Google algorism surprises me very often these days. Historian, Yuval Noah Harai (2) says that we live in an era when AI knows more than a human, which uses the AI. He also says that humans are “hackable” beings today. It sounds a bit scary, but we have to know how we can live with AI. Yes, we live in a new era, the era of AI, the era of cryptocurrencies. ﾄﾞ━ﾟ(∀)ﾟ━ﾝ
I have been surfing on the internet about Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash. And then, it suddenly recommended me to watch one video which was posted 3 years ago. The video was an interview between Roger Ver, CEO of Bitcoin.com, and Takafumi Horie (Horiemon), is a Japanese entrepreneur who founded Livedoor, a website design operation that grew into a popular internet portal.
I had very little knowledge about Roger Ver and Takafumi Horie (Horiemon) before I watched this video, and it was fun to know that they had known each other since 2018 already. (ﾟv`d)ﾍﾞﾘｸﾞｰ♪
To tell the truth, I did not know that Roger could speak Japanese, so that I thought that it is so cool that he had the interview in Japanese. Awesome! And, I did not know that Roger has lived in Japan since 2005. Well, no wonder that he speaks Japanese pretty well!
It was a good interview, so that I just summarized the interview.
As I wrote above, the video was posted three years ago, and it was a good surprise for me that many people had been involved with the Bitcoin.com community in Japan to promote the community.
The interview answers a question from the audience at the beginning.
The question from the audience
I cannot understand the value and the mechanism of cryptocurrencies. I have heard that Mr. Horie holds bitcoin, and I am wondering when do you use it? Or, do you hold it as savings? Or, do you exchange it into Japanese Yen when you use it?
Answer from Mr. Horie
I mainly invest in ICO (initial coin offering)!
After this first question from the audience, Roger and Horiemon talked about Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash, and also, they talked about how they feel about these two different cryptocurrencies. It was interesting to hear that they have a slightly different point of view, yet they agree with the majority part of it in the interview.
Besides, the video was posted 3 years ago when Coincheck, the biggest crypto exchange in Japan was hacked (Jan. 26th, 2018, the hacking incident happened. (6)) and lost lots of money. It was the time that the Japanese had started feeling that cryptocurrencies were something dubious including me. (I should have watched this video so that I could have joined the community as early as possible! Too bad!)
Question from Mr. Horie
They say that we cannot buy things in bitcoin, and it is not widely used yet. Well, I believe that it may have been like this in the old world, but in the world in the future, it will be widely accepted (I believe). ICO will be more common in the future. I think that it is very interesting that one of the cryptocurrencies which was created after Bitcoin, is like a core coin (Stable coin).
Answer from Roger
Cryptocurrencies are used in numerous ways and the ways of using them vary people to person. They have different reasons to use cryptocurrencies. Some people use them as a purpose of investment, and others use them as a currency (money). For example, if we purchase products by Bitcoin Cash (BCH) through the website called https://purse.io/shop, you can receive 15 – 20% off. So that, almost all the products we use in this office were purchased through the website paid by Bitcoin Cash (BCH). Some people are interested in investing in cryptocurrencies, but if the number of Bitcoin Cash users does not increase, the value of the currency will not increase either. Thus, it is important to increase the number of Bitcoin Cash users. By the way, all the Bitcoin.com staff’s salary is paid in Bitcoin Cash (BCH).
Answer from Mr. Horie
Really? The salary is paid in BCH?
Answer from Roger
Of course! BCH is money, so we want to use it as money.
Question from Mr. Horie
How do you pay for tax?
Answer from Roger
It is the same for fiat currency. We pay tax by the regulations. We do not want to have any troubles concerning tax payment. So, when we pay tax, we exchange BCH into JPY. I am hoping that the Japanese government will accept BCH when we pay tax in the future. For instance, we can pay tax by cryptocurrencies in Switzerland. So, it is up to where we live whether we pay tax in cryptocurrencies or fiat currencies.
Answer from Mr. Horie
It is up to the Japanese National Tax Agency that if they accept any payment service which accepts cryptocurrencies, (then we start paying tax in cryptocurrencies in Japan as well in the future).
Answer from Roger
Exactly! Some payment services accept cryptocurrencies to pay tax in other countries.
Question from Mr. Horie
Although, I have to say that there are still not so many people who use bitcoin to purchase things as a percentage…
Answer from Roger
Well, it depends. Anyway, please start using it so that you will understand how convenient to use it.
Question from Ms. Terada
It is called “Virtual currency” in Japan and I feel that it is not tangible. It may be the reason why I feel that I cannot use “Virtual currency”. (In Japan, cryptocurrencies were used to call “virtual currencies”, and many people still call them “virtual currencies”)
Answer from Roger
It is necessary to have a reason to start using cryptocurrency. Does not sound attractive that you can get approximately 15% off by paying in Bitcoin Cash? I would like you to start using it.
Question from Ms. Terada
Do you think that it is necessary to start using it even though I still do not understand it well?
Answer from Roger
I think that you have to have a reason to start with. (It is useless if there is no reason to use it.)
Answer from Mr. Horie
It is important to understand the difference between Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) first.
Answer from Roger
Bitcoin cannot be used as money so that it is not a cryptocurrency anymore. In my opinion, Bitcoin Cash is the real Bitcoin. The Bitcoin white paper which was written by Satoshi Nakamoto says that Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency which is “A purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another”. And, if we consider that, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is used as money. On the other hand, Bitcoin (BTC) has become a method to invest for speculation, and it has not been used as money anymore. I believe that there is no bright future for Bitcoin. In short, I believe that it has to be used as money. In Tokyo, there are restaurants where we can use Bitcoin Cash as money.
