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Deep Dive with Vinny Lingham

CEO @CivicKey ($CVC), building global blockchain ID platform. General Partner @multicoincap

Civic posted 5 years ago

with or if you'd like to join the discussion.
Soona
You've mentioned it feels like 2014 all over again lately - what differences (if any) do you think we can expect to see?
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Vinny Lingham
@soonaorlater The market is far more diversified. Money can from one coin to another, or into fiat. That said, it's not unlikely for us to enter into a bear market where things trade sideways to down for a while and it would be healthier in the long term. The key level is $20,000 for BTC, if we break that again, we go into another big bull market run.
7
Vinny Lingham
Ok - I'm here. Going to start responding as fast as I can :-)
5
Soona
Hey Vinny, excited that you're joining us on Launch Day!

What would you say is your most controversial take on crypto (or anything crypto-related)?
4
Vinny Lingham
@soonaorlater I haven't published my most controversial take on crypto yet :-). Of the stuff I have said, I think that the Store of Value vs Medium of exchange debate over Bitcoin is most controversial. https://vinnylingham.com/a-tale-of-two-bitcoins-20375d49d3d3
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Ben Tossell
How did you build an early community for Civic?
4
Vinny Lingham
@bentossell Blogging, tweeting and selling the vision for a decentralized identity network...
4
Erik Torenberg
What do you and Kyle Samani disagree on? :-)
4
Vinny Lingham
@eriktorenberg Lots :-), but there is a ton of mutual respect and we find lots of common ground. It's healthy to have people to argue with that are trying to achieve the same goals.
3
Zinc
Do you find that your employees are distracted by the cryptomarket price fluctuations? If so, do you think it is a good idea to list your tokens in exchanges as late as possible like Polkadot?
4
Vinny Lingham
@r-block Our employees have never received CVC, and I don't have any either. They are all locked up in the company's treasury vault and everyone has shares that vest of 4 years in the company - this is what we're focusing on - building long term value. This does reduce a lot of the day to day emotions and focuses us on building stuff, not watching the price of tokens. That said, on high volatility days in crypto, it's hard not to watch the charts.
3
CryptoHodor
Why is it that whenever you comment on the crypto market the opposite seems to happen?
4
Vinny Lingham
@holdlikehodor Are you speaking from your 5 years experience in crypto and reading all 10,000+ of my tweets and dozens of blog posts and mapping it back to the actual events, or is this just anecdotal conjecture from 6 months of learning about crypto?
9
CryptoHodor
@holdlikehodor @vinny-lingham The fact that you completely avoided the questions says it all.
1
Nat Robbins
What are your favorite projects?
4
Vinny Lingham
@natrobbins8 right now, it's ZRX (0X) because I think decentralized exchanges are the future, and Filecoin. I've invested in both - and in Filecoin, I invest back in 2014 while they were building IPFS. Juan is a rockstar and the team have an amazing vision that they are poised to execute well on. ZRX also did their token sale using Civic to ensure a broad and fair distribution of tokens.
4
Nat Robbins
1
Indian In Chicago
@natrobbins8 @vinny-lingham decentralized exchanges - specially 0x is an overly hyped, bay-area, ethereum obsessed idea . Projects like legolas.exchange will succeed - look up their white paper - https://legolas.exchange/static/public/legolas-whitepaper.pdf?v=11 I would love to hear your feedback.
1
Indian In Chicago
@natrobbins8 @vinny-lingham Filecoin on the otherhand is awesome. Need to earn some extra money to buy into that :)
1
Benjamin Merchin
Hello, the 22th december you said : "The next 8-12 weeks is really going to be jam packed with news, announcements, product releases, partnerships & maybe one or two surprises." News since 22 december : almost 0 (we had a new community manager and a small app update ) What is happening? Thank You :)
3
Vinny Lingham
@benjamin-merchin I realize 3 week is like a year in crypto, but in reality it's been 3 weeks. The recent app update has some hidden features you'll be able to check out next week :-)
2
Benjamin Merchin
@benjamin-merchin @vinny-lingham (Well it's technically 27 days so almost 1 month... civic seems to be sleeping) But thank you for the answer :)
0
Jeroen Wijnja
Is there already more information about the civic staking mechanism?
3
Vinny Lingham
@jeroen-wijnja Not published yet, but coming soon. We are making some incredible improvements. It's not going to be a typical staking mechanism, but it will definitely improve the fidelity and quality of the network as well as having positive spin-off effects.
2
Jeroen Wijnja
@jeroen-wijnja @vinny-lingham thanks, i'm really curious!
0
Raj Vir
What sorts of platforms do you envision as the biggest uses of Civic's ID system?
3
Nick Neuman
There are a few platforms competing with Civic in the blockchain-based identity space, such as uPort and Peer Mountain. What specifically sets Civic apart from these competitors, from a purely technical (code, architecture, system design, etc.) perspective?
2
Vinny Lingham
@nneuman Differentiation between competitors is very important when there is a tight market and you're competing for customers and partners. Right now, we can't even handle the inbound enquiries and dealflow so we are focusing on executing what our customers are asking for and not checking what our competitors are building.
2
Kurt Grela
In your view, what is holding Bitcoin price down? I felt there was much more infighting at $17,000 - $20,000 (early Dec) than now. Felt more like a market bottom than a top.
2
Vinny Lingham
@kurtgrela The futures have definitely had a negative impact on Bitcoin. Also, I think it's unnatural to expect prices to rise 20x in a year and people not take profits off the table. It's a healthy cycle. Fiat coming into the system is looking for 5-10x gains in a year, minimum. It's unlikley Bitcoin can deliver that sort of return rate in 2018 - so it goes into other coins. People have more choice now than before.
2
Ktoiswho
compared to non-crypto companies, especially ones traded on stock market, htere is very little information about structure, teams, financials, performance
of crypto companies...is it benefit or risk from your pov ?
1
Soona
What are your thoughts on the Telegram ICO?
1
Vinny Lingham
@soonaorlater It's ambitious and a lot of capital. I don't like locking up capital for a year in crypto unless I'm sure it's going to be a winner.
0
Nowan
What is your mid-long term portfolio?
1
Vinny Lingham
@nowan50172771 Multicoin.capital is going do the bulk of my portfolio management going forward. I'm too busy running Civic to focus on crypto portfolio management.
3
Nick Neuman
IMO, partnerships will play a major factor in the success of new identity platforms, and I'm sure you've been on the road talking to many large stakeholders in the existing identity system to get them on board with Civic. How would you describe the "climate" in these discussions? Excited about new tech, skeptical, wait-and-see before jumping in, etc.

