Bitcoin is the only decentralized currency, says Tether CEO

According to Tether CEO Paolo Arduino, Bitcoin is unique among the more than 14,000 different cryptocurrencies because it is the only one that is decentralized.

Bitcoin (BTC) is the only decentralized currency, Arduino said in an interview with Cointelegraph on June 13 at the Bitcoin-only conference BTC Prague.

“Bitcoin is the only example of a currency that is fundamentally immutable,” Tether CEO said. Besides Bitcoin, some cryptocurrencies are less centralized, or others are less centralized, Arduino believes.

“With other currencies, you see a group of developers coming in every month. They're coming out with a new software release, they're changing the monetary policy, inflation, inflation, and they're changing things,” the executive explained.

Bitcoin is about certainty.

On the other hand, there will always be 21 million BTC in Bitcoin, and it will be halved once every four years until all 21 million Bitcoins have been produced. Arduino says:

“Bitcoin is about certainty. It's like the clock keeps ticking, it keeps ticking forever […] When it comes to the concept of immutable products or decentralized – because everyone uses the term ‘decentralized' – there is only Bitcoin.

In the interview, Arduino admitted that its opinion on Bitcoin's sole level of decentralization “may be controversial.” The CEO made it clear that Tether is decentralized unlike Bitcoin.

In addition, Arduino expressed its skepticism about the record-breaking industry in memecoins, a type of cryptocurrency that has inspired Internet memes or trends. “I like memes, but not memecoins,” said Arduino, adding that bitcoin and memecoins are “completely on opposite ends of the spectrum.”

Related: DeFi May Struggle to Stay Decentralized After New EU Law

As there is a whole sector in crypto decentralized finance or DeFi, one can really argue with Arduino about the decentralized Bitcoin and other assets in the cryptocurrency market.

So what is decentralization?

In the crypto industry, decentralization refers to the transfer of control and decision making from a centralized entity to a distributed network. While the DeFi industry has high hopes for financial decentralization, some people in the industry, like Jan3 CEO Samson Mou, believe that DeFi cannot compete with Bitcoin.

Arduino's comments on Bitcoin's decentralized nature came at the opening of BTC Prague 2024, where he was speaking alongside key industry figures such as former MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor, Blockstar founder Adam Temeles, Bitcoin author Jimmy Song and others. Unlike many industry events, BTC Prague is dedicated exclusively to Bitcoin.

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