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00:00THIS IS THE CEO AND SHE JOINS ME NOW. IT IS SO FUN TO HAVE YOU IN PERSON AT THIS GREAT EVENT AND I THINK IF THERE HAS BEEN A CRITICISM OF BITCOIN, IT HAS BEEN THE CONSUMPTION OF THE ENERGY AND THE ENERGY IT TAKES TO MIND THE BITCOIN. HOW DO YOU SEE THAT AS A PROBLEM AND ARE THERE STEPS TO FIX IT? > > ABSOLUTELY. WE WERE FOUNDED BY AN AWARD-WINNING PHOTOGRAPHER. HE IS A TENURED PROFESSOR HERE AT M.I.T. AND HE INVENTED A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT CRYPTOCURRENCY USES. HE WATCHED THE ECOSYSTEM DEVELOP AND HE REALIZED SOME OF THESE EARLIER PROTOCOLS LIKE BITCOIN WERE NOT EXACTLY FAST ENOUGH AND THEY HAVE A LARGE CARBON FOOTPRINT. HE CAME UP WITH ANOTHER CONTENTIOUS MECHANISM. IF YOU WANT TO HAVE A LETTER ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT, YOU HAVE TO HAVE A DIFFERENT MECHANISM. HE CAME UP WITH A PROOF OF STEAK INVESTMENT MECHANISM -- STAKE INVESTMENT MECHANISMM. > > HOW DO YOU NEED THIS TO CATCH ON? > > IT GETS SO TECHNICAL SO QUICK. THINGS THAT ARE NEW, YOU DON ' T TEND TO DIFFERENTIATE AMONG THEM IN THE BEGINNING. WE THINK THE TRUTH WILL SHAKE OUT OVER TIME. IT IS BECAUSE OF THE NUANCES. ALSO, WE BELIEVE THAT IN THIS WORLD, WE NEED ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT BLOCKCHAIN PROTOCOLS. WE DON ' T THINK IT IS A WINNER TAKE ALL WORLD AT ALL. WE ARE VERY SCALABLE. WE DO 10,000 TRANSACTIONS IN JULY. WE HAVE A VERY LOW CARBON FOOTPRINT. IT IS AN ESSENTIAL LAST BLOCKCHAIN. WE THINK WE ARE GENERATION THREE OF BLOCKCHAIN. > > WE TALK ABOUT GENERATION ONE AND THAT HAS BEEN ALL OF THE VOLATILITY AROUND CRYPTO AND AROUND ETHEREUM AND DON ' T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON TARA LUNA. DO YOU WATCH ALL OF THE VOLATILITY IN THE SECONDARY CRYPTO MARKET? DOES IT IMPACT YOUR ROLE? WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THAT? > > THIS IS NOT MY FIRST BEAR MARKET BY ANY MEANS. I WAS THERE DURING THE.COM CRASH -- THE .COM CRASH. IN 2015 WE HAD ABOUT A HALF $1 BILLION. WE HAD THE ICO. ALMOST A BILLION DOLLARS WENT UP. THE CRYPTO INDUSTRY CONTINUES TO RECOVER AND MAKE ITSELF BETTER BECAUSE OF WHAT IT GOES THROUGH. MY HEART GOES OUT TO THOSE INVESTORS. I HAVE SEEN A LOT IN MY DAY. 56 BILLION, A LOT OF MONEY FOR ONE ASSET ALONE. IT IS UNIQUE. > > IT BRINGS UP THE IDEA OF REGULATION. YOU WANT REGULATION TO HELP PROTECT BUT YOU DON ' T WANT REGULATION TO STIFLE ALL OF THE INNOVATION. IT WAS THE EXPERIMENT. WHERE DO YOU STAND ON REGULATION? > > I THINK IT IS A VERY NUANCED SUBJECT. WHAT THE INDUSTRY REALLY DOES NEED IS REGULATORY CLARITY. WE DON ' T MAKE PROMISES TO INVESTORS OF ANY KIND EVER BUT WHEN YOU SAY SOMETHING AND YOU CALL IT A STABLE COIN, YOU ARE SAYING THAT YOU ARE MAKING A STATEMENT. I THINK THAT IS WHAT REGULATORS HAVE BEEN FOCUSING ON AND WILL CONTINUE TO FOCUS. THEY WILL DEFINE STABLE COIN IN A VERY CLEAR WAY. IF YOU DON ' T MEET THOSE SPECIFICATIONS, YOU WILL PROBABLY NOT BE ABLE TO CALL YOURSELF ONE. > > ON THAT NOTE, WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT STABLE COIN, WITH THE BIGGER ISSUE, WAS IT BACKED BY A DOLLAR PEG OR EVEN TO A BLOCKCHAIN OR A REAL ASSET? FOR A STABLE COIN TO WORK, YOU NEED THE COLLATERAL TO BE ACTUAL STABLE? > > IT WAS KIND OF A PERPETUAL MOTION MACHINE AND PERPETUAL MOTION MACHINES, WE HAVE BEEN TRYING TO CREATE THAT FOR CENTURIES AND THEY DO NOT WORK. IT HAD A BAKED IN MECHANISM THAT IF THAT STARTS TO FAIL, YOU CAN HAVE A BIT OF A DEATH SPIRAL. THERE ARE MORE CLEVER FINANCIAL MINDS THAN I THAT MAY COME UP WITH SOME WAY THAT THERE IS A FUTURE BROTHER WITH STABLE COIN BUT I DON ' T KNOW.

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A Sustainable Alternative to Bitcoin

Algorand Foundation CEO Staci Warden joins Bloomberg's Taylor Riggs at the Boston Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting to discuss Algorand's role in creating a carbon-negative blockchain and to discuss how blockchain technology can boost financial equity globally. (Source: Bloomberg)

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