Ethereum stronger because Bitcoin exists and vice versa: ShapeShift’s CEO

The cryptocurrency industry hosts numerous cryptocurrencies, with each one of them having their own advocates. Erik Voorhees, CEO of ShapeShift, was once a Bitcoin maximalist. However, over time, it would seem that Voorhees views, especially on altcoins, have evolved.

On Charlie Shrem’s latest podcast, Vorhees pointed out that the financial system is getting rewritten into decentralized protocols, adding that Bitcoin is the most important one of these. He also highlighted how there would be several other protocols that are better than Bitcoin itself. However, Voorhees still hopes that Bitcoin will optimize a few features on its protocol. He added,

“The whole system is getting rebuilt on decentralized protocols and Bitcoin is at the core of it.”

Further, Voorhees believes that the principles of Bitcoin are best expressed in a world which shelters numerous digital assets. Like every industry, the crypto-ecosystem consists of numerous good, as well as bad projects, while some projects are nothing but mere scams. However, maximalists are at fault here as many of them categorize altcoins as “bad,” taking into consideration only a few genuinely bad altcoins.

Voorhees went on to use the Etheruem network as an example and stressed on how it was unfair that Bitcoiners expressed hate towards Ethereum. Voorhees claimed that Ethereum is “fascinating and amazing,” as well as a huge success. Smart contracts and other attributes of the network make it different from Bitcoin, he added.

Voorhees went on to say,

“Bitcoin is stronger because Ethereum exists and Ethereum is stronger because Bitcoin exists.”

According to the CEO of ShapeShift, it was really pathetic that a number of people tried to argue that Ethereum was a security, while hoping for it to fall under the purview of the SEC.

Voorhees also addressed Facebook’s Libra project, which has been the talk of the town for a while now.”I love Libra,” he said, going on to label it as a supranational currency. He also applauded Facebook’s courage in backing it using several national currencies, which would in some way, put the new currency unit above any national currency.