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It's important not to think about Bitcoin as a replacement for cash or gold or something that works alongside that; it's to think of it as programmable money. And we just cannot even imagine what that will be used for.
Naval Ravikant
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Bitcoin represents a new form of money that is programmable and has potential uses beyond traditional currency.

In this quote, Naval Ravikant emphasizes the revolutionary nature of Bitcoin, urging listeners to rethink its purpose not as a simple substitute for currency or gold but as a transformative financial technology. This 'programmable money' could lead to innovations and applications that we have yet to fully envision, hinting at its capability to reshape the financial landscape in unprecedented ways.

Themes

BitcoinProgrammable MoneyCurrencyInnovationTechnology

In practice

Example use cases

A speaker at a tech conference discussing the future of finance.

More from Naval Ravikant

I think long-term, Bitcoin is a currency of the Internet. So, even if humans don't use it, routers will use it. Web browsers will use it. Web servers will use it.
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Humans don't 'need' math-based cryptocurrencies when dealing with other humans. We walk slowly, talk slowly, and buy big things. Credit cards, cash, wires, checks - the world seems fine.
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Rules that may be easy for Wall Street are a death sentence for startups. They are easy to break accidentally and the penalty for noncompliance is severe.
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If you go to a venture firm, what you're doing is you're buying money from them in exchange for equity. They have a commodity that they're selling and they have to differentiate themselves.
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Any competent programmer has an API to cash, payments, escrow, wills, notaries, lotteries, dividends, micropayments, subscriptions, crowdfunding, and more.
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