Fernando Ulrich participated in a podcast where he shared his recent views on bitcoin.
Fernando Ulrich in a podcast about bitcoin (Credit/Paradigma Cast)
In a clip published on YouTube, Brazilian economist Fernando Ulrich shares his view on bitcoin, indicating that he sees problems with countries adopting the digital currency.
According to Ulrich, when he started studying bitcoin he was one of the skeptics of the technology. But since he understood its solid foundations, he has been following the market with more patience.
For the pioneer of bitcoin in Brazil, author of the first book on the subject in the country, bitcoin will not have explosive adoption. However, its adoption will be slower and more solid, which he compared to the beginning of electricity and the internet in the world.
"Adoption of bitcoin by countries does not hinder its use as currency," says Fernando Ulrich.
Studying bitcoin since 2012, Fernando Ulrich revealed that he only started to understand the currency in 2013. At that time, few Brazilians had knowledge of the subject and got involved with communities.
Even so, after the initial skepticism, Ulrich revealed in a recent podcast that he does not believe in a rapid explosion of bitcoin adoption.
"The more I came to understand bitcoin, to understand what it represents and the implications of a free money that could potentially surpass the Dollar in the future or at least be a real competitor to reserve assets, I realized that this adoption curve is not like a mobile phone, it is not like ChatGPT, it is not a normal end-user technology," explains the economist.
For the Brazilian Austrian economist, bitcoin is a foundational technology, just like the internet and electricity were. "For me, this adoption and growth comes over time, so today I think I am more patient with what bitcoin can fulfill in terms of function and growth," he concludes.
Continuing his explanation, Ulrich recalled that new skeptics of bitcoin claim that the digital currency has lost its function as money, being more of an investment today. Furthermore, he notes that many criticize the association of bitcoin with nation-states, which undermines the initial vision proposed by Satoshi Nakamoto when creating a decentralized currency.
"I don't have that view, for me it is part of the evolution of technology," declared Fernando. He also said that bitcoin is a currency capable of adapting easily and proves to be solid over the past few years.
"Bitcoin needs to improve privacy," the economist believes.
When asked about the censorship of bitcoin addresses associated with governments, companies, and individuals on sanction lists by countries, Fernando Ulrich recalls that the issue of privacy still needs to improve.
"Bitcoin also needs to further improve the privacy issue so that this censorship becomes almost unfeasible, we are not there yet," he said.