On behalf of Cryptor Trust Inc. I have the honor of arranging and presenting this insightful interview with Mr. Rob Chamberlain, an Economic Anthropologist and a well known expert in Crypto Currencies and Blockchain Tehnology.
Rob Chamberlain
The interview is conducted by Mr. Christoffer De Geer as a Q (Question) and A (Answer) session. This is the first time the interview is published.
Q: Please tell me a little about yourself.
A: I am 39 years old, and as you may have already ascertained am an Anthropologist.
Though I have studied and practiced in many fields of Anthropology, over the years, I have always found myself interested with Monetary Tokens (more commonly known as “Money”) of all types and forms, Monetary Systems, Systems of Trade and Exchange, Economics, and Commerce, and the like, which lead me to the Sub-Field that I am presently engaged in: Economic Anthropology.
I have had the pleasure of living in, and experiencing, many places and cultures around the World (including: the Netherlands, Malta, France, Mexico, and the United States of America; among others), but reside now in Canada [for the time being]. I was raised in Europe (the Netherlands, to be specific), and moved to Canada with my family in my late teens.
I enjoy travel, and continue to travel regularly. I have been self employed since I was 16 (at which time I had started a Computer Consulting Business, though that quickly became Finance and Business Consulting instead (seems I always had a knack for Finance Business)), and if everything continues as it is I should be retired at the age of 45.
Q: How did you get into crypto currency?
A: I have always been fascinated with the idea and concept of “Money” “Trade, Commerce, Exchange” “Property” and “Possession” (Possession, it is said, being the most ambiguous word in the English language), and I suppose that BitCoin is a natural extension of that curiousity. It is after all a means of transaction, payment, and exchange, and is in some form a type of ‘property’. In 2012 I first noticed that BitCoin existed, and I instantly started watching the chatter about BitCoin on various Forums (such as BitCoinTalk and the like). I bought my first BitCoin in 2012, and I have had BitCoin in my Wallet ever since. I find it a very interesting new technological development not only for the Monetary aspects, but as well for what cryptocurrency and blockchain technology have to offer in terms of future developments, evolutions, and further innovations and refinements of the technology.
Q: What are you currently involved with regarding crypto currency?
At present I have been mostly involved with discussing questions from parties looking to understand what BitCoin, Cryptocurrencies, and the Blockchain Technology, means and represents in terms of Present and Future Impact on Business Processes, such as Billing, International Payments and Transactions, Currency and Exchange Liberalization, Political Implications, Commerce and Trade Implications, and the like.
Though BitCoin has been around since 2008, it was not until we were into 2013 before BitCoin started having any significant ‘talk’ being generated around it. People, being naturally curious creatures, have been interested in the possibilities, potential, and opportunities associated with BitCoin, Crytos, and the Blockchain Technology, but are also concerned about the potential risk exposures involved, such as theft, criminal activity, loss of investment, liquidity, storage and transportation of value, and a myriad of other aspects and facets.
I have had enquiries from private individuals, business people, mid sized corporations, financial firms, banks, international organizations (NGO’s, Charities, Foundations, etc.), government officials and departments; all with one very basic questions:
“What are the implications of BitCoin over the next 10 years”.
My answer has been just as simple at times. Simply put, the implications of BitCoin are Profound, for all of Human Kind, everywhere; in and for everything.
We have reached a Pivotal Epoch, in my opinion, a true turning point, a transition from the Industrial Age which has dominated since the mid 19th Century, to beginning to truly embrace the Technological Age, for what and all it has to offer.
As from the abacus, to the calculator, to putting a man on the Moon, to the Internet, to Artificial Intelligence, BitCoin, Cryptocurrency and BlockChain Technology offers the same monumental point of change and advance; it is one more step towards advancing the whole and entirety of our collective civilization – for and to the benefit of all.
Finance is one of the Three Last Great Barriers to Liberty and Freedom (the other two being: 1) The perpetuated myth that Government is the only way in which Modern Society and Civilization can function (an absurd and ludicrous notion – especially when comparing a ‘system of administration’ to a ‘system of “governance”’ [there being of course a vast difference between the words ‘administration’ and ‘governance’], and 2) Unbiased Justice through a Fair, Transparent, and Wholly Trustworthy System of Justice, untainted by Influence, Power,
Profit, Greed, Corruption, and or Intimidation). Finance and “Monetary Systems” have been a means more so, more often than not, of social and socio-political control, suppression, and oppression (and notably so through such debt based monetary systems using financial instruments like Fiat Currencies).
BitCoin has the potential to change all of that. To break the shackles of that very suppression and oppression which today affects so many Hundreds of Millions, if not Billions of People around the Globe. BitCoin has the potential to shift the balance of power from Institutional Power and Influence to Individual
Power and Influence. To give back and restore a sense of Financial Dignity to the individual; something which for far too long has been denied to the masses. That is the potential, on just one level, that BitCoin and Blockchains might afford Humanity.
BitCoin was the first small step in what I believe will be a truly transformational journey, for each and every one of us. In 10 Years Cryptocurrency and Blockchains have every chance to have the same, or greater, impact on our lives, society, and civiliation, as the creation of Email had to the Postal Service, and the Fax Machine as compared to the Internet; in 25 Years Monetary Systems, Systems of Trade and Exchange, Systems of Transaction of Goods, Ledger and Recordation Systems, Everything You Know – Will – Be – Different – and, Unrecognizable relative to what we know today at the end of the year 2014.
