Inside Bitcoins conference: Why venture capital wants in
30 July 2013, by Saumya Vaishampayan (marketwatch - Blogs)
 
It’s lunchtime at the Inside Bitcoins conference and attendees are talking while munching on ham-and-brie wraps.

Networking appears to be a major part of the event’s draw and with venture capitalists in the house, it’s perhaps not a big surprise. Here are a few thoughts from the venture capital panel:

Pamir Gelenbe of Hummingbird Ventures, a small venture capital firm based in Europe, said part of his excitement about bitcoin is that he doesn’t think a single regulator will be able to shut it down.

He said he invests personally in bitcoin as well. “The way I see it is that bitcoin is going to happen whether or not regulators want it to happen.”

AB Mendez of KCG Holdings, formerly Knight Capital Group, said he sees bitcoin as an alternative and looks for vision and economic uses in start-up companies.

Brock Pierce, executive chairman of Playsino and managing director of Clearstone Global Gaming Fund, said the future of money is digital, whether it is fiat or non-fiat.

(So-called fiat currencies include the dollar and the euro.)

In response to a question about the social benefits of the virtual currency, he simply responded: “Bitcoin is green.”