Former Google chief praised Bitcoin as early as 2014

An old video of Eric Schmidt, former top executive of Google, has surfaced in which he calls Bitcoin exceptional. He is talking about the technology here, not the potential of bitcoin as a currency.

Sometimes the ways of the YouTube algorithm are inscrutable.

Bitcoin Technology

The video dates back to 2014 and shows a speech at the Computer History Museum that same year. Schmidt says Bitcoin's technology is important, but at the time he had a hard head that Bitcoin will be used as a currency.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmUBzMZVXGQ


Many new businesses will build on bitcoin


He stated that the technological set-up of Bitcoin will ensure that many new companies will emerge in the future. In that respect, Schmidt is a visionary, back then there was no bitcoin acceptance except among a small group of lucky people.

At the time, he didn't really like the monetary impact Bitcoin can have on the economy, but the fact that such a big name was talking about Bitcoin in 2014 is remarkable.


Bitcoin important for cryptography


One could even argue that his stance could be seen as a major boost to the asset's prospects.

'Bitcoin is a remarkable cryptographic achievement,' Schmidt said. 'The ability to create something that is not duplicable in the digital world has enormous value. The bitcoin architecture, literally the ability to have these ledgers that cannot be replicated, is an amazing advance. A lot of people will build a business on top of that.'


Schmidt opts for Web3


In April this year, Schmidt was interviewed by CNBC and it seems he has stuck to his stance that bitcoin's technology is of particular interest. He does not really talk about cryptocurrencies but is mainly interested in concepts such as web3:

"A new model of the internet where you can manage your identity as an individual and where you don't have a centralised manager is very powerful. It's very seductive and it's very decentralised".

The billionaire and former Alphabet technical advisor, confirmed that his interest in Web3 revolves around tokenomics, a system that influences the specific supply and demand characteristics of digital currencies.


Schmidt and the crypto industry


Schmidt has cryptocurrency himself, saying he has invested a small amount of money in cryptocurrency, without naming specific coins. During the interview, he said he had just started investing. That interview took place in April, it is hoped that he was not convinced by Luna's tokenomics then.

Over the years, he has become increasingly involved in the crypto industry. Since 2021, Schmidt has been a strategic advisor to the crypto company Chainlink. He is also co-author of the book 'The Age of AI', which highlights the future of the technology sector.

Schmidt does not consider all developments in the crypto industry to be equally important. For example, he is critical of existing blockchains and noted that a majority concentrate on making sure they are not attacked, a factor he considers a waste of time.


Difference from bitcoin


From a purely technology-driven point of view, there is something to be said for this. Perhaps he is comparing it to the early days of Google, where one new product was launched after another, and the plug could just as easily be pulled again.

This is indeed at odds with what Bitcoin stands for, for example. If bitcoin is to fulfil its promise as a world reserve currency, stability and security are precisely what are needed.
https://www.indexuniverse.eu/former-google-chief-praised-bitcoin-as-early-as-2014/