Location: Austin Date: Friday, 23rd Nov Project: Jimmy Song Consulting Role: Bitcoin Educator, Developer and Entrepreneur

Bitcoiners regularly criticise altcoins; so much so that the term “shitcoin” has become synonymous with anything which isn’t Bitcoin. From the centralised nature of these projects to premines, often Bitcoiner will identify altcoins as a poor investment with some going as far as calling everything that isn’t Bitcoin a scam.

Why are these projects still able to raise $millions in funding and why are investors so divided in their opinions? Are Bitcoiners right that Bitcoin is the only use for a blockchain or are they just toxic and close-minded? Are multicoiners right that this is a new wave in decentralised technology or holding a bias due to their bag holding?

How are inexperienced investors meant to navigate this minefield?

There are nearly 5000 cryptocurrencies with many claiming to have the superior-tech to Bitcoin; whether that’s faster block times or cheaper transactions, Turing complete smart-contracts or environmentally friendly consensus mechanisms. But at what cost? The key trade-off with blockchain technology is decentralisation, where Bitcoin outperforms every other cryptocurrency in the market on almost every measure.

So if decentralisation is key and Bitcoin is king, why do altcoins continue to attract investors despite apparent risks? Is it all down to marketing and the centralised foundations, creators and businesses and are they all doomed to fail?

In this interview, I talk to Jimmy Song; Bitcoin educator, developer and author. Following his recent article “On Altcoin Valuation”, we discuss why altcoins are a poor investment, the misuse of blockchain and why shitcoins rely on marketing to grow.