How do you expect the culture to change as Bitcoin becomes more widely adopted?

[AUDIENCE] How do you expect the culture to change as Bitcoin becomes more widely adopted? [ANDREAS] Fantastic question. How do I expect the culture to change... There is a video clip of "Good Morning America" from the late '80s or early '90s, one of these silly TV shows [with] all of these people sitting on a couch and preparing to film a segment... [where they will] explain the internet to other people. They are running into one small problem: they [themselves] have no clue what it is. [Laughter] This is an out-take where you can see them discussing [the internet] and it is absolutely hilarious. There are very famous American TV personalities, who I don't personally know. They are asking, "So the Internet is the '@' thing?" The other person says, "No, no, that is email... I think." "No, I think the Internet is the 'www' thing." "Does that have an '@'?" "It is 'www,' then '.http'." "I don't know. It's something like that." The culture is struggling - I just called an American morning show "culture," dear [god]." [Laughter] The rest of the culture was also struggling. Two things happen. This is a process of convergence One part of the convergence: technology [becomes] a hundred times easier to use. The other part of convergence: the culture gradually adapts. People already of a mature age have to learn some new words, and [become] very confused. That is one of the bad things about aging, change isn't fun. Then there is a whole generation of people who are born into [these changes] and they don't know any different. I love watching my niece interact with windows -- not Windows 10, windows in the house. [Laughter] When she sees glass, she tries to interact with it, because [most] of the glass in her life is responsive... and always has been, so she assumes this is a property of glass [instead of electronic devices]. If the glass looks even slightly black, she taps it. [Laughter] This is a really keen insight into the culture. She is now living in a world where glass always responded. Here is the interesting thing: as of 2009, a whole generation of kids have been born... [into a world where] internet money has always existed. It will be normal. The best part is that one day, it will be boring. That is when we know it is really mainstream.

What is the most effective way to promote, inform, and inspire adoption, here or globally?

[AUDIENCE] Hey, thank you so much for being here! I just want to say, welcome to Colorado. I hope that I can impress upon you how much we want you here as a community. [ANDREAS] Oh, thank you. [AUDIENCE] I'm part of this growing movement here. There are so many that I recognise. Specifically, we're here to show Colorado, but also these technologies and social movements that you're so much about. I guess what I'm asking is, please make us a regular stop on your journeys. We'd love to have you back. We believe in education, evangelism and advocacy for all of these things. Like you pointed out, we don't need it yet, but moving forward we probably will. In your opinion, what is the most effective way to promote, inform, and inspire adoption, here or globally? I think one of the most important things [to not do], is try to sell this technology to people who don't need it. Be humble about it. I know we all have this excitement, right? I have felt it myself. We've discovered this little secret and most people don't know about it yet. We want to tell everyone. This happens to me regularly in my life. Nobody listens... [Laughter] well, a few more people listening this time. In several previous times, it didn't go so well. In that enthusiasm, we risk coming across as pushy, especially when excited about things like the price. People are motivated by greed; anybody who tells you they are not motivated by greed is either an alien, lying, or not aware of their own motivations. But we are all motivated by greed. It is okay to recognise that. When we have made an investment and the value of these currencies rises, it feels good. First of all, you feel personally vindicated. "That shows these people who doubted me, who said it was a pyramid scheme..." "Now I'm making money." Well, guess what? [Some people in] pyramid schemes make money. If you think that is [proof] it is not a pyramid scheme, tons of money, that sounds like a pyramid scheme. Many of us had a moment where we [bought in] because we were excited; maybe we heard about the price. But the price [rise] doesn't last. Eventually you get a downturn. Most people leave, some people stay. The people who stay read something, learn something, and realise there is more to this than just an investment. They realise there is something else going on here; something meaningful, deep, and important. If you can convey that [kind of] enthusiasm, without being the [craziest] person at the party, to the people who really are interested in hearing about it... There are plenty of people who are, who need this. If they don't [need this], that is okay too. At the end of the day, the most important thing is basic education [about this technology]. To me one of the most important parts of basic education is teaching people... how to not get scammed, robbed, or otherwise lose their money. Teach them about scams and how to be critical about [schemes] that are bubbling up in the space. Don't [start] day-trading suddenly because you discovered, 'There is not just one currency!' 'There is over twelve-hundred on CoinCap.io, some of those are going to boom any second.' 'I will invest in these penny stocks- ' That is a bad move. Protect your friends from crazy speculation, from falling for pyramid schemes. There are a lot of pyramid schemes and Ponzi schemes. In the last two years, we had Bitconnect and OneCoin. Those have been wound up, but the next one [may be] just around the corner. There are a lot of unscrupulous actors, [with] a combination of money and promising technology. Educate people how to not lose their coins. Warn them about putting money on exchanges, or other custodial wallets, [where] they do not control their keys. Explain to them why [not controlling their keys] means they do not actually own any coins. Teach them how to do backups; make sure they actually do backups. Teach them how to make a plan for inheritance, because [accidents] happen. Maybe you want to give that gift to your family. Teach them how to use this technology to change their own life. That doesn't mean becoming millionaires. It might mean becoming an expert, teacher, and user of this technology sooner than everybody else. If you focus on these core education [aspects] and avoid the temptation of all the drama, tribalism, fearing of missing out, and greed, then these people will stay through each of the cycles. We can start building more community, and that works [towards broader adoption]. I know, because I've seen it work for the past five years.

