Fred Wilson: Blockchain Applications Still Biggest Opportunity in Bitcoin

Amidst a bearish price cycle and a wave of negative press, it’s safe to say that 2015 may be yet another year filled with growing pains for bitcoin. In the face of these obstacles, however, many of its veteran supporters are standing strong and banding together.
Given its longstanding support for the digital currency ecosystem, it’s perhaps no surprise that Union Square Ventures (USV) participated in Coinbase’s recent $75m funding round alongside Andreessen Horowitz and Draper Fisher Jurvetson.
USV has so far participated in three of Coinbase’s four public funding rounds, while appearing atmarquee events in the industry’s history.
Notably, principal Fred Wilson has also been outspoken about bitcoin’s regulatory environment and its long-term potential as a technology, often in the face of criticism for his views. Today, USV remains as bullish on the technology as ever.
Speaking to CoinDesk about its participation in this week’s funding, Fred Wilson echoed many of his previous positions regarding bitcoin as an investor, while shedding new insights as to what he believes are the most compelling parts of the ecosystem today.
Perhaps most intriguingly, Wilson emphasized that USV is no longer as interested in the financial applications of the blockchain, stating:

This post was published at Coin Desk on January 24, 2015.