Let’s take stock of the state of technological advancement for a moment. We have self-driving cars, talking refrigerators and artificial intelligence better than doctors at predicting heart attacks. As for money? We have green paper bills with the faces of former presidents. Why hasn’t this changed? Many people feel money should be something physical that they can hold in their hands. But do those cherished bills represent anything more tangible than the cryptocurrency tokens that could replace them?

People’s ideas about a monolithic currency type — and the sanctity of the U.S. dollar, specifically — don’t stand up to scrutiny, according to Bill Tai (pictured), venture capitalist and board director at BitFury Group Ltd. “There have always been multiple currencies all the time. And very rarely have they ever become sort of, like, super dominating currencies,” he said.

If the public understood the history of currency in America and elsewhere, they’d realize that suspicions about cryptocurrency like bitcoin are largely baseless, according to Tai. For instance, in the 1800s, there were more than 200 currency types circulating in the States. The creation of different currencies for certain regions was a lot like today’s initial coin offerings, he pointed out. 

Tai spoke with John Furrier (@furrier) and Dave Vellante (@dvellante), co-hosts of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, at the Polycon18 event in the Bahamas. They discussed the winding history of currency, how value is established and why cryptocurrency is not so different from the dollar.

This week, theCUBE spotlights Bill Tai in our Guest of the Week feature.

A bit like a dollar

Tai has a special cameo in the history of what’s become the household cryptocurrency, if you will, bitcoin. “By 2010, I just thought is was really cool, but no one else had seen it. So I took to Twitter to say, ‘Is anyone out there using this P2P digital currency?'” he said. The tweet rippled through the tech community and elevated bitcoin’s profile.

“Back then, I didn’t know it would be maybe a seminal moment — I was just lonely,” Tai stated.

The thing many people don’t grasp about bitcoin and other crypto tokens is how non-exotic they are, Tai explained. In a sense, they are quite similar to a dollar. “They’re kind of the same thing. It’s something that people believe in as the embodiment of value exchange, whatever it is. So if it’s a green piece of paper, if it’s not, if it’s a shell, if it’s pebble … ,” he said.

An understanding of what value underlay currency is what makes it exchangeable. “Some people refer to bitcoin as digital gold,” Tai said. At one point, the value of the dollar was underpinned by the gold standard. It has since become referenced as petroleum, “because the U.S. forced everybody in the Middle East to accept dollars as payment,” he said. 

But no one’s basic perception of a dollar ever changed. “You perceive a limited supply, and you perceive a storage of value. So that is where I think bitcoin sits,” Tai stated. 

People — at least those in the 18- to 34-year-old demographic — are getting it. Thirty percent of Millennials would rather own $1,000 worth of bitcoin than $1,000 worth of government bonds (43 percent of male Millennials vs. 21 percent of female Millennials), according to a survey from venture capital firm Blockchain Capital LLC.

Crypto gets security checked

Bitcoin may the best known cryptocurrency, but this is changing as other types — such as Ethereum and Ripple — gain ground. Secured cryptocurrency tokens, for instance, are reeling in risk-averse investors.

There is a “tsunami of real-world financial aspects migrating to the blockchain,” Trevor Koverko, chief executive officer of Polymath Inc., recently told theCUBE. Securities tokens — unlike the much more common utilities tokens — are helping to legitimize cryptocurrency, he explained.

“If you look at the exciting sexiness of having these liquid tokens that kind of feel like stocks but also utilities in the sense that you can use them to do certain things with, that’s a big component of it,” Koverko said.

If anything can thwart crypto’s tumbling ahead, it will likely be government regulatory intervention. The Securities and Exchange Commission, for instance, is expressing concern over fraud in cryptocurrency exchanges and ICOs.

Switzerland recently issued level-headed guidelines that support ICOs and cryptocurrency, which may be a light unto the U.S. and other nations. “Our balanced approach to handling ICO projects and [inquiries] allows legitimate innovators to navigate the regulatory landscape and so launch their projects in a way consistent with our laws protecting investors and the integrity of the financial system,” the country’s Financial Market Supervisory Authority said in a statement.

Greater good gold standard

Going forward, the business and social benefits of cryptocurrency will have to be measured against risks, according to Tai. “I think the guiding principal really needs to be looking out for the greater good, because I think that is the issue that everyone’s trying to solve for,” he said. “And it’s not just endemic to bitcoin and blockchain; it’s a societal issue that’s been with us since the creation of civilization.”

Tai puts his money where his mouth is through ACTAI Global, a community devoted to ecosystem preservation and entrepreneurship. The acronym stands for athletes, conservationists, technologists, artists and innovators. 

“We’ve been very productive as a community, and you see a lot of companies that are born in our community, funded in our community,” he said. Those companies include the Canva Inc. graphic design site and Zoom Video Communications Inc. The members have been so successful, because “they stand for something greater than themselves,” Tai concluded. 

Here’s the complete video interview, and there’s much more SiliconANGLE and theCUBE coverage of Polycon18.

Photo: SiliconANGLE