Reddit Co-Founder Alexis Ohanian was a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on January 24, where he explained the reason that made Bitcoin “empowering” to many and the opportunities it holds for its owners.
A Empowering Asset For People Around The World?
In the interview with late-night host Stephen Colbert, Alexis Ohanian was questioned about blockchain and cryptocurrencies. When asked to explain why he chose crypto instead of fiat money, he replied that Bitcoin and digital assets are “a fuel for a potential new internet” and an opportunity for people to safely have a store of value without the need to be “backed by a single country.”
The entrepreneur explains to the audience that, although it might seem silly to some, there is a “very real need” for these types of assets, as many states deal with uncertainty about their government and money, and “people see their life savings disappear.”
Ohanian has explained before what made him more receptive to decentralized currencies. His Armenian heritage, as he explained to Forbes back in February of 2023, is one of the reasons that this belief in unseizable assets is “hardwired” in him.
His family history, a great-grandfather who saw his parents murdered before him and the family’s inheritance of heirloom rugs seized during the Armenian genocide in 1915, makes him believe that:
Any group of people who have in their consciousness, or in their collective history, some idea of persecution, especially by a state, makes the idea of a store of value that is not controlled by any single state very attractive.
In the late-night interview, he praised Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as “empowering” to people worldwide because they give the sense of security that “what is yours is yours.” It comes with the advantage of being digital and easily transferrable with its owner wherever they are.
Bitcoin Has Value Despite Volatility
Ohanian defended the value of Bitcoin and all cryptocurrencies despite their volatility in the interview, as he considers that “as volatile as things like Bitcoin are,” they are potentially less volatile than some states that face hyperinflation and economic crisis.
Additionally, the Reddit co-founder has previously stated that “crypto winters” and price volatility do not “face him” and haven’t stopped him from investing because he trusts the value of cryptocurrencies.
Regarding his belief in digital assets, Ohanian considers Bitcoin to be the same thing as gold “but for a new generation” because the value in both assets comes from their conviction. He explains that they only differentiate by the centuries of advantage that gold has on building the conviction and that Bitcoin is “totally decentralized.”
At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s price trades at $39,913.8 and records a 6.86% decline in the last week.