How would we know that Bitcoin is succeeding? Are there some things we might see in the future that should make us concerned?

[AUDIENCE] Thank you so much. [AUDIENCE] Cool talk, thank you. I want you to talk a little bit about what you think would be positive [signs] moving forward into the future. How would we know that Bitcoin is succeeding? On the flipside, are there some things we might see in the future that should make us concerned? [ANDREAS] Yes, I did a talk about this in Dublin a few months ago. It is called "Measuring Success." [The topic] is about how you measure success in a technology like this. To me, measuring success is about whether we can deliver the fundamental principles... that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies give us, to as many people as possible, without diluting those principles. If we are able to get a decentralized, open, borderless, neutral, censorship resistant currency -- with payment systems, smart contract systems or whatever else -- to as many people as possible, we win! If what we give to as many people as possible, is a distorted version controlled by a few companies... [If it has] heavy [restrictions] on who can use it (whitelists and blacklists) and when they can use it... [If it has] centralised access points with "criminal protection and safety measures" added on to ensure... it is effectively FacebookCoin, FedCoin, GoogleCoin, or some other perversion of this idea... That is not success. That is re-creating business-as-usual. We already have PayPal and Visa. We don't need more of that. We need something different. Success is maintaining the principles and giving the choice to adopt those principles, if they need them in their life. A system that works for lots of people and preserves those principles. What are the bad signs? The bad signs are when you see interested individuals, companies, and governments... saying, "For your safety, we [must] make a few minor changes. We [must] make sure criminals can't use this." "We [must] make sure that we can control who uses this technology, and make it safer for your own good." What do you say? "Fuck off! Bitcoin is fine." [Laughter] [Applause] They will try to do that, in every country in the world. But we already have "safe money." The only criminals who can use that "safe money," are the ones who have a banking license. We want to go away from that [system].

Where and what is the best way for me to help others to get started in Bitcoin?

Trisha asks, "Where and what is the best way for me to help others to get started in Bitcoin?" "As a newbie myself, many people ask me questions about getting started in Bitcoin." "I generally say, [sign up to] an exchange first and once it is approved, then let's talk." "Not sure if that is where to send them. If [not], where is the best next step to send them to?" "What exchange would you recommend? How much [should they start with]?" "Any other tips to help me help others would be great." Quite honestly, I don't think that buying cryptocurrency should be the first step. I think looking to buy cryptocurrency puts you immediately in the mindset that this is [an investment]. Something you hold as an asset, rather than as a currency that you use and is useful to you. If you buy this cryptocurrency at an exchange, you will hit all the barriers of the traditional banking system. You [must] do wire transfers and identity verification, [which can] take days to confirm. Your accounts can be frozen and blocked. You might have problems with transfers because of banking regulations. Your first experience in cryptocurrency shouldn't be a healthy dose of [traditional banking]. That is not cryptocurrency. Exchanges are really not the best way to start to experience cryptocurrency. I don't think persuading people, who don't need cryptocurrency, to use cryptocurrency, is necessarily a good idea. Again, that is an investment mentality, which it is adoption for the sake of adoption. I think it's more important to understand why someone might need cryptocurrency in their life. For example, if they are sending money to a relative in another country, there you have a great use case. If you meet someone who is sending money to another country and they're currently using Western Union, who is charging them some voracious $35 fee per transaction and a healthy exchange rate spread, maybe they have a use for cryptocurrency. In that case, what you could tell them about is how to use a Bitcoin ATM, or how to use services like LocalBitcoins to exchange fiat currency for cryptocurrency, and then how to set-up a smartphone wallet. I think the best advice to give people and [help them start in] Bitcoin, is [to] set up a smartphone wallet, preferably one that I have experience with, one that I like using and is easy to use. Try to figure out which smartphone wallet works best for you, or will work best for newbies. Not a custodial wallet, but one that gives you control of your own keys. So I would help them set up a smartphone wallet, and give a small donation in bitcoin just to get them started, so they can experience a [cryptocurrency] transaction and see how it works. You could teach them how to find a bitcoin ATM, or another peer-to-peer exchange with [cash]. Encourage them to meet other people who are into cryptocurrency, who might be willing to sell them... a small amount of cryptocurrency for cash. Try to describe situations where you personally have used cryptocurrency and not just invested in it.