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Fred Ehrsam on mining

From Coinbase Co-founder Fred Ehrsam · · Bloomberg Technology

“There was actually a government crackdown in China on mining oftentimes because energy was being siphoned from the Chinese grid in ways that may or may not have been kosher. So I think there's actually a huge moment of opportunity today for miners in the United States or globally to step in and on the crypto side to make it more decentralized.”

Fred Ehrsam
Cofounder, Paradigm
Controversial Policy Impact mininggeopoliticsdecentralizationChina

On , Fred Ehrsam, Cofounder at Paradigm, spoke about mining during Coinbase Co-founder Fred Ehrsam on Bloomberg Technology.

Coinbase Co-founder Fred Ehrsam
Watch on YouTube at 17:35
Coinbase Co-founder Fred Ehrsam
Bloomberg Technology
Watch on YouTube at 17:35
The dynamic cryptocurrency space would likely not be possible if not for the belief and work of Fred Ehrsam. He left his position as a Goldman Sachs trader in 2012 to combine his passions of computer science with gaming - and help set up Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S. with Brian Armstrong. In 2017, he left the day-to-day operations at Coinbase to launch his own investment firm called Paradigm, also focused on blockchain. In this latest Bloomberg Studio 1.0, Ehrsam sits down with Emily Chang to discuss his early motivations, cryptocurrency volatility, and why he thinks crypto will be the most world-changing technology of the coming decades - creating a new form of money, financial system, and internet. -------- Like this video? Subscribe to Bloomberg Technology on YouTube:    / @bloombergtechnology   Watch the latest full episodes of "Bloomberg Technology" with Emily Chang here:    • Bloomberg Technology With Emily Chang (Ful...   Get the latest in tech from Silicon Valley and around the world here: https://www.bloomberg.com/technology Connect with us on... Twitter:   / technology   Facebook:   / bloombergtechnology   Instagram:   / bloombergbusiness  
Fred Ehrsam

About Fred Ehrsam

Cofounder · Paradigm

Fred Ehrsam, co-founder of Coinbase and managing partner at Paradigm, has described his view of crypto as developing in three stages: a new digital money, a new financial system, and a new broad internet application platform. He stated that the industry is roughly "an order of magnitude into a new digital money, maybe one tenth of one percent into a new financial system, and effectively at zero on a new internet application platform." Ehrsam has characterized the current internet as "feudalism," where large platforms operate as closed systems, and has said that "crypto is the metaverse" in the sense that it provides a shared data layer for digital ownership. He has also commented on the potential for the U.S. to "get crypto wrong" regarding regulation and noted an opportunity for miners in the United States to help make crypto more decentralized following a government crackdown on mining in China. In public addresses, Ehrsam has encouraged graduates to "follow your curiosity," citing his own experience spending 4,000 hours playing World of Warcraft, which he said taught him about digital worlds and currencies. He has stated that "the world is highly malleable" and that "people will try to tell you that there are rules to how the world works; there are no rules." Ehrsam has also discussed the potential for NFTs to evolve beyond static art, suggesting that creators could build highly aligned communities where consumers are also part owners of a product. He has described the current era as an "internet renaissance" where crypto is beginning to affect social media.

Profile compiled from Fred Ehrsam's verified public interviews and appearances. See all quotes & transcripts →

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