Glenn Hutchins: Blockchain technology cannot be separated from Bitcoin

Rage Commentary : Blockchain without Bitcoin is like a railway without train cars, with little value. Glenn Hutchins, co-founder of Silver Lake and member of the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, gave a speech at the 2016 Consensus Conference, explaining in detail why public blockchains such as Bitcoin are still very important in the context of today's era of big bank ledgers.

Translation: Nicole

Glenn Hutchins, co-founder of Silver Lake and member of the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, spoke at the 2016 Consensus conference and explained in detail why public blockchains such as Bitcoin are still very important in the context of today's big bank ledgers.

Hutchins, director of telecommunications giant AT&T and US stock market Nasdaq, analyzed the past and future of Bitcoin from a unique perspective in his personal keynote speech, which was packed with 1,500 audience members.

In his speech, Hutchins compared Bitcoin to the internet, private permissioned blockchains and local area networks, and how such private systems played a major role in online transactions in the 1990s, while also noting that their impact was limited.

Glenn Hutchins

Hutchins told the audience:

“A blockchain that is separated from digital currency is more like a local area network. Local area networks are very important, but they only have transfer value when all local area networks are connected to the Internet.”

Hutchins used the example of Bitcoin being like a “train car” and distributed ledgers being like a “railway” to describe how Bitcoin can advance the economy.

The investor went on to say that he has personally purchased Bitcoin and is investing in an upcoming secondary round at the same time as investing in Bitcoin companies. Hutchins announced last week that he has become a member of the board of directors of industry venture capital firm Digital Currency Group.

The speech stood out among Chain’s impressive announcements today, revealing a new blockchain platform built with the help of key financial partners and the state of Delaware, and detailing efforts to allow companies to authenticate using blockchain technology.