Crypto 2022 Chainalysis CPO Pratima Ara, Tezos co-founder Kathleen Breitman, and Ledger CEO Pascal Gauthier discussed security in crypto. The discussion focused mainly on the collapse of FTX.
Pascal Gauthier stated, “First of all I don’t believe it is over.” “In the FTX Story, it is becoming more obvious every day that vast sums have kind of disappeared and been mismanaged by SBF and his management.”
FTX, as a crypto exchange, has been a failure for many users and moving parts of the crypto industry. It still needs to be made clear how many people, companies, and projects were affected by FTX’s bankruptcy. It makes one wonder if crypto is too centralized.
“Cryptocurrencies were designed to be disintermediated. That’s their purpose. If you don’t design something that empowers users somehow, then you aren’t doing a good job designing your protocol. Kathleen Breitman, the co-founder of Tezos, stated that you are simply shifting the responsibility from one central actor to another.
However, centralized exchanges are going to be around for a while. Many crypto users need to learn how to store their crypto assets securely, whether in a physical wallet like Ledger or non-custodial software.
This move to decentralized cryptocurrency will require some education. On the other hand, it might be an excellent opportunity to learn.
“We must learn web3. Web2 is a situation where you have no control over anything. Web2 is a platform where you are the product of larger companies.
Before the FTX saga, people were already saying we were in crypto snow. Unfortunately, the crypto industry will likely experience a bear market in the months and years ahead. However, those who have worked in crypto for a long time have experienced difficult times.
Pratima Arora, Chainalysis’s CEO, stated there would be some slow adoption. “I understand this is the right time to build and hunker down, so the best companies will thrive. We will eliminate the bad actors. We will also see that we are going to emerge stronger without the bad actors. It’s like a cleansing cycle.”