Understanding Crypto, or That Time Jamie Dimon Called

A little over three years ago, Jamie Dimon called me.

Bitcoin was at an all-time high. Ethereum was mooning. ICOs were pumping. And Jamie wasn't having it. He called Bitcoin a fraud.

I decided to write him an open letter, and the piece went viral. Two days later, he called. He was gracious, thanked me for the explanations in the post, and asked me to spend some time with his team.

But the funny thing is, I didn't write the post for Jamie. I wrote it as a primer for people who were only paying attention to crypto because of the all-time highs. I wanted to explain to them why they should care about crypto, regardless of the price. I called it the Signal in the Noise.

And my central point was that crypto makes whole new types of software applications (dapps) and human organization (DAOs) possible. While it was still extremely early, and while prices were disconnected from reality, it nonetheless seemed likely it would lead us to new and important frontiers. That's why people should care.

Incidentally, it's also why we should care right now about NFTs and DeFi, despite similar exuberance. But that will be the subject of another post... perhaps an open letter to Larry Gagosian!

I wrote the original piece on Medium, under an account associated with my company at the time, Chain. That account is [now gone](https://blog.chain.com/a-letter-to-jamie-dimon-de89d417cb80), and thus so is the post. So what better way to inaugurate this new publishing platform, itself enabled by the very ideas I wrote about in the piece, than by re-posting it here on Mirror, where I'll never have to wonder if it's "still online."

Re-reading the post made me cringe at times. I definitely underestimated *just how magical a superpower censorship resistance is* – specifically how it enables permissionless innovation at unheard of cycle times and decentralized collaboration that doesn't need the business models of the past to survive – and thrive. 2017 was *not that long ago* and yet web3 is happening **now** and is very real.

But it's still [not Jamie's cup of tea](https://www.coindesk.com/jamie-dimon-bitcoin-blockchain-dealbook-event).

Thanks to the Mirror team and community for welcoming me to this platform.

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**The Signal in the Noise**

October 2017

Dear Jamie,

My name is Adam Ludwin and I run a company called Chain. I have been working in and around the cryptocurrency market for several years.

Last week you said a few things about Bitcoin:

![image](https://images.mirror-media.xyz/publication-images/a1e844f2-5256-4da1-87ee-c7947f2ad3ec.jpeg?height=194&width=800)

It's easy to believe cryptocurrencies have no inherent value. Or that governments will crush them.

It's also becoming fashionable to believe the opposite: that they will disrupt banks, governments, and Silicon Valley giants once and for all.

Neither extreme is true.

The reality is nuanced and important. Which is why I've decided to write you this briefing note. I hope it helps you appreciate cryptocurrencies more deeply.

**Let me start by stating that I believe:**

- The market for cryptocurrencies is overheated and irrationally exuberant
- There are a lot of poseurs creating them, and some scammers, too
- There are a lot of conflicts of interest, self-serving hype, and obfuscation
- Very few people in the media understand what's going on
- Very few people in finance understand what's going on
- Very few people in technology understand what's going on
- Very few people in academia or government understand what's going on
- Very few people buying cryptocurrencies understand what's going on
- It's very possible I don't understand what's going on

Also:

- Banks and governments aren't going away
- Traditional software isn't going away

In short: there's a lot of noise. But there is also signal. To find it, we need to start by *defining* cryptocurrency.

Without a working definition we are lost. Most people arguing about cryptocurrencies ar