Thread by @nlw

Should crypto care about JPMorgan coin? pscp.tv/w/bzWKPTE0Nzc1…

For those who prefer writing over watching, here's a recap. /1 👇

2/ Argument for "positive" is about i) legitimacy for 'crypto' + ii) new entrants who come into the market through this and get red pilled into discovering everything about open, permissionless blockchains

3/ Argument for negative is i) it creates massive confusion about what cryptocurrency actually is; ii) people's exposure to crypto is as just a fintech that is as controlled and surveilable; iii) creates fodder for BTC opponents to say we can have BTC w/o the no-control thing

4/ The last point is especially relevant wrt regulators. Negative/pessimistic perspective on this thinks it creates at best confusion among regulators trying to learn and at worst, a big bank coin lobby using it to slander open, permissionless chains

5/ So what about the Meh/Neutral/Who Cares perspective? This perspective comes from either i) a sense that JPM Coin and BTC-type things are so different as to not infringe upon one another or ii) a sense that bank coins are totally inevitable, so oh well.

6/ FWIW, I think that there are (at least) three categories of centralized coins:

1. Bank Coins like this
2. Social Network coins like rumored FaceCoin
3. Central gov't issued-crypto fiat

7/ Of those, cryptofiat is definitely the most nerve-wracking to me, because while all of the above *enable* greater surveillance, gov crypto-fiat nearly mandates it.

But that's not exactly the point of this convo...so back to JMP Coin

8/ Ultimately, I find myself resonating with both the positive of "expanding the tent" as well as the negative "but what are they finding when they walk in?" I *do* think that a lot of folks will discover "crypto" - but worry that it might not be the "crypto" we mean.

9/ The question and task then is: how do WE make it so that the new discovery of crypto enabled by things like JPM Coin *is* actually the red pill into all of the things we want it to be? How do we make sure people who walk in that door really can learn?

10/ It's both an opportunity and a mandate for the crypto community and crypto educators - be they publications, content creators etc. Saddle up!