A few days ago we interviewed Rodolfo Andragnes, executive director of the NGO Bitcoin Argentina, which we share below.
How do you see the current scenario of cryptocurrencies?
Rodolfo : I believe that a market of high innovation that allows not only to generate an alternative currency, but allows to monetize human actions that prior to cryptocurrencies were impossible to monetize by expanding the amount of monetizable global value. This is because the existence of the action can now be certified as the generation and shortage of the generated units.
Do you think the regulations will affect the long-term cryptocurrency market?
Rodolfo : I do not worry about regulation itself, it can empower or discourage according to its content. What I hope is that they reflect on what role the country wants to assume in this growing ecosystem and that it regulates understanding the various cases of use of cryptoactives.
Will the day come when you can pay a coffee fee with Bitcoins, without the network's commissions "killing" us?
Rodolfo : Surely, but those irrelevant transactions will not settle in the main blockhain, even though the means of payment will be Bitcoin. This will be done through sidechains, drivechains and Lightning Networks among others.
What do you think about the Forks of the last year, especially the Bitcoin Cash?
Rodolfo : Everything that can happen, must happen and Bitcoin must prove to be able to survive it. I think the Forks strengthened the Bitcoin because those fears of what "can happen" dissipated, bringing more confidence to the currency. On the other hand for many, it was a way to get more Free Bitcoins.
Like to Latin America before the emergence of new technologies?
Rodolfo : With a great opportunity like several countries, but you must decide if you want to be a leader or follower. It has the capacity for the first but attitude of the second. From theBIconf, the conferences that I coordinate, we try to push the change of mentality.
The buzzword in recent months is ICO. What do you think about this form of financing?
Rodolfo : Not only is it a way to finance oneself, sometimes the utility of it helps to promote virtuous attitudes such as recycling, renewable energy, the contribution of valuable content, etc. I think it is similar to the dotcom era, but several will be very successful and require reflection on new models of financing, business and more just and efficient governance.
Last year, Dorit Satoshi Nakamoto was present at Colombia's BITconf ... Can you tell us if we will have a surprise guest at this year's LaBITconf?
Rodolfo : I can not, but there will be several surprises as is traditional in our events. There are also new features, since this year we have added two events, the CryptoRevolution which is a day with content for entrepreneurs and presentation of projects, and the CEO's Roundtable for business executives in a luxury palace. In addition, the incredible activities of the laBITconf Experience!
The Bitcoin NGO apart from the conferences and trainings, are you working on any interesting project?
Rodolfo : Pouf! One with the IDB of Financial Inclusion and Digital Identity for vulnerable neighborhoods, on Blockchain, and a tour of Argentina and Latam in a VAN called La Bitcoineta, as well as new academic projects and reorganization of the NGO and Bitcoin Space growth.
What advice would you give to those who want to enter the world of cryptocurrencies?
Rodolfo : That they read, that they deepen, that they reflect, and that they challenge their preconceptions. That they do not remain in the superficiality of the price or the speculation. That they recognize the disruption and advantages that technology proposes, embrace it and become active defenders of the transparency, certainty and efficiency it enables.
To end the question "annoying." How much do you think Bitcoin can reach by the end of 2018?
Rodolfo : US $ 21,347.52
Do you reach that Bitcoin value based on an analysis or futurology?
Rodolfo : You could say futurology, or Shamanic Analysis of Narydu (only for a few experts who have visited the Bitcoin Talk Forum in Spanish in the beginning). But in the end it revolts my disinterest in worrying about the price. Hard bitcoiners, we are glad if it rises and we feel sorry if it goes down, but we do not really care about the price, but the disruption it proposes to improve society.