Q: What crypto currencies, except bitcoin, are you interested in and why?
This is a both a great question, and a very difficult one to answer.
At this point in time let me say that I am of the opinion that they are “all the same”; relatively speaking. We are still at and on “Version 1” of the Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Technology. And, though there are many varieties and ‘brands’ of cryptocoins out there, and though some of them are niche marketed and promoted as a certain or particular type of ‘coin’ (ie: Country Coins like Aurora Coin for Iceland, and Canada Coin for Canada) to CureCoins and Energy Coins, etc.), there is very little that makes them truly unique and different from one another; aside the ’cause’ they represent. They are all copies, clones, mirrors, of the same initial idea – BitCoin and the BitCoin Blockchain.
Now, with the advent of Ethereum, and such other similar projects, there is real opportunity for us to enter upon a “Version 2” Scenario for Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Technology. Decentralized Autonomous Corporations, Smart Contracts, Smart Property, Open and Transparent Ledgers and Records, Smart Decentralized Stock Markets, and a wide and broad array of evolutions and innovations will be not only possible – but inevitable.
The technologies allow for a revolution in creative thought and in addressing many systems which today, by many standards, are archaic and outdated, or incapable of meeting the tasks assigned to their management, oversight, and or preview.
Law is one of the ares where I think there may be a Huge and Fantastic opportunity for revolution with the Blockchain Technology through Creative Innovation – Imagine – Justice, without Human Corruption or Human Error. That would be a spectacular feat. Imagine Government and Administrations Systems which are open, public, transparent, and which could provide for an environment of less corruption, and the lessening, if not complete abolishing, of Human Influence, Interference, and or Corruption.
Imagine, a Voting System – Where a “Real Count” resulting in a “Real Result” occurred! Tremendous is the potential. The Future, today, looks – Spectacular.
Q: What aspects of this new technology are you most interested in? (for example: Smart Contracts, Remittance, Anonymity etc)
Flexibility, Scalebility, Specificity, Transparency, Efficiency, and Efficacy, all come to mind, not to mention Public Accessibility (which today may be a bit lacking and lack-luster, but in time it will grow, and I believe it will garner a strong and robust crypto community, as well as a diverse following of supporters and enthusiasts).
I am also interested in seeing what the Creative Human Minds out there will do with the Technology; and to see how we Humans will adapt to what they create.
I am most interested, however, in the Smart Property, DAC (Decentralized Autonomous Corporations), and Smart Contracts, aspects at the moment; as they offer a rather vast range of opportunity and potential for development across a wide range and cross section of Commercial, Financial, Business, Consumer, Trade, and ForEx(Foreign Exchange) interests.
The Disintermediation aspect of Cryptocurrencies, Blockchains, Smart Property, and Smart Contracts, is also fascinating.
For Example: To eventually be able, perhaps, to Notarize a Contract, Bill and Remit Payment, Settle and Resolve Disputes, Verifiy and Identify individual parties, all without the of a Traditional Intermediary such as a Lawyer, Notary Public, Court, Judge, Billing Company, Mediation Service, and the like, etc., –
The entire infrastructure of how we as a people, as nations, as individuals interact, conduct and transact in matters of commerce, trade, and exchange, just to name a few areas, has forever changed – effective as of 2008 with BitCoin’s release to the World. These technologies have not even begun to shine. But I could go on for a very long time about the Technology and it’s Implications, so let it simply suffice that: I am excited to see what the world will look like in 2025. Very excited.
Q: What do you believe the price of Bitcoin will be in the short and long run?
This question has been thrown around often. And the truth is: It is impossible to foresee or to yet conceive. It may be $1.00 or it may be $1’000’000.00; but it remains to be seen – Time Will Tell, or so it is said.
I am of the opinion that, relatively speaking, we are still in the “Cheer-leading” Phase. It’s a still very new and very emerging technology. And, a little cliquey and trendy. But, in 2 years or so we will start getting a pretty clear picture as to the rate of adoption of the technologies, and we will see what sectors, industries, and fields, are using and utilizing and innovating with the technology. We will also have a much more accurate set of charts, data points, information, and the like, from which to gauge and predict things like overall sentiment, volatility, stability, and the like; all of which we are missing right now. There is insufficient Historical Data to determine a trajectory which could be in any way considered either accurate or usable.
But the value, as far as I am personally concerned, is not so much in the Price of BitCoin, the token, it’s in the underlying Blockchain, and how it can be layered and manipulated. Blockchain is what we will have to watch.
Realistically speaking, at the moment, BitCoin is mostly a speculative undertaking. There’s a lot of Hype and Hot Air about the prices going in no other direction except upward. This is a naive and amateur view of BitCoin, Finance, and Investment and shows a lack of Economic and Financial Reasoning. Will it go up, possibly. Will it go down, perhaps. I do not however have a crystal ball, so that is all I can say on the matter of “Present and Future Value or Price” at the moment; I’ll have a better idea in March of next year, when the Christmas Season has passed.