Pierre Noizat, Paymium: “Bitcoin is good for the environment”

The media coverage around the cryptocurrencies focuses mainly on the dramatic fluctuations in the price of the bitcointhe theft of colossal sums by cyberpirates or environmental issues related to the expansion of currencies digital. A number of fascinating issues are thus relegated to the background, depriving the greatest number of keys necessary for an enlightened understanding.

To go a little further and better understand the challenges of this major socio-economic development, we have chosen to discuss with Pierre Noizat, one of the best European specialists in cryptocurrencies and bitcoin specifically. Polytechnician and holder of an MBA from the University of columbia (United States), he co-founded and manages Paymium, the first French marketplace for bitcoin exchange born in 2011.

Futura: Cryptocurrencies and bitcoin have never been so popular and promising. For the first time, an advertisement for the crypto platform Coinbase was shown during the Super Bowl in the United States. Are we at a turning point in the future of digital currencies?

Pierre Noizat: We are in an exponential phase of technology adoption, as was theInternet in its time in the 2000s. There is an inflection point that moves from fairly moderate growth to something of greater magnitude. The cryptocurrencies and bitcoin are on this trajectory.

We are at the beginning of the adoption of mass of bitcoin which brings in its wake a whole series of cryptocurrencies “opportunists”. But bitcoin is the only one that has a deflationary model, which does not increase its money supply indefinitely, unlike most other cryptos which are closer to traditional currency.

The advertising broadcast during the Super Bowl is an undeniable strong signal. But that remains in the United States where the elites do not gossip against technology all day long. In France, we are still experiencing a very strong anti-bitcoin discourse that seeks to divert people from cryptos, as if traditional currency were the only horizon.

Despite this momentum, a number of major obstacles and oppositions are present. What are they ?

Pierre Noizat: We are on a ecosystem of monopoly. In reality, the euro has lost the monopoly to the cryptos that compete with it, but it retains a monopoly in law. There has not yet been an update of the monetary and financial code to record this development. It’s a bit as if in 2022 we still had France Telecom’s monopoly. That’s enough aberrant. I think it won’t last forever because the new generation, when they get to the responsibilities, won’t tolerate it. But, for the moment, we suffer from a form of oligarchy which keeps monetary and financial innovation under wraps by using big words such as “speculation”, with a moral judgment on actors who do not see the world in this way. manner. This is all completely obsolete.

Has the development of Paymium in France been hampered?

Pierre Noizat: In a way, yes. In France, we are one of the countries where the resistance elites to innovation is the strongest. We have had to change banks almost every year because the management of a bank can veto the cryptos and close the accounts of players in the sector without having to justify it legally. It is a hard monetary monopoly, a form of soft dictatorship. But we don’t let it stop us, we show resilience.

One of the recurring criticisms towards bitcoin and cryptos concerns energy consumption. In the crosshairs, the mining system which has led to a race for power proportional to the rise in the price of bitcoin and would cause an energy mismanagement. How do you approach this problem?

Pierre Noizat. I’energy used by bitcoin is not the one used to light our homes and power our household appliances. It is an energy which is in surplus near installations, in general hydraulic, often located in Central Asia or in Africa. If not used, this energy is lost because it is not connected to a large, efficient distribution network such as exists in Europe. the protocol Because bitcoin is inherently designed to only be profitable with the cheapest electricity, bitcoin miners seek out and monetize surplus gold.renewable energies, which are sold off by producers. In no way, the energy demand linked to the bitcoin mining does not compete with demand from individuals because these distinct demands are served by distinct offers.

Why then is this argument of excessive energy expenditure brandished in such a systematic and powerful way?

Pierre Noizat: Because what I have just explained to you is not known. We are in the register of fake news. A lie repeated often enough becomes a truth. We do not ask ourselves the question of what energy bitcoin uses. In reality, his mining promotes the development of infrastructurerenewable energys because it helps to stabilize their business model. Bitcoin is good for the environment. It would be a waste if it consumed energy that could be used for other purposes. However, bitcoin consumes energy that would otherwise be wasted. The truth is the opposite of what the lobbyists claim.

Behind this dominant discourse, there is a political approach. These opponents express a collectivist type of worldview, where a single kind of currency [la monnaie fiat, ndlr] is imposed on everyone by a kind of benevolent oligarchy. However, this money available in unlimited quantity brings us to the consumer society.

This increases inequalities because the centralized and monopolistic currency, created by theepisode of credit, is not distributed fairly. Credit is not distributed fairly because, as the saying goes, you only lend to the rich. Bitcoin is an apolitical currency able to counterbalance these perverse effects, this almost totalitarian vision. A balance must be established between currencies with a collectivist logic, such as the euro, and rather individualist currencies such as the bitcoin, and offer choice. We need pluralism!

One of the crypto highlights of 2021 is the adoption of bitcoin by El Salvador. Will other countries follow? Can we speak of a new geopolitical instrument likely to change the situation for certain nations (cf. emerging countries) subject to the dollar?

Pierre Noizat: Other countries are indeed likely to follow the example of El Salvador, which has been the first state to choose bitcoin as a second currency next to the dollar. Beyond that, I see apps very easy to implement. I am thinking in particular of development aid. For France, this represents approximately 4 billion euros per year. This money passes through the banking circuits of the countries concerned, which are unfortunately often corrupt.

Once everyone has finished using themselves, there is not much left for the people. With bitcoin and micropayments technology Lightning Networkpotentially small sums can be sent directly to each inhabitant of a country with a smart phone instead of sending 4 billion to the oligarchs who run them. This would obviously be much more efficient and a very beneficial step in circumventing corrupt banking circuits.

What are the professional opportunities around cryptos and bitcoin? What advice do you give to young people attracted to this sector?

Pierre Noizat: All training is good if people are motivated by the sector. The most important thing is to start by experimenting with the use. As in other fields of Tech, in particular theArtificial intelligencewe need people who love math and computing, who know how to code. The developers talented and motivated are a rare commodity.

To come back to France, how do you interpret the silence of the candidates for the presidential election around cryptos and its issues?

Pierre Noizat: The current candidates probably prefer not to upset their respective bankers who finance their campaigns. The consideration of cryptocurrencies by politicians will eventually happen, it’s a matter of time. In the United States, some elected officials have taken up the cause of bitcoin. This will increase with the generation of digital-native who will be in charge in ten or twenty years. For them, it will be obvious. It is necessary to gradually remove the obstacles on Taxation and accounting around cryptocurrencies but also to change the ambient discourse. It’s happening little by little and I’m very confident because every year we’re making progress. It is only a matter of time before the law evolves in this direction.