In January of 2019, pupil Conner Brown attended a visitor idiom by a Professor Susan Athey can the Stanford school Graduate school of Business. She gave a presentation to his “Evolution of Finance” classification titled “Blockchain and the Future of Finance.” According to Brown, the presentation contained “multiple misstatements” approximately Bitcoin and its fundamentals.
After the presentation, Brown was dissatisfied with how Bitcoin was referenced by Athey during the idiom to a room comprised (mostly) of crowd who were unfamiliar with the indispensable concepts after the technology. This prompted him to write an email to the Stanford Graduate school of material Advisory Council, expressing his concerns.
Brown says that the maiden response he has received from the school consequently distant is an email stating, “We will win uphold to you can this.” That’s while he posted his disease can Twitter.
Athey, who Brown told Bitcoin Magazine is also slated to instruct an sum classification can Stanford next language called “Cryptocurrencies,” claimed that no maiden is Bitcoin "controlled by a little group of miners can China," besides during that it also “wastes electricity by stealing from rivers to solve useless math problems.” Athey also mentioned that bitcoin is "secured economically and no cryptographically."
In her presentation degrading the first digital, decentralized currency, Athey drew comparisons to what she considered a improve solution can Ripple’s technology, using XRP. Specifically, she cited exchange tax volatility, faith issues with exchanges, and wish transaction era because drawbacks to using Bitcoin (stating that, subsequently, exchanges needed to buy bitcoin). Athey then, according to her presentation, explained how Ripple’s XRP, xRapid API, and overall consensus machinery equip an preference that is faster, cheaper, more secure, and more crowd friendly than Bitcoin.
In protest, Brown composed a correspondence addressed to the Graduate school of Business, expressing his thoughts that sure statements approximately Bitcoin to cause been likely to “high caliber discussion and glare review.”
In addressing Athey’s claims against Bitcoin, Brown properly explained where Athey missed key concepts.
Addressing her lack can mining centralization by a little group can China, Brown explained that Athey was conflating mining nodes with sum nodes and had used this misrepresentation to stand ripple because a improve preference to Bitcoin. He also countered by explaining that miners usually compile their goods together can a mining pool, besides during there are many funny miners can these pools and nobody entity can completely direct Bitcoin.
To Athey’s lack that Bitcoin is secured economically and no cryptographically, Brown pointed out that she is once again conflating two different things: Stealing funds by cracking the encryption of the wallet and using mining crowd to 51% invasion a network.
As the affair came to gaze can Twitter, it was pointed out that Athey was welcomed to the ripple Labs Board of Directors uphold can April 2014, where she nevertheless maintains an brisk role. while Nic Carter asked can Twitter if Athey had made any disclosure ago her presentation, she replied directly: “Five small oral introduction discussing my background can the universe — no manner to lose it!”
Whether or no Athey had any ill-intent can her presentation, Brown told Bitcoin Magazine that is no what mattered to him.
“It concerns me that my classmates’ first introduction to Bitcoin contained serious real errors across with strong anti-Bitcoin rhetoric. The school is no a stand because marketing, besides during rigorously testing ideas. if a professor has a latent impact of interest, they to exist held to the highest standards of scrutiny and glare review.
“That being said, Bitcoin is a beast of the internet. Its properties are difficult because academics to comprehend owing to its deeply interdisciplinary and evolutionary nature. This makes it difficult because developing a curriculum owing to the siloed create of academic disciplines and the slow velocity of the glare publication process. The internet will usually exist the best stand to follow a Bitcoin education.”
This composition originally appeared can Bitcoin Magazine.
