Coinbase CEO Zach Abrams Says It’s Not Wise To Compare Bitcoin’s Rise to the Internet’s Adoption

Zach Abrams of Coinbase Thinks It's Not Wise To Compare Rise Of Cryptos To That Of The Internet

Cryptocurrencies have been compared to a lot of economic events. It has been likened to the wild west of gold rush, to the Tulip mania and the dot-com bubble. It’s basically how one feels about cryptos reflects the economic phenomenon they equate it to.

The CEO of Coinbase, Zach Abrams, thinks that it is not prudent to compare cryptos to the early days of the Internet. It would be better to look at it as products that have changed our way of living, like Google, Amazon or Uber. Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain are different from internet not only because of the circumstances but also how people are responding to it.

Most people are connecting these two seemingly two very different affairs is because the rise of the internet was a recent event and has been embedded in most of our memories. Events such as the rising of cars or air travel have been done earlier and most of us can’t imagine the impact this technology had on changing the world.

He adds:

“Almost every new technology has experienced a prolonged period of serendipitous invention, a meaningful period of uncertainty and market discovery, and an unprecedented burst of growth. With each of these cycles, the platform was doubted until it was obvious; frivolous until it was irreplaceable; and niche until it was ubiquitous.”

He goes in great lengths comparing the technology to the emergence of the telephone. The first 3 decades after its invention the technology was controlled by governments and a few corporations. However, as time passed, cost of devices and services dramatically reduced, clearing the way for mass adoption. It wasn’t until half a century passed that people actually realized the importance.

Abrams went on to show similar patterns in the world of personal computing and the internet. He stated:

“Like Bell Labs, Intel, Apple, Microsoft, Netscape, Google, and others — we are the early pioneers in a new industry; the ones who see the opportunity; and the group that’s working every day to help a new platform realize its potential.”

The CEO is optimistic about the future of the sector, however, he thinks that it might take longer than we think to be appreciated. It is mostly because of the tainted reputation because of the high concentration of scams and hacks surrounding the crypto ecosystem.