ZenCash co-founder explains why crypto is hard
The entrepreneur revealed that only around one fifth of her friends, colleagues and clients own crypto assets.
The Crypto Virtual Summit kicked off online this week. As part of the daily interview video series, ZenCash co-founder Jane Lippencott sat down with conference host Amateo Ra to discuss all things cryptocurrency.
Lippencott touched on an array of topics, including the right to privacy, networking infrastructures, the long-term viability of the emerging crypto industry and the changing role of venture capital and fintech startups.
When asked to identify current trends and measure the climate of the industry, Lippencott expressed excitement for a new way of thinking and a departure from the notion of bitcoin as the singular point of access.
“I’m super psyched for bitcoin to no longer be the main gateway into altcoins,” Lippencott said.
“A lot of coins, including Zen, are working on USD trading pairs.”
Further to this point, Lippencott asserted that the stigma of complexity associated with bitcoin, and crpytocurrencies in general, has been heightened by the recent explosion in volume, price and costs.
“The barrier to entry to beginning to invest in cryptos is ridiculously high,” she said.
“It can take months to get verified on an exchange and then you can only buy bitcoin and you have to transfer it and people freak out because it takes an hour, and they’re like where’s my money? Why is this not instantaneous? And then it finally gets to an altcoin exchange and they have to learn how to trade and then somehow trade out of it and they have to figure out how to pay taxes. There’s such a lack of transparency.”
The entrepreneur added that only around one fifth of her friends, colleagues and clients own crypto assets.
“I’d like to see the peripheral offerings around the coins improve…. Of all of my friends who are interested in cryptocurrencies, probably only 20% have invested, simply because the activation cost is so high,” she said.
“This is people that understand blockchain, who run VCs or family offices. Either they don’t understand the nuances between coins or they’re worried about regulation. But the main thing I hear is that it’s such a hassle.”
Lippencott advised first time buyers and would-be traders to narrow their focus when first researching crypto.
“I really want to encourage people who are new to crpyto to not be afraid to just deep dive, and that doesn’t mean in a general sense, and feel pressure to know every ICO that’s coming up. Some of the people who experienced the most easy ongoing process did so by picking a coin and really getting to know it and becoming confident with it. I think that’s a great first taste,” she said.
“Mine was bitcoin, for example. I got super obsessed with bitcoin and that led to the rest of it. But I know people who have gotten really obsessed with ICON or ARK or Ethos or Zen. Instead of sticking to trying to be a generalist and knowing a little bit about each coin, try and really dive in because that’s where things get interesting. When you can recognize the nuance you can build self-confidence in the midst of all this chaos.”
Alternative crypto perspectives
The cryptocurrency craze has caught fire in the last few months. Thousands of people sign up daily to buy, hold and trade virtual currencies. Blockchain networks and exchanges that run them are bursting at the digital seams. However, many traders are inexperienced and uninformed, which can lead to errors in judgement.
In order to assist crypto enthusiasts to learn about the burgeoning industry and make better decisions, Crypto Virtual Summit co-founder Amateo Ra recently created and released the Ultimate Crypto Kickstart Guide.
As part of the guide, Ra provides readers a list of the 15 most prevalent missteps crypto market traders make.
New York hip-hop legend 50 Cent may have falsely bragged about owning millions worth of bitcoin but west coast recording artist and entrepreneur Nipsey Hussle has been advocating the rising value and expanding importance of cryptocurrencies for years, emphasizing that it’s not as complicated as some people suggest.
Andrew K. Courey enjoys playing sports, messing with his iPhone and attends middle school. The 11-year-old also self-published his own easy-to-understand cryptocurrency guide using Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing.
You can learn all about different exchanges, understand exactly how to buy and sell cryptocurrencies, calculate your taxes, discover digital wallets to hold assets and explore a list of all the alternative coins on the market.
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