BTC-ECHO: You have been one of the first cryptography companies to have witnessed the emergence of crypto-economics from the start.How would you describe the stage of development by being up to date?
Mauro Casellini: In this question, I refer to the Gartner Hype cycle, in which blockchain technology is currently in transition from the “peak of exaggerated exaggerations” to the “valley of disappointments”.Personally, I see it in the same way because of the events of recent weeks and months.Many companies and blockchain enthusiasts note that Blockchain is not the right tool for every problem and that many of the ICO’s exaggerated ideas are unenforceable.
Again, other use cases are emerging that are successfully implemented and add value.Here you can, for example, mention TradeLens.A collaboration between Maersk and IBM that could map the containerization process on the blockchain and greatly optimize the process.
It is currently a very exciting time that, in the next phase of the hype cycle (Path of Enlightenment), will present many projects, will change and, most importantly, will optimize the current structure of the financial market.
BTC-ECHO: Your company is called Bitcoin Switzerland.What is the relevance of Bitcoin for you and your customers?
Mauro Casellini: The emergence of this name is due to the fact that in 2013, there were not really any other crypto-currencies than Bitcoin.But even today, Bitcoin remains the largest cryptocurrency and is very important to us because we earn our money as brokers.If you are currently looking at the crypto market, you will see a domination of more than 70% according to CoinMarketCap (20.08.2019), which is no longer the case since March 2017.
This shows very clearly the importance of BTC and the importance of its role in the market.BTC-ECHO: What are the concrete projects of Bitcoin?
Mauro Casellini: A very exciting Bitcoin project, in my opinion, the Lightning network, which currently includes (according to the second-layer payment system, about US $ 8.5 million (according to Defipulse.com).) We are coming to another exciting project in the world of Blockchain: decentralized finance or #DeFi for short, where currently, especially Ethereum with MakerDAO, Ox and Uniswap are well known.
Bitcoin also does a lot here.Another project is certainly Rootstock, which aims to make smart contracts usable for the Bitcoin network while offering full compatibility with Ethereum.Rootstock therefore pursues this goal, considered by many maximalists of Bitcoin as the final solution.
It tries to map the successful use cases of other projects on the Bitcoin Blockchain.BTC-ECHO: Do you see Bitcoin as a value store in the digital gold sense or rather as a motto?
Mauro Casellini: The definition of a memory value is already very special.Something will then work as a store of value if many believe that it will be valid for a long time.Gold is unquestionably considered a store of value, but gold does not have much value on a desert island without food.
So it depends on a number of factors, whether or not it’s a memory of lasting value.
Personally, I see Bitcoin as a “store of value”.The parallels with gold as the best-known store of value are very clear.Among other things, it is the technology behind Bitcoin that guarantees mining inactivity and confidence in the system.
The current volatility of Bitcoin often appears as a negative aspect, which is very inappropriate for a store of value.However, in my opinion, this is mainly due to the fact that the critical mass of users has not yet been reached and is only a problem in the short or medium term.
Again, the value store has some advantages over gold.
In this way, Bitcoins can be transported more easily, moved independently of borders and guidelines and also not confiscated.Gold can be confiscated, other assets even more easily.But with Bitcoin, we are fundamentally excluded from this risk, which could allow Bitcoin to become the largest store of value in the history of mankind.BTC-ECHO: Do you think that the domination of bitcoin will continue to increase?
Mauro Casellini: In the short term, I think this domination will continue to increase.
Many of the projects listed on CoinMarketCap still do not offer what has been promised for a long time.It should also be mentioned that there is often no direct correlation between the value of tokens and the chip economy and therefore “successful” projects may also have a worthless chip.
In addition, the approach of halving in May 2020 is another factor that will make the BTC even more exciting.
In the medium and long term, I also hope that other projects will gain market share.At the latest with the case of using tokenization, other digital assets will appear that will take market share in favor of BTC.BTC-ECHO: How many current 100 utility chip projects will be available in three years?
Mauro Casellini: The fundamental question is whether utilitarian tokens can really represent or represent the value of the project.It should be noted that the value of the token is unfortunately often not directly related to the project itself.In addition, I am very critical with regard to most of the Top 100 projects and hope that there will often be no added value and that, therefore, the reason for it is not the same.to be some chips will disappear over the next few years.
BTC-ECHO: What are the top three risks you currently face in the cryptography market?
Mauro Casellini: Tether (USDT), regulatory constraints, critical mass.Tether I see it as a big risk in the market.It is possible that the USDT is blocked (lock function) or unusable.It would probably be followed by a cascade of activities.
This could result in massive damage, at the scale of the ecosystem, to the entire cryptography market.Tether also raises the question of how, in the long run, the USDT is currently filed only 74% with the USD.
Regulatory restrictions may result in restrictions on cryptocurrency and digital asset trading or regulatory restrictions.
However, this is not expected, as regulators are mostly in favor of regulating the whole process and not blocking it.
I see another risk, often neglected, in the critical mass.As long as there will be no critical mass of subscribers in the system and actively offering or buying services via the blockchain, the technology will not prevail.However, I am confident that with adequate services and increased usability, the number of participants in the system will increase and critical mass can be reached quickly.BTC-ECHO: You have also published a stable coin with a Swiss franc cover.How is the so-called CryptoFranc designed and how do you ensure coverage?
Mauro Casellini: CryptoFranc (XCHF) is a classic stable coin directly related to the underlying asset.In our case, XCHF, the cover is guaranteed 1: 1 with the Swiss franc.
Tokens will only be issued if the equivalent value has been received in CHF.Every month, the external audit firm Grant Thornton prepares a report confirming 100% coverage of the XCHF token with the underlying Swiss franc.This report is publicly available at any time.Thus, owners of XCHF always have the transparency that their XCHF tokens also have the declared value.
BTC-ECHO: Facebook has chosen Switzerland as the jurisdiction for its Libra cryptocurrency project.In your opinion, what were the decisive factors?
Mauro Casellini: The Libra Association is an independent, non-profit organization based in Geneva.For NGOs, political openness, political stability and neutrality are very important factors that apply to everyone in Switzerland.In the area of blockchain technology in particular, Switzerland has a very positive attitude and actively supports this technological development of the Federal Council.
Moreover, with Geneva, in my opinion, the ideal location was chosen.Because the UN as well as CERN research institution are also located in Geneva.BTC-ECHO: What is your personal opinion on the project? Will this have a positive effect on Bitcoin & Co.?
Mauro Casellini: For me, Libra is an exciting use case that raises many technical, regulatory and operational issues.But if we assume that Libra is actually implemented and thus creates a kind of “corporate motto”, then I see for Bitcoin & Co.a very positive effect.First of all, the Libra issue raises awareness about the blockchain and thus simplifies access to new potential customers.Secondly, Bitcoin fulfills many aspects that Libra will not be able to accomplish because of the chosen configuration, such as decentralization and completely devalued by government currencies.
Bitcoin and Balance perform very different tasks and, in my opinion, will not be direct opponents, but will complement each other.
While many gold investors are investing in the classic Fiat system as a store of value, with digital “Balance” money, Bitcoin can assume the same role as the “Value Pool”.Related.
