Why Bitcoin shouldn’t be treated as religion

Bitcoin • October 19, 2022, 5:00AM EDT
UPDATED: October 19, 2022, 1:15AM EDT
The Block

Episode 101 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded at Converge22 with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Castle Island Ventures Founding Partner Nic Carter.

Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to [email protected].

Back in July, controversy broke out amongst Bitcoiners when Nic Carter — a long-time bitcoin proponent and Founding Partner of Castle Island Ventures — announced that his firm invested in a Web3 authentication company.

Even though Castle Island recently launched a $250 million fund explicitly for Web3 investments, Carter’s announcement was met with staunch criticism from some members of the Bitcoin community.

In this episode of The Scoop, Nic Carter and host Frank Chaparro discuss some of the philosophical underpinnings of the crypto space, including the similarities between Bitcoin maximalism and religious dogma.

Although Carter himself is a vocal supporter of Bitcoin, he does not elevate it to anything beyond a monetary innovation — this, Carter says, is what separates him from the more zealous members of the community:

“The one part of the community I distance myself from is the part that confuses bitcoin with religious doctrine. I think religion is religion, money is money, and they're pretty distinct, and they should stay distinct.

The day after the controversy broke out on Twitter, Carter addressed the situation in a Medium article titled, ‘Setting the record straight; or: a eulogy for Bitcoin maximalism.’

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In it, he writes:

"I am not pessimistic on Bitcoin. I’m just interested in the world as it actually is, instead of the world of utopias and pleasant delusions."

During this episode, Carter and Chaparro also discuss:

  • What's wrong with fiat-pegged stablecoins
  • Why the measurement of crypto metrics can be misleading
  • How regulation will impact the industry

This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron

About Tron
TRON is dedicated to accelerating the decentralization of the internet via blockchain technology and decentralized applications (dApps). Founded in September 2017 by H.E. Justin Sun, the TRON network has continued to deliver impressive achievements since MainNet launch in May 2018. July 2018 also marked the ecosystem integration of BitTorrent, a pioneer in decentralized web3 services boasting over 100 million monthly active users. The TRON network completed full decentralization in December 2021 and is now a community-governed DAO. | TRONDAO | Twitter | Discord |


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About Authors

Davis Quinton is the Director of Podcasts at The Block and runs our flagship podcast called The Scoop, hosted by Frank Chaparro. Since joining The Block as an 'intern' in early 2022, he has worked closely with leaders across departments to translate The Block's written content into engaging multimedia formats. He holds a degree in Social Research & Public Policy from New York University in Abu Dhabi and is based in Sydney, Australia.
Frank Chaparro is Host of The Scoop podcast and Director of Special Projects. He also writes a biweekly newsletter. Chaparro started his career at Business Insider, where he specialized in the intersection of digital assets and Wall Street, market structure, and financial technology. Soon after joining Business Insider out of Fordham University, Chaparro was interviewing top finance and tech executives, including billionaire Mark Cuban, “Flash Boys” star Brad Katsuyama, Cboe Global Markets CEO Ed Tilly, and New York Stock Exchange President Tom Farley. In 2018, he become a sought after reporter in the crypto world, interviewing luminaries such as Tyler Winklevoss, the cofounder of Gemini, Jeremy Allaire, the CEO of Circle, and Fundstrat head Tom Lee. For inquiries or tips, email [email protected].