If possible to answer this without the marketing lipstick that would be great, but I realize things you say may affect $CVC price, and you have some responsibility there...
1
Vinny Lingham
@nneuman This is not an area of concern. We are spoilt for choice in terms of partnerships. We are prioritizing partners who can execute within short time frames to deliver quick wins to the ecosystem. Long deals with banks and governments takes years to mature - not something that's a high priority for us right now, given all the other low hanging fruit.
1
Angus C de Crespigny
What do you think is the biggest existential threat to Bitcoin? Curious of your views on either a technical level, or a non technical level.
1
Vinny Lingham
@anguschampion I've always said that hash power rules Bitcoin. If that disappears or moves to another chain, it opens up major security risks for Bitcoin. Others disagree with me, so time will tell. I think the Bitcoin vs Bitcoin Cash war is far from over - let's see how that plays out. I have offline Bitcoins that have 1 of every fork - so doesn't matter which one wins and I believe that's the safest bet. I think people who sold their Bitcoin Cash are taking unnecessary risks by betting on one chain - just hold all forks and see what happens.

0
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1
Michael Stone
Hello Vinny. I little while back you indicated that some sort of staking may be in the future. Can you give an update on when and if that will happen? Thanks.
1
Vinny Lingham
@michaelmas27 Will publish an update on this in the next couple of weeks. Please be patient - we're working hard on the mathematical models to ensure everything works before publishing.
2
Mallikarjun Reddy
How do you plan to compete with existing players like jumio if they tune their existing solution ti a civic like decentralised model?
1
Vinny Lingham
@mallikarjun-reddy Historically, I've rarely seen B2B companies successfully pivot to tackle consumer or decentralized/disruptive business models. I'll take my chances :-)
0
Blockchain enthusiast
Whats your take on India's aadhar?
1
Vinny Lingham
@kunal10502 Centralized identity by governments is fine on a regional basis - you can't change it. On a global basis, it needs to be decentralized.
2
George Adams
Hey Vinny, excited to see you here on tokendaily. What types of sectors do you think are most important in Crypto right now? Smart contract platforms? Decentralized exchanges? Privacy coins?

