The leader of the most short-form social media platform on the web is throwing his weight behind Bitcoin.
Today, the tech community is still talking about the new Lightning Network “Torch” initiative, where a Bitcoin lightning network payment has been making its way around the globe, changing hands over 150 times and generating millions of “Satoshis.”
“Cool example of #BitcoinTwitter experimenting on the Lightning Network,” Dorsey tweeted yesterday.
In addition, this week, Dorsey has been re-tweeting positive thoughts on Bitcoin, as well as offering his own.
“Bitcoin’s resilient,” Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said in a recent tweet Tuesday. “Bitcoin is principled. Bitcoin is native to Internet ideals, and it’s a great brand.”
Later in the day, Dorsey tweeted about how he appreciates experiments in cryptocurrency, in his words “lessons … that go beyond finance and currency.”
Asked if there is any other cryptocurrency that he would hold, Dorsey simply replied “nope.”
Dorsey has also put his money where his mouth is, supporting Bitcoin with another of his companies, Square.
Interestingly, he is also parsing that big question of what Bitcoin is. More than a few financial advisors have gnashed their teeth over the essential mystery of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies that sometimes resemble the ‘Schrödinger’s cat’ puzzle of quantum mechanics. Are they assets? Are they securities?
“I don’t see bitcoin as an investment,” Dorsey said in the series of tweets aimed at explaining his interest in coins – and Bitcoin in particular. “It’s a currency.”
That’s what’s behind a new movement to use Bitcoin just as money, not as an investment per se. Some of that is driven by recent downturns in the Bitcoin market. Anybody who has been following Bitcoin for a while knows that it spiraled up monumentally from its initial coin price, from around $1000, up to $20,000 per Bitcoin and that ever since, it’s been slowly but steadily deflating. Just today we have news that Bitcoin is trending under its new low water mark of $3400.
However, if you’re using Bitcoin for money, you’re essentially going to be fine, unless there are sharp spikes of decreased value at any given time. Lots of investors who are using Bitcoin in lieu of cash are suggesting that over time, it will gradually rise and allow them to beat inflation. They’re using Bitcoin to purchase goods and services, and if its value increases – that’s just icing on the cake.
