Jack Dorsey said he would leave Square and Twitter to work on bitcoin if it needed more help, in a new interview. Here are his 9 best quotes.
- Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey said he would leave the companies to focus on bitcoin if needed.
- Higher profits will drive crypto miners to use cheaper renewable energy, he said at the Bitcoin 2021 conference.
- Governments are trying to block cryptocurrency use to avoid losing hold of power, Dorsey said.
Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey said he would leave the helm of the two publicly-traded US companies to work on bitcoin if needed, speaking in an interview at the Bitcoin 2021 conference earlier this month.
He argued that bitcoin miners have a profit incentive to use green energy in their operations, which have come under fire for the huge amounts of electricity they can consume. He also said central-bank concerns and roadblocks to cryptocurrencies are just excuses to prevent losing power, speaking in an interview with the Human Rights Foundation's Alex Gladstein.
Here are Dorsey's 9 best quotes from the interview, lightly edited and condensed for clarity:
1. "If I were not at Square or Twitter, I'd be working on bitcoin. If it (bitcoin) needed more help than Square and Twitter, I'd leave them for bitcoin. But I believe both companies have a role to play, and I think anything that we can do as companies to help find the right intersection between a corporate narrative and a community open narrative is for the best." - on making bitcoin more accessible.
2. "Bitcoin changes absolutely everything, and what I'm drawn to the most about it is the ethos - what it represents, how conditions that created it are so rare and so special and so precious. And I don't think there's anything more important in my lifetime to work on, and I don't think there's anything more enabling for people around the world." - on bitcoin as a tool for protecting human rights, rather than just an investment.
3. "We don't need the banks anymore." - on billions of people around the world not having a bank account.
4. "That's why we don't deal with any other currencies or coins - because we're so focused on making bitcoin the native currency for the internet." - on financial payments provider Square's ambitions for bitcoin.
5. "What central banks are trying to do are just bumps in the road, and they're bulls---. We have a much better alternative in bitcoin. We have designs for that sort of privacy and that freedom within it. And the more we can - especially our governments - can realize that, and get in the boat sooner, the better off we all are." - on central banks developing their own digital currencies as a move away from paper money.
6. "It feels like there's probably something a little bit deeper when you're hearing any of these excuses. And it's just trying to understand what that really is, and I think it's really (about) losing power, effectively." - on government bodies and critics characterizing bitcoin as connected with criminal activity.
7. "It can't, and it never will." - on the chance of Wall Street controlling bitcoin.
8. "Ultimately, miners have to make a profit. And getting cheap renewable energy maximizes their potential for profit. It's really that simple, and I thought I had some agreement with some notable figures out there. Then that seemed to change over a matter of few weeks, and now it's in a weird kind of place. But I believe fully that bitcoin over time and today does incentivize more renewable energy." - on how bitcoin mining incentivizes use of renewable energy.
9. "Just that realization that we finally have a currency that can be traded to any single point on the planet is pretty incredible, and what that enables going forward is mind-blowing. And I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that happens." - on the potential for bitcoin's widespread use.