Answer from Mr. Horie
Bitcoin (BTC) has been created using an old system compared with other cryptocurrencies, so that the transaction speed is slow, plus we have to pay very high transaction fees.
Answer from Roger
Transaction fees are cheap for Bitcoin Cash (BCH). And, the transaction speed is fast so that we can use it as money. I think that it is a very important point.
Answer from Mr. Horie
Well, it seems that Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) have become very different now. Some people keep holding bitcoin although the transaction fees became cheaper. I also think that the philosophy of Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is wonderful, however, I think that it does not mean that all people advocate the philosophy.
Answer from Roger
Bitcoin has its name, yet Bitcoin Cash (BCH) has its merit. Bitcoin has become popular because it was the very first digital money that can be used as money on a peer-to-peer basis. And, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) holds the original philosophy which the reason Bitcoin had become popular. On the other hand, Bitcoin has lost its original philosophy. Bitcoin.com, myself, and my team support Bitcoin Cash (BCH). Bitcoin Cash (BCH) keeps the original philosophy that Bitcoin used to hold from 2011 to 2015. By the way, do you have a Bitcoin Cash wallet?
Answer from Ms. Terada
I don’t have it.
Answer from Roger
Please start using it! If you install an app on your cellphone, I will send some Bitcoin Cash (BCH) to your wallet. It is very easy and fast! Please install Bitcoin.com on your cellphone. Also, I want to send 10000JPY (approx. 100USD) of BCH to this paper wallet. And, whoever scans this QR code first can get 10000JPY. The transaction fees were 0.13JPY (approx. 0.0013JPY. Almost zero.)
Answer from Ms. Terada
OK! Let’s learn Bitcoin Cash with me today! I am downloading the app of Bitcion.com and opening it.
Answer from Roger
If you click “Accept” then it completes the transaction. I am sending 10000JPY now. Well, it maybe becomes 100000JPY or more in the future. Okay, I have sent it. Could you check it out?
Answer from Ms. Terada
Wow! 😊
Answer from Roger
It is not necessary to register your name, email address, your tax number. I just sent BCH from my wallet to yours. And, the transaction fees were only 0.1JPY, which is almost zero. The transaction is completed in about 1 second. There is a Japanese site on https://purse.io/shop so that it is easy to use it for the Japanese. Please go to the website and purchase something using BCH. If you become interested in cryptocurrencies, there is a Japanese site https://www.bitcoin.jp/ so please go to the website and check it out!
My feedback on the interview between Roger Ver san and Horiemon san.
What the heck! Roger Ver can speak Japanese? Awesome! That is my feedback. LOL.
It was interesting to see the demonstration showing how easy to use BCH for a person with no crypto knowledge.Bitcoin.com provides a very user-friendly wallet to everyone. And, I saw passion towards BCH from Roger, and it explains why he is called “Bitcoin Jesus” in some parts of the world. But, I see him as “Bitcoin sensei” which fits his character. (・∀・)ｲｲﾈ!!
I did not know that Switzerland had already legalized to pay tax in cryptocurrencies back then, and it got me interested in what is the situation like in 2021. I found one blog talking about laws to support crypto start-up companies. According to the blog, as well as Switzerland, Estonia, Malta, are promoting start-up companies to come and start a business with very crypto-friendly tax reduction laws.
It is very interesting to learn that Zug, Switzerland is one of the most advanced cities in the world in terms of promoting crypto-related businesses. According to the website, it says “Last year, it allowed blockchain start-ups to apply for a FinTech license that would let them handle deposits of up to $100 million. It is looking to advantage the way in promoting the growth of this up-and-coming financial sector by applying a light touch to its rules and regulations for financial technology companies.”(8)
There is “Crypto Valley” in Zug, where many able programmers work on many crypto-related projects. It sounds very exciting! I believe that this Crypto Valley will become like “Silicon Valley” in California. Cardano Foundation and Ethereum Foundation are located in Zug, and many other crypto foundations may move to Zug.
After the famous Mt. Gox hacking incident in Japan, many Japanese misunderstood cryptocurrencies are dubious things. And, it is too bad that most Japanese do not understand the importance of cryptocurrencies as well as the technology of blockchain. I was one of them who thought that it was freaking fishy, and I was wrong.
Japan is a country where produces a founder of Winny, Mr. Isao Kaneko, and a founder of Monacoin, Mr. Watanabe. Well, probably, Mr. Watanabe is not a Japanese citizen, but well well. But I hope that Japan will also pave the way for laws to attract more crypto-related foundations. It is very cool that if Japan becomes a country that supports crypto-related projects.
Mizuo – April 4th, 2021
Other stories in my blog as of April 2021
https://read.cash/@mizuo/one-month-has-passed-since-i-had-started-a-journey-with-readcash-6edee222
References
1) Takafumi Horie (Horiemon) - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSOi1hi0kBI
2) Yuval Noah Harari
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuval_Noah_Harari
3) Roger Ver (Twitter)
4) Takafumi Horie
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takafumi_Horie
5) Purse.io
6) Coincheck, the Japanese crypto exchange
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coincheck
7) Bitcoin Japan
8) Euro Company Formations
https://www.eurocompanyformations.com/blog/top-3-locations-establish-cryptocurrency-business/
9) Cardano Foundation
https://cardanofoundation.org/
10) Ethereum Foundation
https://ethereum.org/en/foundation/
11) Press Release Japan