And similar to portfolio construction in equities, how do you feel these sectors should be weighted?
1
Zurich Times
If BlockChain will be used for Decentralized Identity Network how are you going to ensure Security given Quantum Computers can crack any Encryption?
1
Kirk Taylor
@zurichtimes that's a good one?
0
Jared
A commonly held opinion, one that I share, is that the systemic risk to 'crypto-markets' is sweeping regulatory action. In your opinion if this is the case, do decentralized exchanges facilitate a rise from the ashes? Can we expect the ecosystem to really survive without any fiat on/off rails in its current state?
1
Martin Kristiansen
0
Zurich Times
Hello Vinny, can you answer the ever important question does Bitcoin have Intrinsic Value?
0
Vinny Lingham
@zurichtimes Bitcoin has the same intrinsic value as money or gold. Try using either of those on Mars.
1
Jan Sobek
Hello! I am invested in CVC, also MTL. I see future for both these projects. Is there any chance that CVC will cooperate with MTL in future? And also, what is your role as MTL advisor?
0
Vinny Lingham
@duckix1 My role has been limited, to be fair. I need to chat to Marshall at some point and catch up on what's going on as we've both been on the road and travelling. Will add to my to-do list :-)
0
A
When will Tether go to zero?
0
Vinny Lingham
@akiooo3 Nothing in crypto ever goes to zero - look at Bitconnect?! Kinda crazy, right?
1
BNBeliever
A unifying theme behind Civic is that individuals should be in control of their own private identity information. The fact that so much information is still being stored on a hackable database is unsettling. Looking forward, are there any practical things that we as a community of Civic supporters can do to spread awareness about the specific problems that Civic is attempting to solve?
0
Vinny Lingham
@bnbeliever Yes, we're going to be focusing on enabling community engagement and participation in solving this problem. We have some exciting opportunities in the pipeline that I can't speak about right now.
0
Lubo Kanev
0
Josh Chettiar
Hi Vinny. What opportunities do you think exist (or will soon exist) for multidisciplinary research on blockchain technology? As a research psychology master's graduate, I see blockchain potentially revolutionising data storage and privacy in the research and medical sectors, facilitatating truly transparent and fair voting (both politically and within organisations), to list just a few use cases, but there seems to be very little peer-reviewed and published research outside of the 'corporate industry' dealing with these potentials.
0
Vinny Lingham
@josh-chettiar This will evolve over time. Unfortunately, it is nascent, but let's hope it accelerates.
1
Gareth David Eckley
Do you see having a role in Voter ID ? A huge issue in elections, especially in the US. Could you help stop voter fraud ?
0
Blockchain enthusiast
I am a civic investor. If everyone buys and holds it then how is it usable in network?
0
Vinny Lingham
@kunal10502 Marketplace is coming in Q3 and we may have some limited functionality before then too.
2
Nat Robbins
Hi Vinny,
What other secular themes do you foresee in 2018 besides decentralized exchanges?
Thanks.
0
Vinny Lingham
@natrobbins8 Stablecoins - alternatives to tether
0
Ben Tossell
How did you get into Crypto?
0
Vinny Lingham
@bentossell I was running Gyft.com and we needed a way to process cheap, fast & secure payments. Ahh, the good old days of Bitcoin :)
3
Benjamin Merchin
Hello, when are we going to have a really big new partnership anouncement ? Like a big bank or a website that everyone outside crypto know ? Thank You :)
0
Vinny Lingham
@benjamin-merchin These take time - we're focusing on driving product use cases and implementing them is easier in smaller companies. Usage & utility is more important than flashy big names that drive temporary excitement but no long term value.
1
MEDPRO Wellness
Since you are a man with great familiarity in the crypto space, if you only had $100 to invest in any crypto/ ico, which project would you invest in and why?
0
Vinny Lingham
@medprowellness I don't like to give investment advice - always depends on your unique situation.
0
Kirk Taylor
TD is an ongoing token discussion board to establish variation on token tribes. Exciting early conversations with no limit to the broad range of discussion.

Hi Vinny --What's your view on token appreciation in a sharing marketplace; specifically the design mechanisms to encourage holding tokens and the open governance approach that all token holders = one vote?
0
Kirk Taylor
1
Vinny Lingham
@kirktaylor It's too early to tell...many teams are working on this, for example Origin Protocol. I don't have enough of a fully formed view on this yet.
0
Kirk Taylor
0
contractmaple
What is your short-term portfolio? https://food-le.com
0
MEDPRO Wellness
Can you share a little about the origins of Civic- how/ why was the business created and also how/ why did it evolve into using the blockchain (or was it created with that always in mind)?
0
MEDPRO Wellness
Who would you consider the top thought leaders in crypto that the average "joe" might not know about?
0
Jeger Ali
We are in a frenzy stage right now, while building this new infrastructure, I know it is hard to predict when all this will come to an end, but what is your opinion on how or when this frenzy will come to an end? regulations are coming, so what sort of regulations do you see coming? and how they will affect ICO investing.. thanks and sorry many questions
0
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