Former ConsenSys executive says Bitcoin will increase 'stability for the average person'

Kavita Gupta, the former managing partner of ConsenSys' venture arm, recently appeared on the stage of TED to give a talk on cryptocurrencies, marking one of the few times this topic is discussed on a public forum facing hundreds of millions of viewers every year, according to Gupta. 

TED released the video of Gupta's speech on Monday. The speech focused on replacing current monetary systems around the globe with cryptocurrencies. She told the audience that existing payment systems are outdated and fail to benefit people in certain countries suffered from inflation, such as Argentina and Venezuela, while cryptocurrencies can and are gradually alleviating the problems for people in those regions. 

“Stability for the average person will increase,” she said. “Bitcoin won’t just be a way for the elite to diversify their investment portfolio, but a way for more people to create sustainable wealth.”

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According to Gupta, most of the people in the audience were "overwhelmingly surprised" by the many existing use cases of cryptocurrencies, with people reaching out afterward to share their own opinions and experience with cryptocurrencies. 

"In most of the blockchain conferences I have been meeting the same crowd and cliques but TED is a very different, highly curated platform for varied interests," said Gupta. "Topics like Blockchain and crypto haven't been seen by the majority on how it has already been used by the new generation in failed economies like Venezuela or how it will help open a global marketplace and how digital identity which is being tested by UNICEF and UNHCR will be the key to this global currency."

Gupta left ConsenSys Ventures in May and later joined Dusk Network, a blockchain project that provides technology to tokenize securities. 

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Celia joined The Block as a reporter after earning her BA in the History of Science from the University of Chicago. Having spent years pondering over why 2+2 cannot equal 5, she is interested in the history and philosophy of mathematics, computation, and cryptography. She also had a very brief stint at Crunchbase News.
Yilun joined The Block in November 2019. She has a policy background and extensive experience in reporting and writing. She has worked on stories ranging from business to politics.