, and network scientists using distributed algorithms;
Second, this property is maintained by the computing power of distributed and extremely powerful computers.
Bitcoin is this thing. All discussions, doubts, questions, and innovations about Bitcoin all return to this framework. Therefore, Bitcoin is not a conspiracy, but an open conspiracy. It is clear what Bitcoin does. All data of Bitcoin can be found online by anyone at any time.
Bitcoin has captured the essence of currency. What it does is to simulate the perfect currency.
Why can Bitcoin simulate the perfect currency?
(I) The currency characteristics of Bitcoin surpass precious metals
The history of currency is 5,000 years, and the history of the state is 3,000 years. Currency is a concept that far predates the emergence of the state. Therefore, China's currency has gone through a variety of choices, from feathers, shells, stones, livestock, and even women as the currency of some countries at the time, until the emergence of precious metal currency.
Precious metals cannot be counterfeited or the cost of counterfeiting is extremely high. The transaction cost is low. Storage is relatively convenient. They can be divided and have a relatively soft texture. These are the properties of precious metals. Therefore, precious metals are circulated as currency. Gold trading still has costs. There are risks in delivery and payment when exchanging from one place to another. This is something that many people do not realize.
The total amount of Bitcoin is limited and distributed. As long as there is a computer, anyone can do it and anyone can participate. It is very equal. Bitcoin is a commodity simulated by mathematical methods. It has all these properties and characteristics of precious metals, and surpasses the precious metals of the past in all properties and characteristics.
Moreover, the Bitcoin network can continue to upgrade, so there will be no problem of gold withdrawing from the historical stage and gold is no longer enough. For digital currency, there is no problem of insufficient supply.
(II) Bitcoin is unlikely to be forged in terms of probability
First, computing power is enormous and is controlled by all kinds of people in the world. It is difficult for one person to control so much manpower and computing power at the same time.
Second, even if someone has the opportunity to control this computing power, from an economic and logical perspective, this person should control the network instead of attacking it, because his property is Bitcoin, and he will not destroy his own property. Therefore, this is a probability problem and a logical problem.
Third, Bitcoin transaction costs are low, which is a particularly important feature. The total number of Bitcoins will be permanently limited to 21 million. Bitcoins can now be divided into 8-digit calculation units (0.00000001 BTC is the smallest unit at present). This is the current calculation system of Bitcoin.
(III) Bitcoin network is an advanced clearing and payment system
Bitcoin network is a clearing and payment system that is fully automated and unmanaged. Bitcoin is the circulation unit generated by this network. This network is a natural clearing and payment system, and this clearing and payment system does not need to be managed. The use value of Bitcoin is reflected in the fact that it is a clearing network.
The Western Union International Remittance Company in the United States has a history of more than 150 years and has an annual profit of billions of US dollars. It is widely used in some relatively underdeveloped countries. It helps customers to remit money, and the arrival time is one to two weeks, and the fee is 5 to 8 points. What a lucrative and wonderful business.
However, Bitcoin payments are basically received in a few minutes or ten minutes, and the handling fee is very, very low. Therefore, companies such as VISA represent the technical architecture and foundation used by our existing financial circulation system and commercial banking system in the past, and Bitcoin has surpassed the past system with a new technical architecture and foundation.
So, this is the advanced feature of Bitcoin in the circulation network and in the exchange function of commercial banks.
Decentralization is the guarantee of Bitcoin's security and freedom
There are three forms of currency in human society. One is the monetary system represented by precious metal gold, and the other is the credit currency supported by government credit. In the era of credit currency, the problems we generally see are inflation, excessive money supply, and currency wars.
The currency system we live in today is a system represented by the US dollar, dominated by the US dollar, and flooded with the US dollar. People all over the world, especially the poor Chinese, are working for the United States.
Why do jeans in the United States cost 10 or 20 yuan, but they cost 100 yuan in China? All this is because the US dollar is a universal currency in the world, and the US dollar has used its hegemony to achieve this day.
However, the emergence of Bitcoin has brought mankind into the third currency era. The third era I am talking about does not mean that it will replace the first two. It is just like the emergence of the Internet, which does not replace fax machines and telephones. They coexist. This is decentralization, a virtual currency based on mathematical concepts. Decentralization is the guarantee of Bitcoin's security and freedom.
Bitcoin is supported by credit and will exist for a certain period of time
Currency needs credit to support it. The credit of a country, the state power, the state machinery, the army, and the law can support credit currency. May I ask, what is Bitcoin supported by?
It's very simple. There are many credits in the world. Someone swears that I love you forever; someone promises that I will mortgage all my property; I promise that I used to be a good student... These are all credits. What is the credit of Bitcoin? It is mathematics and probability. If you believe in mathematics and probability, it will exist.
I think Bitcoin will exist for a certain period of time in the field of circulating currency. In some economic activities, especially those related to the Internet, internationalization, and virtuality, there will be a circulation form such as Bitcoin, because this kind of thing is not restricted.
Bitcoin is a tool for multi-party game
Let me ask a question first. After Bitcoin came out, which country was most afraid of it? -- The United States.
This explains why the European Union was the first region to jump out to support Bitcoin, because when the boss was beaten, the second one was happy. Therefore, this is a very subtle and very interesting game. The California Congress of the United States has declared Bitcoin a legal currency, of course, it still needs to go through the House of Representatives vote. Bitcoin is a great innovation in the financial field, of course it will bring a series of new regulatory behaviors, and we must study it. This is the attitude of the US government. The Chinese government actually has a similar attitude, but new things often bring some new challenges.
I want to talk about the Chinese government and people who must understand the variability and foresight of the US monetary strategy and the complexity of the global multi-national game. Bitcoin is not a carnival for liberals and anarchists, but a tool for multi-party games.
Everyone should pay attention to and learn about Bitcoin
I am not an anarchist, nor do I advocate that we use Bitcoin today instead of RMB. But I can tell you that in the next 10 years or 30 years, the United States will rebuild a global monetary system, and in this global monetary system, the United States is likely to link the US dollar to a new series of assets, including virtual currencies represented by Bitcoin.
Before doing this, the United States only needs to do one thing, which is to gain the right to speak in the field of Bitcoin. This right to speak may be computing power, reserve volume, or pricing power. Why does the United States have an advantage in doing this? Because the United States has Wall Street, which is the elite of the global elite.
I have a hypothetical story about Bitcoin. If Bitcoin becomes a global asset 30 years later, there may be a child and his father having the following conversation.
Child: "Why do Americans and Europeans have Bitcoin, but not Chinese?"
Dad: "Baby, I'm sorry, Dad was rich when he was young, but at that time money could buy love in China, but not Bitcoin."
Child: "Dad, where can I buy Bitcoin?"
Dad: "If we make socks and shoes for another 30 years, we can exchange Bitcoin with Americans."
I hope everyone, including government agencies, should realize the greatness and complexity of the Bitcoin game, which is truly related to our future generations. In the last century, Americans used the power of the US dollar to obtain the right to mint the US dollar and let the whole world work for him. If Americans can gain the right to speak on Bitcoin in a few more decades, they will continue to make the whole world work for them.
I hope that Chinese entrepreneurs, Chinese companies, and ordinary Chinese people will gain the right to speak in the field of Bitcoin, and I also hope that everyone will pay attention to and learn about Bitcoin.
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